The Tax Foundation is the world’s leading independent tax policy 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For over 80 years, our mission has remained the same: to improve lives through tax policies that lead to greater economic growth and opportunity.
Our Center for Federal Tax Policy, Center for State Tax Policy, and Center for Global Tax Policy each produce timely and high-quality research and analysis that influences the debate toward economically principled tax policies. Our experts are continuously analyzing the day’s most relevant tax policy topics and are relied upon routinely for presentations, testimony, and media appearances on tax issues spanning every level of government.
Likewise, providing journalists, taxpayers, and policymakers with basic data on taxes and spending has been a cornerstone of the Tax Foundation’s educational mission since its founding. As we wrote in our first edition of Facts & Figures in 1941, “Facts give a broader perspective; facts dissipate predilections and prejudices…[and are] an important step to meet the challenge presented by the broad problems of public finance.”
Policymakers should have two priorities in the upcoming economic policy debates: a larger economy and fiscal responsibility. Principled, pro-growth tax policy can help accomplish both.
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The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
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While there are many factors that affect a country’s economic performance, taxes play an important role. A well-structured tax code is easy for taxpayers to comply with and can promote economic development while raising sufficient revenue for a government’s priorities.
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Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
Unless Congress acts, Americans are in for a tax hike in 2026.
3 min read
Tax policy has become a significant focus of the U.S. 2024 presidential election. Our new interactive tool helps keep track of the tax policies proposed by presidential candidates during their campaigns.
The variety of approaches to taxation among European countries creates a need to evaluate these systems relative to each other. For that purpose, we have developed the European Tax Policy Scorecard—a relative comparison of European countries’ tax systems.
52 min read
This tax reform plan would boost long-run GDP by 2.5%, grow wages by 1.4%, and add 1.3M jobs, all while collecting a similar amount of tax revenue as the current code and reducing the long-run debt burden.
39 min read
States are unprepared for the ongoing shift to remote and flexible work arrangements, or for the industries and activities of today, to say nothing of tomorrow. In some states, moreover, existing tax provisions exacerbate the impact of high inflation and contribute to the supply chain crisis.
40 min read
Tax burdens rose across the country as pandemic-era economic changes caused taxable income, activities, and property values to rise faster than net national product. Tax burdens in 2020, 2021, and 2022 are all higher than in any other year since 1978.
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Of the 225 jurisdictions around the world, only six have increased their top corporate income tax rate in 2023, a trend that might be reversed in the coming years as more countries agree to implement the global minimum tax.
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A landmark comparison of corporate tax costs in all 50 states, Location Matters provides a comprehensive calculation of real-world tax burdens, going beyond headline rates to demonstrate how tax codes impact businesses and offering policymakers a road map to improvement.
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The 2021 tax year was the fourth since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made many significant, but temporary, changes to the individual income tax code to lower tax rates, widen brackets, increase the standard deduction and child tax credit, and more.
9 min read
At the end of 2025, the individual tax provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) expire all at once. Without congressional action, most taxpayers will see a notable tax increase relative to current policy in 2026.
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If reelected, President Trump would drastically escalate the trade war he started during his first term. But what often goes unnoticed is President Biden’s role in continuing Trump’s first trade war. In fact, more tax revenue from the trade war tariffs has been collected under Biden than under Trump.
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The structure of a country’s tax code is an important determinant of its economic performance. Our 2018 international tax rankings provide a road map for each of the 35 OECD countries to improve the structure of their tax codes and achieve a more neutral, more competitive tax system.
11 min read
Our 2019 State Business Tax Climate Index compares each state on over 100 variables including corporate, individual, property, and sales taxes. How does your state rank?
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Stock buybacks are readily visible, and unfortunately some have misunderstood stock buybacks to be taking place at the expense of long-term investments.
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The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made significant progress in improving businesses’ ability to recover the cost of making investments in the United States by enacting 100 percent bonus depreciation.
11 min read
Policymakers from across the spectrum recognize that Pennsylvania’s tax code has not kept up with a 21st century economy. Here are comprehensive solutions for how Pennsylvania can achieve a more competitive tax code.
13 min read
What is included in the “Wayfair checklist,” what policy choices do legislators have to make their state compliant, and, ultimately, how prepared is each state to start requiring that online retailers collect sales tax?
42 min read
Tax compliance creates real costs, which can be calculated. Each method provides unique illustrations of the cost of complying with U.S. tax code.
11 min read
Virginia has an opportunity to improve its tax competitiveness following the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Inaction will result in higher taxes.
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The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced the corporate income tax rate from the highest statutory rate in the developed world to a more globally competitive 21 percent.
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The newly expanded standard deduction will reduce the time taxpayers spend working on Form 1040 by 4 to 7 percent, translating into $3.1 to $5.4 billion saved annually.
15 min read
Wisconsin’s tax system needs to be more competitive. New revenue from online sales taxes will make it easier to accomplish comprehensive reforms that benefit all Wisconsinites.
13 min read
Connecticut has failed to live up to the expectations of 1991. Changes intended to make tax collections more stable, combined with constraints intended to promote fiscal prudence, have strayed far wide of the mark. To turn things around, Connecticut needs a more competitive tax code.
32 min read