Publications
Tax Reform
A well-designed tax system raises revenue for necessary programs as efficiently, fairly, and simply as possible. The goal of fundamental tax reform is to reconcile these often-conflicting goals, and reform the current tax system in a way that minimizes the compexity, unfairness and economic inefficiency that have characterized the U.S. tax system for generations.
Additional questions about tax reform? Contact us at (202) 464-6200.
Publications from The Tax Foundation
- How to Judge a Tax Plan, by William McBride, December 15, 2011
- Unemployment Insurance Taxes: Options for Program Design and Insolvent Trust Funds, by Joseph Henchman, October 17, 2011
- “Tax Reform: The Key to a Growing Economy and Higher Living Standards for All Americans” (Testimony Before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Budget), by Scott A. Hodge, September 14, 2011
- The Proper Role of Taxes in Deficit and Debt Reduction, by David S. Logan, July 29, 2011
- Prepared Statement of Joseph Henchman: Hearing on the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2011, by Joseph Henchman, April 13, 2011
- Ryan Plan Smartly Marries Tax Reform with Spending Reform, April 5, 2011
- Testimony of Scott Hodge before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, Hearing on Distribution and Efficiency of Spending in the Tax Code, by Scott A. Hodge, March 9, 2011
- Recent State Tax Reforms in the United States and Opportunities for California at a Time of Fiscal Challenge (Testimony before California's Select Committee on Recovery, Reform, and Realignment), by Joseph Henchman, February 2, 2011
- VIdeo: Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge Testifies to Minnesota Legislature on Corporate Tax Reform, February 1, 2011
- President’s Deficit Commission Says Federal Government Should Be 21 Percent of GDP, by Joseph Henchman, December 3, 2010
- Rhode Island Officials Consider Income Tax Reform, by Joseph Henchman and Kail Padgitt, June 2, 2010
- Illinois Should Respond to Recession by Broadening Tax Bases and Spending Frugally, Not by Raising the Personal Income Tax Rate, by Justin Higginbottom, March 11, 2010
- Georgia Should Respond to Recession with Tax Reform, Not Tax Gimmicks, by Justin Higginbottom, February 19, 2010
- Testimony to Vermont Blue Ribbon Tax Structure Commission: Options for Improving Vermont’s Tax Competitiveness, by William Ahern, November 17, 2009
- The Pine Tree State Chops Down Income Tax: Maine Enacts Major Tax Reform, by Kail Padgitt, June 23, 2009
- Moving Forward with Bipartisan Tax Policy, by Robert Carroll, John E. Chapoton, Maya MacGuineas and Diane Lim Rogers, February 12, 2009
- State Budget Shortfalls Present a Tax Reform Opportunity, by Joseph Henchman, February 11, 2009
- The Right Prescription for Mississippi, by Joseph Henchman, August 19, 2008
- Testimony on H.R. 5267, the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2008, by Joseph Henchman, June 24, 2008
- Tax: Fundamentals in Advance of Reform (Testimony of Robert J. Carroll Before the Senate Committee on Finance), by Robert Carroll, April 15, 2008
- An Opportunity to Improve Mississippi's Tax Climate, by Joseph Henchman and Tonya Barr, April 3, 2008
- Pennsylvania Governor's Borrowing Proposals Short-Sighted (Testimony Before the Pennsylvania House Republican Policy Committee), by Joseph Henchman, February 27, 2008
- Fiscal Stimulus: Missing the Big Picture?, by Robert Carroll, January 11, 2008
- Tax Foundation Testimony Before the Ways and Means Committee of the Vermont Legislature, by William Ahern and Gerald Prante, December 11, 2007
- Effects of Allowing Filers the Option of Filing Under an Optional 24 Percent Flat Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, November 9, 2007
- Effects of Allowing Filers the Option of Filing Under an Optional 22 Percent Flat Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, November 9, 2007
- Effects of Allowing Filers the Option of Filing Under an Optional 21 Percent Flat Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, November 9, 2007
- Effects of Allowing Filers the Option of Filing Under an Optional 20 Percent Flat Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, November 9, 2007
- A State-by-State Estimate of Individual Income Tax Changes from Rangel's "Mother of All Reforms" Bill, by Gerald Prante, October 29, 2007
- Tax Reform: Flat Tax or FairTax?, by Scott A. Hodge, August 20, 2007
- U.S. Still Lagging Behind OECD Corporate Tax Trends, by Chris Atkins and Scott A. Hodge, July 24, 2007
- Most Americans Don't Itemize on Their Tax Returns, by Gerald Prante, July 23, 2007
- Questions and Answers on the Alternative Minimum Tax, by Gerald Prante, July 21, 2007
- In OECD Comparison of Wage Taxes, U.S. Ranking Would Slip Badly if 2001 Tax Cuts Expired, by Chris Atkins, July 9, 2007
- A Progressive AMT Fix Without Higher Tax Rates, by Gerald Prante, June 27, 2007
- Comparing Popular Tax Deductions to the Bush Tax Cuts, by Gerald Prante, June 21, 2007
- Fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax, by Patrick Fleenor, May 17, 2007
- Testimony of Scott A. Hodge Before the Senate Committee on Finance, May 10, 2007
- Roundtable Discussion on the Tax Gap and Ways to Improve Tax Compliance, by Scott A. Hodge, March 13, 2007
- Georgia's Tax System: A Factual Foundation for Fundamental Tax Reform, by Jonathan Williams, January 30, 2007
- What West Virginia Needs to Do in Order to Compete in the 21st Century, by Curtis S. Dubay, December 11, 2006
- Issues in the Indexation of Capital Gains, by Curtis S. Dubay, November 22, 2006
- Double-Taxing Capital Income: How Bad Is the Problem?, by Patrick Fleenor, November 16, 2006
- Options for Reforming the U.S. Corporate Income Tax, by Jonathan Williams and Patrick Fleenor, May 8, 2006
- Who Benefits from the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction?, by Gerald Prante, February 6, 2006
- Charities and Public Goods: The Case for Reforming the Federal Income Tax Deduction for Charitable Gifts, by Andrew Chamberlain and Mark Sussman, November 23, 2005
- Response to the Final Report of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, by TF Staff, November 1, 2005
- Putting a Face On America's Tax Returns, by Scott A. Hodge, November 1, 2005
- Taxing More, Taking Less: How Broadening the Federal Tax Base Can Reduce Income Tax Rates, by Patrick Fleenor, October 31, 2005
- Countdown to Tax Reform, Part VI: Cost of Living and Tax Burdens, by Scott A. Hodge, October 27, 2005
- Countdown to Tax Reform, Part V: High-Income Taxpayers and the Entrepreneurial Class, by Scott A. Hodge, October 25, 2005
- Countdown to Tax Reform, Part IV: Life Cycle and Income Inequality, by Scott A. Hodge, October 20, 2005
- Countdown to Tax Reform, Part III: Who Pays Income Taxes in America?, by Scott A. Hodge, October 18, 2005
- Countdown to Tax Reform, Part II: Taxpayers and Non-Payers, by Scott A. Hodge, October 13, 2005
- Countdown to Tax Reform, Part I: Not Your Father's Middle Class, by Scott A. Hodge, October 11, 2005
- America's Shrinking Income Tax Base Requires Higher Rates for Everyone, by Patrick Fleenor and Andrew Chamberlain, September 21, 2005
- Tax Reform and Revenue Neutrality: President's Panel Should Avoid the Redistribution of 1986, by Chris Atkins, July 13, 2005
- Backgrounder on the Individual Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), by Andrew Chamberlain and Patrick Fleenor, May 24, 2005
- The Case for a Single-Rate Tax: Why Our Progressive Tax Code is Inconsistent with the Changing Face of American Taxpayers, by Scott A. Hodge, April 29, 2005
- Competitive Advantage: A Study of the Federal Tax Exemption for Credit Unions, by John A. Tatom, Ph.D., February 28, 2005
- 67th National Conference and Annual Dinner, November 18, 2004
- The Cost of Complying with the Federal Income Tax, by J. Scott Moody, July 1, 2002
- Border Tax Adjustments and Fundamental Tax Reform, by William P. Orzechowski, November 1, 2001
- The Cost of Tax Compliance, by J. Scott Moody, July 1, 2001
- The Cost of Complying with the U.S. Federal Income Tax, by J. Scott Moody, November 1, 2000
- The Impact of Tax Complexity on Small Business, by J. Scott Moody, September 1, 2000
- International Aspects of Tax Reform, by J. D. Foster, Ph.D., April 1, 2000
- Tax Reform Transition: From Obstacle to Tail Wind, by J. D. Foster, Ph.D., March 1, 1999
- Federal Excise Taxes and the Distribution of Taxes Under Tax Reform, by J. Scott Moody, January 1, 1999
- Principles and Practices of Tax Reform Transition, by J. D. Foster, Ph.D., March 1, 1997
- The Flax Tax and Housing Values, by J. D. Foster, Ph.D., May 1, 1996
- A Journalist's Handbook on Tax Reform, by Annette Nellen, May 1, 1996
- Analysis and Summary of the National Retail Sales Tax Act of 1996, by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D., March 1, 1996
- An Analysis of the Tax Burden and Compliance Costs of the Armey-Shelby Flat Tax, by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D., July 1, 1995
- How Will Alternative Tax Reform Plans Affect the Jones Family?, by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D., May 1, 1995
- Analysis and Summary of the "Contract with America Tax Relief Act of 1995", by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D., March 1, 1995
- The Contract with America and Tax Reform, by J. D. Foster, Ph.D., January 11, 1995
- Cutting Federal Spending May Be as Easy as A to Z, by Patrick Fleenor, July 1, 1994
- More Battles over Tax Burdens, April 16, 1987
- The Uses of a Business Transfer Tax, by TF Staff, December 20, 1985
- Working Paper: Battle Over State/Local Tax Deductions High Income Tax Burdens II, September 9, 1985
- VAT After All?, August 5, 1985
- Expenditure Control: The True Road to Tax Reform, by Murray L. Weidenbaum, January 1, 1985
- Flatter Taxes and Fatter Bases: An Evaluation of Current Proposals, January 1, 1985
- Consumption Tax: An Idea Whose Time is Coming?, by TF Staff, January 1, 1983
- A Value-Added Tax for the United States?, by TF Staff, June 1, 1979
- Tax Review: Value-Added Tax and the Financing of Social Security, by Gerard Brannon, May 1, 1979
- Corporate Tax Integration: A Quantitative Comparison of Alternatives, by Martin S. Feldstein and Daniel J. Frisch, December 1, 1977
- Issues In Federal Tax Revision: Tax Developments in 1975, December 31, 1975
- Issues In Federal Tax Revision: Tax Developments in 1974, December 31, 1974
- Issues In Federal Tax Revision: Tax Developments in 1973, November 15, 1973
- Tax Review: Taxpayer Choices in Future Tax Shifts, by Vito Tanzi, November 1, 1972
- Tax Reduction and Reform: A Summary of President Kennedy's Tax Proposals, by TF Staff, February 11, 1963
- Reconstructing the Federal Tax System: A Guide to the Issues, by TF Staff, January 1, 1963
- Tax Review: Income Tax Simplification, by Harley L. Lutz, July 1, 1943