Last week, Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) introduced H.R. 11, the Commitment to American GROWTH Act, outlining an alternative to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s tax vision. The proposal would address upcoming expirations of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and create or expand other tax […]
The work at the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) has included plans to propose a global minimum tax. While negotiations are ongoing, it is worth considering a design for the minimum tax that would be neutral toward investment decisions and minimize complexity and compliance costs. Over the summer, a draft of an OECD […]
The Republican National Convention is underway this week and President Trump’s campaign released a second term agenda outlining his policy vision in broad strokes. While light on detail, the agenda includes a few tax policy items like expanding existing tax breaks, creating credits for specific industries and activities, and unspecified tax cuts for individuals. The […]
One under-discussed part of the CARES Act, passed in March to provide economic relief during the COVID-19 epidemic, is a correction to a drafting error in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, often known as the “retail glitch.” The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provided 100 percent bonus depreciation for many short-lived assets, […]
Yesterday, Scott Pulsipher and Michael B. Horn wrote on RealClearPolicy.com, “An obstacle to employers investing more in their employees’ education is that Section 127 of the tax code has been frozen in time since 1986.” Section 127 allows employers to provide up to $5,250 annually for worker education costs that can be tax-deductible and excludable […]
As with capital investment, businesses cannot immediately deduct the full cost of inventory purchases against taxable income. Instead, the cost of inventories is deducted when sold. The deduction amount depends on the inventory valuation method. Today’s map shows which of the three inventory valuation methods European OECD countries require their businesses to use for tax […]
Housing affordability was a major issue even before the COVID-19 crisis and corresponding recession, but the current economic hardship has made it more salient. Immediate support for people struggling makes sense now, but lawmakers should also consider long-term solutions to the problem of high rents, namely by expanding the supply of housing. Improving the tax […]
Today, Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Martha McSally (R-AZ) introduced the CREATE JOBS Act (Cost Recovery and Expensing Acceleration to Transform the Economy and Jumpstart Opportunities for Businesses and Startups) that would make two significant changes to incentivize investment in the United States. The proposal would prevent scheduled changes that would worsen the tax treatment […]
Recent IRS data gives us insights into new capital expenditures made by both individuals and corporations in 2016. In total, the IRS estimates that individuals reported $347.1 billion in capital expenditures and corporations reported nearly $1 trillion of assets placed into service. An important takeaway from this data is that it sheds light on what […]
Key Findings Allowing companies to fully and immediately deduct investments in structures is one of the most cost-efficient ways lawmakers can stimulate investment, create jobs, and boost GDP during a post-pandemic recovery. Changes to depreciation schedules in the two pieces of major tax legislation in the 1980s influenced investment in real estate and have since […]