Taxes

Earlier today we published our annual State Business Tax Climate Index, which measures tax structure. It’s an extremely valuable diagnostic tool, enabling readers to compare states’ tax structures across more than 120 variables. Unlike most studies of state taxes, it is focused on the how more than the how much, in recognition of the fact that

When is an income tax an excise tax? And for that matter, what exactly is an excise tax? The fate of Washington’s capital gains tax, currently in litigation, rests at least in part on the answer to these questions. By way of background, Washington’s supreme court has repeatedly held that the state’s constitution functionally prohibits

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has given us a sobering look into our fiscal future under the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), estimating that if all the bill’s policies were made permanent, $3 trillion would be added to the national debt over the next 10 years. This is on top of more than $7 trillion

As the Senate weighs changes to the spending and tax portions of the Build Back Better Act, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Tax Foundation find the bill would increase the cumulative budget deficit over the next 10 years—contrary to claims the legislation is “fully paid for.” The deficit impact may contribute to short-run inflation

When the Trump administration imposed tariffs on various imports in 2018, the stated purpose was to boost U.S. industries and punish foreign exporters. But rather than hurting foreign exporters, the economic evidence shows it is American firms and consumers hardest hit by the Trump tariffs. The tariffs resulted in higher prices for a wide variety

I have no idea how to fill out a W-2, or wait, is it a W-4? We get it. Form W-2 and Form W-4 are very similar – in fact, you can’t really have one without the other. Here’s the difference: Form W-2: This is your income statement from your employer. It shows the amount

As the Senate considers which components of the House Build Back Better Act (BBBA) to include, one key difference between the original Ways and Means draft and the later Rules Committee version is on corporate taxes. The original draft would have raised the corporate tax rate to 26.5 percent, while the Rules Committee version would

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How should tax policy treat interest expenses? Historically, corporate income tax systems in the U.S. and around the world have allowed businesses to deduct their interest paid. As Congress contemplates adding a new worldwide interest limitation rule as part of the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), it is useful to consider the potential effects of

Faced not only with immediate surpluses but with the expectation of sustained revenue growth in coming years, Arkansas policymakers have chosen to return some of the additional revenue to taxpayers in the form of individual and corporate income tax rate reductions, with additional rate cuts if future revenues permit. Whenever a state has a short-term

There’s no place like home for the holidays, ’cause no matter how far away you roam, state tax collectors will be waiting. It’s not that state tax authorities are a bevy of Ebenezer Scrooges keeping a wary eye on travelers during the holiday season, of course. No, they do this all the time. In most

The following blog was adapted from a speech given by Mr. Graetz at the Tax Foundation’s 2021 “Tax Prom,” where Mr. Graetz was awarded the Distinguished Service Award. I always begin my classes in Federal Income Taxation by reminding my students that the tax law is the primary link between people and their government—they all