Financial literacy is a problem that educators around the country are trying to tackle. Today, we’re speaking with Jed Collins, a former NFL player, who is leading the charge in the financial education arena by guiding high school and college students, as well as professional athletes, through the world of finance.  He’s passing down essential knowledge on understanding taxes, showing students that a good financial game plan can lead them towards a prosperous...

Americans are saving less. While the U.S. saving rate has regularly lagged behind its peers, it has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. Increasingly, people are turning to credit cards to fill the gaps in their budgets. Garrett Watson, Senior Policy Analyst and Modeling Manager at the Tax Foundation, joins Kyle Hulehan to discuss why the U.S. is struggling to save and what solutions exist within the tax code to help Americans save...

October is economic education month. An important part of economic education is understanding how taxes affect the economy. On this special episode of The Deduction, we discuss how Tax Foundation is doing just that through our tax literacy initiative, "TaxEDU."  Zoe Callaway, Manager of Education and Outreach, joins Kyle Hulehan to chat about why Tax Foundation launched TaxEDU and how TaxEDU is advancing tax policy education, discussion, and understanding in classrooms, living rooms, and...

Step into the shadows of illicit trade where taxation, incentives, and criminal networks intersect to fuel the lucrative cigarette smuggling market. Adam Hoffer, the Director of Excise Tax Policy, joins Kyle Hulehan to shed light on how substantial price markups on legal cigarettes pave the way for tempting tax avoidance opportunities. They unravel the unintended consequences of cigarette taxation and explore strategies to combat this burgeoning illicit...

The Inflation Reduction Act is an ambitious law with worthy goals to reduce deficits, fight inflation, help the IRS, and combat climate change. However, one year after its enactment, there are concerns about its overall fiscal impact, the additional complexity it introduces to the tax system, and the sustainability of its initiatives.  Will McBride, Vice President of Federal Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation, joins Kyle Hulehan to examine the Inflation Reduction Act one year later. They dive...

Interest rates and tax policy, two vital components of our economic landscape, often interact in fascinating ways. They influence the behavior of individuals, businesses, and governments. But how exactly?  Alan Cole, Senior Economist at the Tax Foundation, joins us to explore the complex effects of interest rate changes. We discuss how these shifts can impact everything, from budget deficits and tax revenues to investment choices and the overall...

It’s the 5th anniversary of the groundbreaking Wayfair Supreme Court decision—a ruling that marked a new era of sales tax collection and changed how we think about taxation in the digital age. South Dakota v. Wayfair established a new precedent, allowing states to assert their authority in collecting sales tax from remote sellers based on economic presence. Jared Walczak, Vice President of State Projects, joins Kyle to provide insights into the evolving legal framework surrounding the...

On this “not-so-heavy-on-the-policy” episode, our much-beloved host, Jesse Solis, is joined by the Deduction's Senior Producer, Dan Carvajal, and Marketing Associate, Kyle Hulehan, to share some bittersweet news. If you follow us on social media, you've undoubtedly come across something Kyle created. He is no stranger to the Tax Foundation, having interned here in 2018 and rejoining full-time last year, and his ever-brimming curiosity will be a welcome new seat at the table. Support the show

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

When it comes to international economic competition, people often frame the argument as the U.S. versus China. But across the Atlantic, nation-states in the European Union have been working hard to show the world that they deserve to be considered an economic force. Rising up to this challenge for the EU is easier said than done. Sean Bray, EU policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, joins Jesse to talk through the EU's challenges--and potential--when it comes to tax and economic...

Tax Foundation recently announced that Daniel Bunn is our new president and CEO. In this special episode of The Deduction¸ Daniel chats with Jesse about how he got into tax policy. They discuss his time in the Senate, his plans for Tax Foundation’s future, and even his obsession with smoking meats. Links: https://taxfoundation.org/staff/daniel-bunn/ https://twitter.com/danieldbunn https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielbunn Support the show

The 2022 midterm elections are wrapping up, and taxpayers are looking at a divided Congress for the next two years. Senior Policy Analyst Garrett Watson sits down with Jesse at Tax Foundation's headquarters to give a quick analysis of what these elections mean for tax policy. They talk through what we can expect from the approaching "lame-duck" session, what a Republican House and Democrat Senate could find agreement on, and what priorities the upcoming Congress should focus...

If you’ve been following taxes closely these past few months, you know that the UK is currently undergoing a drastic change. This episode of The Deduction is part one in our ongoing coverage of the UK’s tax battles. Jesse chats with Tom Clougherty, research director and head of tax at the Centre for Policy Studies in London. Tom talks us through what all went down in the UK this fall: from the leadership elections to the countless U-turns the new prime minister has made to try and reform the...

From the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017 to the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law just this summer, lawmakers across the political spectrum are often tempted to implement temporary tax reforms. But is this how tax policy should be done? Garrett Watson joins Jesse to discuss the pros and cons of writing tax laws that have an end date and why we find ourselves having a debate at the end of each year about so many temporary...

Maine has blueberry taxes. Alabama has mosquito taxes. Each state and county has its tax quirks. But when state and local governments want to raise revenues, there are four key taxes they turn to. Depending on where you live, the differences in these taxes between states can be significant.  Katherine Loughead, senior policy analyst, joins Jesse Solis to discuss trends we are currently seeing in state and local taxes and to break down how stable these revenue sources are for the places we...

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law recently by President Biden, includes a book minimum tax, which is raising the eyebrows of accountants everywhere. This new policy–a 15 percent tax applied to the financial statement income that companies report to their investors–is one of the law’s largest revenue raisers and joins plenty of other “minimum” taxes for multinational corporations, including GILTI and the OECD global minimum tax. Scott Dyreng, a professor of accounting at Duke...