Taxes

Talking about money with anyone can be awkward, but what about talking with your family? Those conversations hit much closer to home, making it even more difficult to talk with your loved ones about your financial situation. Why does it matter? Couldn’t you just avoid talking about your taxes with your family? Well, you could.

Table of Contents Key Findings The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act made temporary structural changes to the federal tax code to enhance business liquidity, including more generous treatment of net operating losses and business interest expenses. Under the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), businesses that receive loan forgiveness are not required

President Joe Biden’s proposal to raise the federal corporate income tax rate to 28 percent would increase the combined average top tax rate on corporate income to 32.4 percent, highest in the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), reducing U.S. competitiveness and long-run economic growth. While the focus has been on the federal rate,

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Table of Contents Executive Summary Income tax repeal is on the agenda in West Virginia, with Governor Jim Justice (R) and Republicans in both the House and Senate releasing plans for dramatically lowering or eliminating the state’s individual income tax. Despite their shared aims, these plans represent vastly different approaches. They are not even aligned

Excise taxes are commonly employed to deter consumption or internalize societal costs, but in West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice (R) is proposing to increase the excise tax on soft drinks to pay for part of an income tax reform. He’s not alone in considering ways to raise revenue as state lawmakers look to a time

Over the last few years, concerns have been raised that the existing international tax system does not properly capture the digitalization of the economy. Under current international tax rules, multinationals generally pay corporate income tax where production occurs rather than where consumers or, specifically for the digital sector, users are located. However, some argue that

A recent working paper by economists at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows that not all taxes are created equal—progressive taxes on labor income and taxes on capital income would have a negative impact on the economy, capital investment, and jobs, especially when compared to flatter taxes on labor income. Policymakers should consider these results

Table of Contents Chairman Sanders, Ranking Member Graham, and members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. There is no objective standard for what defines “fair share”; it is a purely subjective concept. But there are facts, which are objective, and the facts suggest that the U.S. tax and

In November 2020, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) released its annual report on expenditures in the tax code, showing a total of almost $1.8 trillion in 2020, up from $1.5 trillion in 2018. Much of that roughly $1.8 trillion was due to tax relief provided by the CARES Act—and reflect the policy choice to

This week’s map looks at another barrier to business and consumer recovery: state capital stock taxes. These taxes impair economic growth in the best of times, but during an economic contraction they are particularly harmful to businesses struggling to remain viable. As many businesses may need time to return to profitability after the pandemic crisis, states should prioritize reducing reliance

During the pandemic, implementation issues in some states resulted in underwithholding income tax due on enhanced unemployment benefits, and surprise tax bills, for many jobless workers. For instance, in California, when workers opted to withhold 10 percent of their unemployment compensation for taxes, that only applied to state benefits and not enhanced federal benefits. The

After Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act last week, infrastructure spending—and its funding—is taking center stage. For example, the federal excise tax rate on motor fuels has not been changed since 1993, and the tax has not raised sufficient revenue to cover expenditures since 2008. Several states also are in this position and are

Democratic members of Congress are interested in changing tax rules for foreign earnings of U.S. multinational companies. They claim the current rules incentivize U.S. businesses to outsource and offshore what would otherwise be U.S. jobs and investment. However, closer inspection shows these claims do not fit with the way the rules have been working. Some

Table of Contents Key Findings The American Rescue Plan Act’s restriction on states’ Fiscal Recovery Funds being used to directly or indirectly offset a net tax cut is vague and raises difficult questions of interpretation and application. A broad interpretation of this prohibition may be unconstitutional. This restriction potentially implicates a wide range of tax

Families with children will see a significant increase in their maximum child tax credit (CTC) in 2021 thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) expanding child-related tax benefits. President Biden is now exploring how to make the ARPA’s temporary expansion of the CTC permanent. Whether and how lawmakers choose to finance a permanent expansion

Lawmakers in Washington are exploring an unusual way to affect nicotine consumption and increase taxes on tobacco products sold in the state. Instead of increasing the excise tax rate, which is currently $3.025 per pack of 20 cigarettes, sponsors of HB 1550 are suggesting increasing the Business & Occupations (B&O) tax on tobacco manufacturers and

There are several ways to get your income tax refund as quickly as possible. Follow these tips from TaxAct to get your tax refund faster than ever. Everyone looks forward to getting their tax refund. They can use it to pay off debt, put it into their savings, take a vacation, or buy something they’ve

The European Union (EU) recently launched a consultation to reform the EU business tax system, which the European Commission considers is ill-equipped to face the challenges posed by globalization, climate change, digitalization, and population aging. This consultation could lead to proposals for taxes that raise general funds for the EU rather than individual member states.

Key Findings In calendar year 2019 (the latest economic data), state-local tax burdens averaged 10.3 percent of national income. Burdens rose slightly over the previous year because tax collections modestly exceeded income growth. Taxpayers remit taxes to their home state and to other states, and about 21 percent of state tax revenue comes from nonresidents.