The Deduction

The past few years have brought a renewed push from countries across the globe to combat climate change. In the European Union, policymakers have put a timeline on their climate agenda. By 2050, the EU wants to achieve a net-zero economy.Sean Bray, director of European policy, breaks down how much it would cost to achieve this goal. He also discusses the similarities and differences between the EU’s and the U.S.’s climate plans, and how the EU should use its tax codes to make the transition to a net-zero economy as frictionless as possible.Links:https://taxfoundation.org/eu-green-transition-tax-policy/https://taxfoundation.org/tax-basics/full-expensing/https://taxfoundation.org/cbam-eu-carbon-border-tax/Follow Us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodwww.linkedin.com/in/seanpatrickbraySupport the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

The FairTax, on paper, sounds simple: just replace all major sources of the federal government’s revenue—the individual income tax, corporate income tax, estate and gift taxes, and payroll tax—with a national sales tax.But when you pull back the curtains, this proposal leads to more questions than answers.Alan Cole, senior economist, makes his Deduction debut to talk us through why this old idea is gaining attention this year. He breaks down what the FairTax shows us about the debate between income taxes versus consumption taxes, and why “simple solutions” appeal to so many policymakers for how best to tax an increasingly complex economy.Links:https://taxfoundation.org/fair-tax-national-sales-tax/https://taxfoundation.org/fairtax-consumption-taxes/https://taxfoundation.org/tax-basics/value-added-tax-vat/Follow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodhttps://twitter.com/AlanMColehttps://twitter.com/solisjesse Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

The tax base around the world is shrinking for traditional excise taxes, including taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and motor fuel. But newer excise taxes on things like carbon, cannabis, and ride-sharing are on the rise.This trend has the potential to significantly affect the global economy.Adam Hoffer, Director of Excise Tax Policy, joins Jesse to discuss how excise taxes have been used by policymakers in the past and how that is changing. They discuss what makes a good design for these taxes and where excise taxes may go in the future as the traditional “sin tax” base continues to shrink.Links:https://taxfoundation.org/global-excise-tax-policy-application-trends/https://taxfoundation.org/unlock-global-growth-role-of-taxation/https://taxfoundation.org/principles#Stabilityhttps://taxfoundation.org/taxedu-video-cannabis/https://taxfoundation.org/taxedu-video-carbon-tax-explained/Follow us!https://twitter.com/AdamJHofferhttps://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodhttps://twitter.com/solisjesseSupport the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

When we discuss tax policy, the conversation inevitably turns to who pays, who should pay, and how much they should pay.Unfortunately, the tax burdens debate is often missing a key point: how income transfer programs—like Social Security or Medicaid—affect households’ tax burdens.When looking at the whole picture, just how progressive is our tax code? Timothy Vermeer, senior policy analyst, joins Jesse to take a closer look. They discuss what is missing from the progressivity debate, and what lawmakers at the state and federal level should keep in mind when they consider tax reforms and interstate competition.Links:https://taxfoundation.org/who-pays-taxes-federal-state-local-tax-burden-transfers/https://taxfoundation.org/question-1-massachusetts-millionaires-tax/Follow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodhttps://twitter.com/tevermeerhttps://twitter.com/solisjesseSupport the showSupport the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

President Biden recently released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2024. As he has with previous budgets, the president is continuing to call for higher taxes on businesses and wealthy taxpayers.This may be the last budget President Biden releases before he announces a run for a second term. The White House says this budget will reduce the deficit, strengthen Medicare, and will only target the well-off.But are those claims true? Erica York, senior economist, walks through the details with Jesse. They discuss what the economic impact of this budget would be and what parts stand a chance at actually becoming law.Links:https://taxfoundation.org/biden-budget-tax-proposals-analysishttps://taxfoundation.org/biden-budget-taxes/https://taxfoundation.org/biden-tax-fairness/https://taxfoundation.org/growth-opportunity-us-tax-reform-plan/Follow us!:https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodhttps://twitter.com/ericadyorkhttps://twitter.com/solisjesseSupport the showSupport the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

Affordable housing is an issue that has had long-standing bipartisan interest in D.C. But the path to increase the supply of affordable housing, though often well-intentioned, has created a bureaucratic nightmare.Large programs like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and other initiatives like rehabilitation tax credits and grants, have created a web of complexity that makes these policies less helpful than they were meant to be.Garrett Watson, senior policy analyst, joins Jesse to break down the tax code’s relationship to affordable housing. He also discusses his testimony to the U.S. Senate about this topic, and where he thinks lawmakers should focus their efforts as they continue to debate these tax programs.Links:https://taxfoundation.org/expanding-affordable-housing/https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/tax-policys-role-in-increasing-affordable-housing-supply-for-working-familieshttps://taxfoundation.org/low-income-housing-tax-credit-lihtc/Follow us!https://twitter.com/deductionpodhttps://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/GS_Watsonhttps://twitter.com/solisjesseSupport the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

Filing season is ramping up, as most of us are getting ready to file our state and federal income taxes.But in nearly a third of U.S. states, taxpayers pay some sort of local income tax too. Levied in thousands of cities, counties, school districts, and other localities, local income taxes are often used to either lower other taxes (like property taxes) or raise more revenue for local services.While they may make sense on paper, local income taxes come with more challenges than other local revenue sources. Janelle Fritts, policy analyst with Tax Foundation's Center for State Tax Policy, walks Jesse through the origin of local income taxes and the trade-offs lawmakers need to keep in mind when considering them.Links:https://taxfoundation.org/local-income-taxes-2023Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

On Tuesday, President Biden shared his policy aspirations during the State of the Union address. The commander in chief outlined three tax proposals in his remarks: quadrupling the brand-new excise tax on stock buybacks, instituting a “billionaire minimum tax,” and extending the now-lapsed expanded Child Tax Credit.Erica York and Alex Muresianu from the federal tax policy team joined Jesse to give a run-down of Tuesday night’s events. They discuss the prospects of major tax changes becoming law in a divided government and what these proposals signal about how President Biden thinks about tax policy as he enters the latter half of his first term.Links:https://taxfoundation.org/biden-state-of-the-union-tax-proposals/https://taxfoundation.org/inflation-reduction-act-stock-buybacks/https://taxfoundation.org/biden-billionaire-tax-unrealized-capital-gains/https://taxfoundation.org/child-tax-credit-reform/https://taxfoundation.org/biden-administration-tax-proposals/https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-does-the-u-s-tax-code-penalize-r-d-big-tech-innov[…]acturing-production-growth-inflation-silicon-valley-11674415751Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

Since 2021, 43 states have provided substantial tax relief for taxpayers and businesses. But this year, a new trend has emerged in the opposite direction: a push for states to tax investment.From coordinated wealth tax proposals to higher capital gains income taxes, some state legislatures are going after high earners.Jared Walczak, V.P. of State Projects at the Tax Foundation, joins Jesse to discuss how these measures would affect investment, job creation, and migration between states—and why they’re happening now.Links:https://taxfoundation.org/state-wealth-tax-proposals/https://taxfoundation.org/state-population-change-2022/https://taxfoundation.org/2023-state-tax-changes/Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

It’s a new year. And if one thing is certain, it’s that businesses are facing a lot of uncertainty.Key parts of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 are kicking into effect, including the new book minimum tax.Erica York, senior economist at the Tax Foundation, joins Jesse to discuss why this policy came into the fold. They discuss if this tax will really stop companies from paying zero in taxes, as the president claims, if the new Republican House will revisit this debate, and what the tax's impact will be on jobs and economic growth.Links:https://taxfoundation.org/book-minimum-tax-analysis/https://twitter.com/ericadyork/status/1610328115393216512https://taxfoundation.org/federal-tax-lame-duck-2022-midterms/https://taxfoundation.org/warren-corporate-book-tax/https://taxfoundation.org/companies-paying-no-income-taxes/https://open.spotify.com/episode/2b6jGfzvyEbFYicob0YuHn?si=ae929bfae71042bbSupport the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show