The Deduction

Episode Description: State lawmakers have been on the move this year. One major trend that has been taking place? A push for flat taxes.In more than 100 years of state income taxes, only four states have ever moved from a graduated-rate income tax to a flat tax. Another four may adopt flat tax legislation just this year.Jared Walczak, vice president for state projects, joins Jesse Solis this week to discuss what flat taxes are, what they mean for taxpayers, and why so many states are making a push for them this year.Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

President Biden this week released his annual budget. In a letter to lawmakers, the 46th President said that this $5.8 trillion package would “[grow] our economy, while ensuring that the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations begin to pay their fair share.”This week, Garrett Watson joins Jesse Solis to break down what the President is proposing for this upcoming fiscal year. Garrett discusses what the budget could actually means for the policy debate in D.C., as well as what its impact would be on the U.S. economy in the face of record-high inflation.Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

Late last year, over 130 countries agreed to a global minimum tax, a purported end-all and be-all to the "race to the bottom."But this policy is complex, and countries are already struggling to implement these new rules. Daniel Bunn, Vice President of Global Projects, joins Jesse to talk through how this policy came to be, identify where problems are beginning to arise, and dispel some common myths about this emerging new tax system.Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

The cost of gas is going up. To address this, policymakers have proposed suspending the gas tax as a way to give taxpayers immediate relief at the pump.Alex Muresianu, a federal policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, argues that a gas tax holiday could actually make matters worse; that instead of lowering prices and easing inflation, it could have the opposite effect.He joins Jesse Solis on this week's episode of The Deduction to discuss why suspending the gas tax would be a mistake and what lawmakers could do to help with the rising costs of gas.Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

The expanded Child Tax Credit from the American Rescue Plan was touted as a once-in-a-lifetime achievement toward reducing child poverty. But it was passed as a temporary tax measure. Temporary tax policy makes tax filing confusing, and the IRS has shown that it isn’t able to keep pace with being a social administrator and a tax collector.Senior economist Erica York joins Jesse Solis to discuss what taxpayers need to know about the ever-changing Child Tax Credit and how it may impact taxpayers’ this spring as they continue to file their taxes.Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

After a whirlwind of cuts and reforms in 2021, it looks like 2022 might be an even bigger year for state tax codes. Republican and Democratic governors alike used their annual State of the State addresses to call for tax reform, and there is already serious momentum from state lawmakers nationwide to get the job done.Jared Walczak, Vice President of State Projects, joins host Jesse Solis to discuss why exactly states are looking to make so many tax changes now and how these proposals might play out in statehouses.Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

The 2022 tax filing season is about to begin. But before the first returns have even been processed, the IRS is warning Americans to prepare for the worst.With expected delays, pandemic-related troubles, and a backlog of over 8 million unprocessed returns from the 2021 tax filing season, Garrett Watson joins Jesse Solis to discuss what all these troubles will mean for taxpayers in what is shaping up to be a chaotic spring.Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

New research shows that the United States had the second largest fiscal response to the COVID-19 pandemic globally. But did this magnitude of stimulus have the economic impact policymakers were hoping for? Alex Durante, economist at the Tax Foundation, joins host Jesse Solis to take a deeper dive into what these fiscal measures actually achieved and what Capitol Hill might do next in response to the omicron variant.Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

The House has passed the Build Back Better Act, a multi-trillion-dollar package funding a number of social programs that President Biden has made tenets of his agenda. Its chances are still shaky in the Senate, where Democratic leaders have pressed for urgency while moderates have called for a pause. Senior policy analyst Garrett Watson joins host Jesse Solis to discuss the bill's prospects and what tax changes--ranging from SALT to the Child Tax Credit--could change in order to gain enough support for passage.Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show

Infrastructure has made its way across the finish line, but the tax debate is far from over on Capitol Hill. Senior policy analyst Garrett Watson joins host Jesse Solis to walk us through the latest iteration of Democrats' trillion-dollar reconciliation package and the myriad tax changes that are being proposed to finance this deal.Support the showFollow us!https://twitter.com/TaxFoundationhttps://twitter.com/deductionpodSupport the show