Taxes

On October 17, we released the International Tax Competitiveness Index 2021, a study that measures and compares the competitiveness and neutrality of all 37 OECD countries’ tax systems. In the coming weeks, we will illustrate how European OECD countries rank in each of the five components of the Index: corporate income taxes, individual taxes, consumption

In an effort to raise revenue, House Democrats have proposed increasing federal tobacco taxes and creating a new tax on other nicotine products in the Build Back Better Act. While the proposed increase on cigarettes is dramatic, it is relatively simple: an additional dollar per pack of 20 cigarettes. On the other hand, simplicity is

The latest version of the Biden administration’s Build Back Better reconciliation package reintroduces a policy that has been tried before—and abandoned: a corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT). It would be a mistake to revive this complex and poorly designed policy. Instead, lawmakers should consider directly reducing corporate tax expenditures. The corporate alternative minimum tax was first introduced

The 2022 Austrian budget proposal advances the tax reform plan agreed to by 2020’s coalition government formed by the Austrian People’s Party and the Greens. While Europe is registering record spikes in energy costs, Austria is pushing ahead with an agenda for carbon emissions reduction with a phased-in carbon levy. At the same time, the

If you are one of the millions of American taxpayers receiving advance Child Tax Credit payments from the IRS this year, you may be wondering how this could affect your 2021 tax return. We know changes to your taxes can be confusing and difficult to navigate at the best of times, and the coronavirus pandemic

At the federal level, the state and local tax (SALT) deduction has emerged as a hot-button political issue ever since the deduction was capped at $10,000 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017. The SALT deduction has defenders as well as detractors, but a peculiar inversion of it—a state deduction for federal

Tax reform should simplify the tax code. Instead, Congress is debating new ways to raise revenue that would make the tax code more complex and more difficult to administer. The new proposals—imposing an alternative minimum tax on corporate book income, applying an excise tax on stock buybacks, and, at one point this week, a tax

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The breakdown of supply chains both domestically and worldwide currently dominates headlines. One strong explanation of supply chain failures is the dramatic increase in federal spending throughout the pandemic—raising aggregate demand—combined with the COVID 19-era shift of consumption from services to physical goods. That, coupled with preexisting issues that limit the ability of our ports

Election Day will be a modest affair in 2021, perhaps a welcome respite from the inflamed politics of recent years. Despite few statewide races, however, voters in some states will decide important questions by ballot measure. Of particular note, through 10 ballot measures across four states—Colorado, Louisiana, Texas, and Washington—voters will decide significant questions of

Congressional Democrats are reported to be weighing a special tax on the assets of billionaires to raise revenues to pay for their Build Back Better spending plan. There are two fundamental challenges to such a plan. First, the incomes and wealth of such individuals are anything but stable; they rise and fall with the economy

On May 4th, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed legislation creating a 7 percent capital gains tax, to take effect next year. On November 2nd, Washington lawmakers will learn what voters think about it. Although the ballot measure asking voters to recommend on retaining or repealing the new tax is purely advisory, this gauge of voter

The 2021 version of the International Tax Competitiveness Index is the eighth edition of that report. Over the years, many different researchers at the Tax Foundation have worked on the report, several new members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have been added, and various methodological changes have taken place. One thing

Elections in Louisiana are always different than in other states due to the two-round majority vote system and, in odd-numbered years, holding the first round of elections on a Saturday in October. This year there is an additional twist, with Hurricane Ida prompting a postponement of Election Day to November 13th. Also notable this year

Under the House Build Back Better Act, the average top tax rate on personal income would reach 52.3 percent, tying Sweden as the 9th  highest rate in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The House Build Back Better Act would raise the top federal marginal tax rate on ordinary income from 37 percent to 39.6

On November 2, in addition to electing various city council and school board members, Colorado voters will decide two important questions of state tax policy. Proposition 120 would reduce property tax assessment rates for two subclasses of property and require the state to spend up to $25 million a year, for up to five years,

President Biden and congressional Democrats have justified their plan to raise taxes on the rich to fund much of their $3.5 trillion spending by claiming that the tax code is not progressive enough. Yet a recent Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) analysis of the House Ways and Means tax plan undermines that thesis by showing

President Biden expanded and fundamentally changed the Child Tax Credit (CTC) for one year in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) passed in March 2021. Policymakers are now deciding the future of the expansion as part of the proposed reconciliation package, but a wide range of estimates for the effects of a permanent expansion is confusing

Inflation is often called a hidden tax, but in many states it yields a far more literal tax increase as tax brackets fail to adjust for changes in consumer purchasing power. This phenomenon is called “bracket creep,” and it’s far creepier than the décor beginning to pop up in people’s front yards as we enter

Note: Each year we review and improve the methodology of the Index. For that reason, prior editions are not comparable to the results in this 2020 edition. All data and methodological notes are accessible in our GitHub repository. Below is a preview of the 2021 Index. To access the full report, click the download button above.