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Individual Tax Compliance and Complexity

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2024 state and local tax ballot measures details analysis and tax ballot measure results

State Tax Ballot Measures to Watch in 2024

Taxes are on the ballot this November—not just in the sense that candidates at all levels are offering their visions for tax policy, but also in the literal sense that voters in some states will get to decide important questions about how their states raise revenue.

9 min read
Modernizing State Sales Tax Reform Options Guide

Modernizing State Sales Taxes: A Policymaker’s Guide

The sales tax is the second-largest source of state tax revenue and an important source of local tax revenue, but decades of base erosion threaten the tax’s share of overall revenue and have prompted years of countervailing rate increases.

72 min read
Kamala Harris unrealized capital gains tax proposal billionaire minimum tax

Analysis of Harris’s Billionaire Minimum Tax on Unrealized Capital Gains

In her campaign for president, VP Kamala Harris has embraced all the tax increases President Biden proposed in the White House FY 2025 budget—including a new idea that would require taxpayers with net wealth above $100 million to pay a minimum tax on their unrealized capital gains from assets such as stocks, bonds, or privately held companies.

5 min read
Taxes and interstate migration data from IRS and Census state migration trends show Americans moving to low-tax states 2024 interstate migration by state

Taxes and Interstate Migration: 2024 Update

The latest IRS and Census data show that people and businesses favor states with low and structurally sound tax systems, which can impact the state’s economic growth and governmental coffers.

8 min read
Do Americans Abroad Still Pay US Taxes?

Do Americans Abroad Still Pay US Taxes?

How does living abroad impact the taxes an American has to pay? Unlike most countries that tax based on residency, the US employs citizenship-based taxation, meaning Americans are taxed on their global income regardless of where they reside.

American retirement savings accounts including 401k and IRA contribution and withdrawals

American Retirement and Tax-Preferred Savings Accounts, Tax Year 2018

To encourage greater saving, the US federal income tax provides tax-neutral treatment to some types of saving through a variety of accounts. The type of tax treatment, contribution limits, withdrawal rules, and use cases for contributions all vary by account, leading to a complicated system for households to navigate.

11 min read
TCJA compliance and TCJA complexity costs did the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act simplify the US tax code?

How Did the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Simplify the Tax Code?

Not every change in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act simplified the tax code. However, the TCJA reduced compliance costs overall for individual filers, and allowing fundamental structural improvements to expire would make the tax code worse.

5 min read
IRS compliance costs tax complexity and tax compliance costs US

Tax Complexity Now Costs the US Economy Over $546 Billion Annually

Americans will spend more than 7.9 billion hours complying with IRS tax filing and reporting requirements in 2024. This is equal to 3.8 million full-time workers doing nothing but tax return paperwork—roughly equal to the population of Los Angeles.

7 min read

How Are Olympians and Attendees Taxed?

The 2024 Summer Olympics are underway, drawing the attention of billions and continuing a tradition dating back thousands of years. But you know what else originated thousands of years ago and affects even more people? Taxes.

3 min read
West Virginia Tax Relief and Reform

Good Policy Leads to More Tax Cuts for West Virginia

Next year, West Virginians will see an income tax cut thanks to revenue triggers in a 2023 law. The Mountain State joins 14 other states that have cut income taxes this year.

4 min read
Where Does Kamala Harris Stand on Taxes?

Where Does Kamala Harris Stand on Taxes?

While both President Biden and Vice President Harris aim their proposed tax hikes on businesses and high earners, key differences between their tax ideas in the past reveal where Harris may take her tax policy platform in the 2024 campaign.

6 min read
Trump no tax on tips proposal to exempt tipping from income taxation

Frustrated with Tipping? No Tax on Tips Could Make It Worse

“No tax on tips” might be a catchy idea on the campaign trail. But it could create plenty of headaches, from figuring out tips on previously untipped services to an unexpectedly large loss of federal revenue.

6 min read
Hungary EU presidency tax reform and tax policies

Tax Files under New Council of EU Presidency: Hungary

As Hungary takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in the aftermath of the European elections, the relationship between tax policy and Europe’s competitiveness will be closely linked.

6 min read

A Big-Picture Look at Taxing the Wealthy

Taxing wealth has become a hot-button issue in today’s political discourse, promising to reshape economic equality. But what are the real-world implications of such policies?

Portland tax rates and complexity Portland Oregon income tax rates

Portland’s Weirdly High Taxes

Portland residents face some of the country’s highest taxes on just about every class of income. In an era of dramatically increased mobility for individuals and businesses alike, that’s not a recipe for success. 

11 min read