As the U.S. Senate races to consider the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a centerpiece of the proposed tax increases is the 15 percent minimum book tax on corporate income for firms earning over $1 billion, making up about 60 percent of the net revenue in the IRA. The minimum book tax puts one of the most pro-growth elements of the […]
In the rush to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which features an ill-conceived tax on the book income of U.S. corporations, it is worth reminding policymakers of a well-established finding in the economic literature: that among all the major ways to raise revenue, increasing the corporate tax is the most economically destructive due to its impact on incentives to invest. […]
Preliminary Revenue and Economic Estimates Net Revenue Long-run GDP Wages FTE Jobs Source: Tax Foundation General Equilibrium Model, July 2022. Last-week’s Democrat-sponsored Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), successor to the House-passed Build Back Better Act of late 2021, has been touted by President Biden to, among other things, help reduce the country’s crippling inflation. Using the Tax Foundation’s General Equilibrium Model, […]
As the reality of a second quarter of negative economic growth settles in Washington, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its own sobering report on the government’s long-term finances. The CBO long-term budget outlook report shows widening deficits over the next three decades as both federal spending and tax revenues are expected to rise above historic levels, with spending growth […]
Efforts to raise taxes on corporations and high-income earners recently hit a brick wall when U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) once again expressed concerns about inflation and a potential recession. That would seem to be the end of the story, as there is no reason to think inflation will be going away anytime soon and Sen. Manchin is not alone […]
With inflation continuing to skyrocket, especially for food, which reached 10.4 percent in June, it is worth examining how the ongoing U.S. trade war with China and U.S. tariff policy overall has impacted U.S. agriculture and food prices. The economic literature shows that the U.S. import tariffs and subsequent retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other countries on U.S. agricultural […]
The Senate has begun debate on the so-called Chips bill, which would provide $52 billion in grants and $24 billion in tax credits to supposedly strengthen the production of semiconductors in the U.S. If this measure passes, U.S. semiconductors will join wool, mohair, helium, soybeans, ethanol, steel, credit unions, and Amtrak as industries thought to be so important as to […]
Student debt forgiveness has been at the forefront of recent federal policy discussions, with President Biden exploring using executive action to cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt per borrower. Under current law, the tax code handles debt forgiveness differently depending on the borrower’s repayment plan—canceling student loan debt would have new, potentially complicated tax implications for borrowers. Under […]
The Biden administration has proposed several changes to the U.S. international tax system that would raise taxes on multinational enterprises (MNEs). Similarly, the OECD’s tax proposals would raise taxes on MNEs. Together, the proposals would affect patterns of international investment and potentially decrease the volume of foreign direct investment (FDI). Under the tax proposals in the House Build Back Better […]
While the bulk of the proposed tax increases and spending programs remain under debate, Democratic lawmakers have reportedly agreed on prescription drug pricing provisions as a starting point for a revived Build Back Better package. Advocates of the drug pricing policy argue it would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, but it amounts to government price setting for prescription drugs […]
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 made several changes to the U.S. tax system to enhance competitiveness and discourage profit shifting to low-tax jurisdictions by U.S. multinationals. Among them were a new 10 percent minimum tax on companies with significant cross-border transactions (BEAT) and new tax rates on deemed intangible income (GILTI and FDII). Foreign profits paid […]
Last week, the Senate Finance Committee approved the Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act, moving closer to a potential agreement to reform retirement savings this year. That is one of several proposals recently introduced—including the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement to Supplement Healthy Investments for the Nest Egg Act (RISE & SHINE)—that would improve the tax treatment of saving for […]
The COVID-19 pandemic brought increased attention to U.S. global supply chains, as the pandemic impacted critical components within U.S. manufacturing. The attention has led to calls to structure U.S. tax policy to encourage firms to expand their manufacturing capacity in the U.S., under the belief domestic supply chains are inherently less risky than global ones. But the belief is mistaken, […]
After an unpredictable legislative journey, the European Union has entered the final stage of negotiations on the world’s first carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). It would appear that some in the United States Congress are paying attention. On June 8th, the European Parliament rejected a proposal to reform the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) which sets the EU’s domestic carbon […]
Last week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its long overdue report on the nation’s budget and economic outlook for the years 2022 through 2032. Normally published at the beginning of the year, the delayed report reflects higher-than-anticipated inflation, tax revenues, deficits, and debt since the previous update CBO published nearly a year ago in July 2021. The CBO projections […]
The Tax Foundation respectfully submits comment on the state tax and revenue implications of the proposed tobacco product standard for menthol in cigarettes. Alongside the intended consequence of limiting sales of menthol cigarettes, menthol cigarette prohibition will have a significant impact on state revenue collections, in excess of the losses associated with individuals who respond in keeping with desired policy […]
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) released its FY 2023 budget today, led by Budget and Spending Task Force Chair Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and RSC Chairman Jim Banks (R-IN), and prescribes several pro-growth tax reforms that would simplify the tax code and encourage business investment. Among the most impactful reforms are permanence for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s (TCJA) […]
This week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will testify before the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee on President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Proposals. Combined with the tax increases in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), which the budget assumes becomes law, President Biden would raise revenues by $4 trillion on a gross basis over the […]
The Biden administration has offered several proposals to reform the taxation of U.S. multinationals, addressing profit shifting as well as a broader view that offshoring is bad for the U.S. economy and firms should be encouraged to “reshore” as much activity to the United Sates as possible. Contrary to the Biden administration’s claims, raising taxes on cross-border investment would hurt […]
Noted economist Dale W. Jorgenson, the Samuel W. Morris University Professor at Harvard University, passed away on June 8. He was 89. Dr. Jorgenson’s insights and analytical approach have enormously improved the understanding by the economics community of the effect of taxation on capital formation. He developed the concept of the cost of capital, the rate of return a business […]