Note: The following is the testimony of Dr. William McBride, Tax Foundation Vice President of Federal Tax and Economic Policy, prepared for a Joint Economic Committee hearing on October 6, 2021, titled, “Building Back Better: Raising Revenue to Invest in Shared Prosperity.” Chairman Beyer, Ranking Member Lee, and members of the Joint Economic Committee, thank you for
Taxes
A recent Tax Foundation analysis considered how various proposals from the Biden administration, from Congress, and from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development would affect the effective tax rates (ETRs) on the foreign profits of U.S. multinationals. That analysis focused on how each policy and proposal would affect the overall ETRs. But which industries
As policymakers weigh whether to lift or repeal the $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), they have to wrestle with how that change would primarily benefit high-earning taxpayers. As some have pointed out, other TCJA changes may further increase the benefits of an
Last week, The New York Times reported that in opposing corporate or individual income tax increases, Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) has pushed other Senate Democrats, such as Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), to consider a carbon tax to finance some of the infrastructure package. A carbon tax would be a less economically harmful pay-for than either
Florida is now the ninth state to implement or adopt a corporate income tax cut in 2021, with the state’s new rate the nation’s second lowest—for now. Five states adopted corporate income tax cuts legislatively this year, two states (Arkansas and Indiana) implemented rate relief as part of previously enacted phased reductions, and now Florida,
One of the Senate’s proposals to pay for the Build Back Better Act is a federal excise tax on virgin plastics, which are plastics that are not reprocessed or recovered. The tax would be $0.20 per pound of virgin plastics used to make single-use plastics products. While few details have been released about this pay-for,
Recent proposals from the Biden administration and congressional Democrats aim to hike taxes on the foreign profits of U.S. multinationals, resting on the claim that U.S. multinationals pay very low tax rates on these foreign profits. But how heavily taxed are they, and how would various proposals affect these tax rates? U.S. multinational enterprises (MNEs)
As Congress considers President Biden’s proposal to tax unrealized capital gains at death, the history of previous efforts suggests it faces a perilous road ahead. Lawmakers must resolve tricky design and implementation details that derailed past attempts to change how capital gains are treated when assets are passed from one generation to the next. Under
Kentucky and Tennessee won an important legal victory Friday when a federal court ruled that the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)’s restrictions on state fiscal autonomy were unconstitutional and enjoined (blocked) the enforcement of those provisions against both states. Specifically, Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove held that the ARPA provision, which limited states’ authority to cut
Key Findings Policymakers should carefully analyze tax expenditures before categorizing one as a loophole—some tax expenditures are important structural elements of the tax code while others are unsound. Generally, if a provision is broadly available and helps to eliminate the double taxation of saving, or broadly contributes to a consumption tax base, it is sound
Echoing other reports from this year, the White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) published a report Thursday that estimates an approximate average federal individual income tax rate for the top 400 wealthiest households in the U.S of 8.2 percent, lower than typically estimated for top earners. The CEA arrived at a lower tax rate
Corporate income tax rates have been declining around the world for the last two decades. Today’s map shows the most recent changes in corporate tax rates in European OECD countries, comparing how combined statutory corporate income tax rates have changed between 2018 and 2021. The average tax rate of all European countries covered has declined