Herman Cain’s plan would eliminate the current individual income tax, corporate income tax, payroll tax, and estate and gift tax and substitute three taxes imposed at a 9 percent rate: a 9 percent “national sales tax,” a 9 percent “business flat tax,” and a 9 percent “individual flat tax.” Based...

Tax and fiscal policy will loom large in the next president's domestic policy agenda. Nearly all of the tax cuts enacted since 2001 expire at the end of 2010 and the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) threatens to ensnare tens of millions of Americans. While a permanent fix palatable to...

The early years of the 21st century have been marked by a major tax bill almost every year. This fact sheet looks at the impact of these laws on taxpayers, especially on who benefits and who doesnt, and discusses some unfinished business, including the future of the estate tax and the individual...

The effects of state tax policy on economic growth, entrepreneurship, and employment remain controversial. Using a framework that in prior research generated significant, negative, and robust effects of taxes on growth, we find that neither tax revenues nor top income tax rates bear stable...

The effects of state tax policy on economic growth, entrepreneurship, and employment remain controversial. Using a framework that in prior research generated significant, negative, and robust effects of taxes on growth, we find that neither tax revenues nor top income tax rates bear stable...

The possibility of introducing a value-added tax (VAT) in the United States has been discussed on a sporadic basis for several decades. This paper examines issues related to small business and entrepreneurship under a VAT. Section II discusses the basic mechanics of a VAT, including the...

The possibility of introducing a value-added tax (VAT) in the United States has been discussed on a sporadic basis for several decades. In this policy brief, which is based on Gale, Gelfond, and Krupkin (2015), we examine issues related to small business and entrepreneurship under a VAT. We also...

After worsening sharply during the Great Recession, the long-term fiscal outlook generally improved through 2015, due to a combination of legislative acts and lower projected growth of health care spending. The same factors and the slow but steady economic recovery helped reduce short-term...

The American family is changing. Individuals marry later, divorce more frequently, or live together without being married. Nonmarital births, complex custody arrangements, and multiple generations of families living together are more common, but the tax system has not kept pace. Although tax...

Many federal tax reform proposals would eliminate the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. Although deficit reduction often is the rationale, there are arguments for eliminating the deduction based on economic efficiency, equity, and improved federal fiscal policy. Eliminating the deduction,...