New Jersey’s Proposed Menthol Ban Is All Pain and No Gain

New Jersey’s proposed ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes (Assembly Bill 1989) would reduce excise and sales tax collections by as much as $243 million per year. Despite the significant revenue loss, smoking rates are unlikely to decline. New Jersey should look to the recent Massachusetts experiment to see what to expect if they…

Push for Higher Taxes is Misguided During a Time of Inflation and Looming Recession

Efforts to raise taxes on corporations and high-income earners recently hit a brick wall when U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) once again expressed concerns about inflation and a potential recession. That would seem to be the end of the story, as there is no reason to think inflation will be going away anytime soon and…

How Tariffs and the Trade War Hurt U.S. Agriculture

With inflation continuing to skyrocket, especially for food, which reached 10.4 percent in June, it is worth examining how the ongoing U.S. trade war with China and U.S. tariff policy overall has impacted U.S. agriculture and food prices. The economic literature shows that the U.S. import tariffs and subsequent retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and…

Sources of Personal Income, Tax Year 2019

Key Findings Taxpayers reported nearly $12.1 trillion of total income on their 2019 tax returns. About 68 percent ($8.3 trillion) of the total income reported on Form 1040 consisted of wages and salaries, and 82 percent of all tax filers reported earning wage income. Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and pensions are important sources of…

Inconsistent Tax Treatment of Student Debt Forgiveness Creates Confusion

Student debt forgiveness has been at the forefront of recent federal policy discussions, with President Biden exploring using executive action to cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt per borrower. Under current law, the tax code handles debt forgiveness differently depending on the borrower’s repayment plan—canceling student loan debt would have new, potentially complicated…

Biden and OECD Tax Proposals Would Hurt FDI

The Biden administration has proposed several changes to the U.S. international tax system that would raise taxes on multinational enterprises (MNEs). Similarly, the OECD’s tax proposals would raise taxes on MNEs. Together, the proposals would affect patterns of international investment and potentially decrease the volume of foreign direct investment (FDI). Under the tax proposals in…

Tax Files Under New Council of EU Presidency: Czechia

On July 1st, Czechia assumed the rotating Council of the EU Presidency from France. The country will chair Council meetings and represent the Council in relations with other European Union institutions until the end of 2022. There are many tax-related files that remain in the legislative pipeline from the French Presidency that Czechia will need to…