Research Areas
Tax Law
The Tax Foundation's Center for Legal Reform cultivates, explains, and advocates for tax legal reform. We develop innovative pro-growth ideas in tax law with leading experts, educate the legal community and the public about economics and taxpayer protections, and advocate that judicial and policy decisions on tax law promote simple, neutral, transparent, and stable tax policies.
Courts play an important role in developing tax policy, by interpreting tax codes, applying sections in individual cases, and dealing with circumstances unforeseen when legislation was drafted. By explaining complex tax legal reform issues to policymakers, the media, state groups, and the public, we encourage judicial and policy decisions that protect taxpayers and promote sound tax policy in federal and state law.
Specifically, our legal team focuses on cases and issues involving one or more of the following areas:
- Scope of State Taxing Authority - States should not impair our national market with protectionist barriers. So long as tax systems are defined by geography, tax assessment and nexus must be based on physical presence within geographic lines. A single transaction should not be subject to multiple taxation or burdensome calculation, assessment, or payment obligations.
- Definition of "Tax" - Many states have additional taxpayer safeguards for legislation that raises taxes, but in an effort to evade these safeguards, politicians are playing a word game. Any assessment that raises money in excess of what is needed to defray costs is a tax.
- Economic Incidence - Constitutionally questionable taxes often are enacted using formal language that suggests they will not be damaging, but the real-world effect is precisely what the law is meant to prevent. By being presented with information about economic impacts, judges can resist the danger of simply accepting what the law says will happen instead of what really happens.
- Taxpayer Protections - Entities imposing taxes and fees should treat like parties alike, with rules that are simple, transparent, stable, and neutral. There should be taxpayer protection provisions and they should be followed. The focus of taxes must be on raising revenue, not micromanaging decisions made by free people in the marketplace.
Read more about court cases in which the Tax Foundation has filed briefs. Click here for the latest blog posts on tax law, and click here for longer articles about tax law.
For information about our clerkship program for current law students, click here.
Additional questions about tax law? Contact us at (202) 464-6200.
Articles from the Tax Foundation
- Tax Foundation Submits Statement Supporting Business Tax Simplification, February 4, 2010
- A Uniform Physical Presence Standard Would Limit Destructive State Efforts to Export Tax Burdens, by Joseph Henchman, February 4, 2010
- Discriminatory Taxes on Online Travel Services Impede Interstate Commerce, February 3, 2010
- Cities Pursue Discriminatory Taxation of Online Travel Services, by Joseph Henchman, February 3, 2010
- Jeff Reed of McDermott Will & Emery: Amazon Taxes in New York, November 11, 2009
- "Amazon Tax" Unconstitutional and Unwise, by Joseph Henchman and Justin Burrows, September 15, 2009
- California Court Calls a Tax a Tax, Agreeing with Tax Foundation Amicus Brief , August 19, 2009
- Travis Greaves of the Tax Foundation: Judge Sotomayor's Tax Jurisprudence, July 29, 2009
- Past Sotomayor Opinions Not Encouraging for Opponents of State Tax Overreaching, by Travis Greaves and Joseph Henchman, July 14, 2009
- The Dangers of Privatizing Tax Collection: Priceline.com, Inc. v. City of Anaheim, by Joseph Henchman and Justin Burrows, June 25, 2009
- Justice Souter’s Tax Opinions Show Steady Erosion of Respect for Commerce Clause, by Travis Greaves, June 3, 2009
- Indiana Supreme Court Votes to Avoid Education Finance Litigation Mess, June 2, 2009
- Economic Incidence: Consumers May Not Remit Ohio’s Tax on Grocery Sales, But They Pay It, by Joseph Henchman, Maurice Thompson and Justin Burrows, May 26, 2009
- From the House That Ruth Built to the House the IRS Built, by Travis Greaves and Joseph Henchman, April 6, 2009
- Proposed Tax on AIG Bonuses Raises Constitutional and Policy Concerns, by Joseph Henchman, March 27, 2009
- Testimony before Maryland Legislature on Tax Increase Supermajority Requirements, by Joseph Henchman, March 5, 2009
- Charging Taxpayers for Tax Collection Is a Tax: Weisblat v. City of San Diego, by Joseph Henchman and Travis Greaves, February 6, 2009
- Urging the California Court of Appeal to Rule that Charging Taxpayers for Tax Collection is a Tax: Weisblat v. City of San Diego, by Joseph Henchman and Adam Van Susteren, February 5, 2009
- Permitting Class Refund Actions Is Key to Effective Challenges of Illegal Taxes: Ardon v. City of Los Angeles, by Joseph Henchman and Travis Greaves, November 24, 2008
- Urging California Court of Appeal to Permit Class Refund Actions in Challenges of Illegal Local Taxes-- Ardon v. City of Los Angeles, by Joseph Henchman and Edward M. Teyssier, November 14, 2008
- Urging North Carolina Courts to Hold Lottery Is a Tax -- Heatherly v. State, by Joseph Henchman, Chris Atkins and Kevin W. Benedict, September 8, 2008
- Tax Foundation Urges Texas Court to Avoid Sparking an Interstate Tax War, by Joseph Henchman and Paul Galindo, August 25, 2008
- Indiana Court Should Avoid Education Finance Mess: Bonner v. Daniels, by Joseph Henchman and Paul Galindo, August 18, 2008
- Urging Texas Court to Avoid Sparking an Interstate Tax War -- First American Title Ins. Co. v. Combs, by Joseph Henchman, August 12, 2008
- Urging Indiana Courts to Avoid Education Finance Mess -- Bonner v. Daniels, by Joseph Henchman, August 5, 2008
- Certainty and Uniformity: The Standards (Testimony Before Congress on H.R. 5267, the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2008), by Joseph Henchman, June 24, 2008
- Testimony on H.R. 5267, the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2008, by Joseph Henchman, June 24, 2008
- Case Presents Opportunity to Ensure Uniform Application of Tax Code and Prevent Harm to Taxpayers, by Joseph Henchman and Matthew Reddington, April 28, 2008
- Urging a Stop to South Dakota's Discriminatory Insurance Taxes -- Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Kinsman, by Joseph Henchman, April 15, 2008
- Supreme Court Backs Railroad, Throws Out Tax Assessment, by Joseph Henchman, March 1, 2008
- Virginia Supreme Court Rules that Giving Power to Tax to an Unelected Body is Unconstitutional, February 29, 2008
- Protecting Taxpayers from Fragmented State-by-State Interpretations of the Federal Tax Code -- Centerior Energy Corp. v. Mikulski, by Joseph Henchman and Erik S. Jaffe, February 22, 2008
- Virginia Supreme Court Considers Taxpayer Protections in NVTA Tax Case, by Joseph Henchman, February 13, 2008
- Don't Assume the U.S. Supreme Court Accepts Economic Nexus, by Joseph Henchman, December 17, 2007
- Defending Competitive Neutrality Before the Supreme Court, by Joseph Henchman, November 30, 2007
- Why the Quill Physical Presence Rule Shouldn't Go the Way of Personal Jurisdiction, by Joseph Henchman, November 5, 2007
- Protecting Competitive Neutrality Before the Supreme Court?Kentucky Department of Revenue v. Davis, by Brian E. Bailey and Chris Atkins, September 21, 2007
- Asking the U.S. Supreme Court to Rein in IRS Penalties on Struggling Businesses?Staff IT, Inc., v. United States, by Chris Atkins and George W. Connelly, September 20, 2007
- Protecting Taxpayers From Discriminatory Taxes at the U.S. Supreme Court?CSX Transportation, Inc. v. State Board of Equalization of Georgia, by Brian E. Bailey and Chris Atkins, July 30, 2007
- Appropriation by Litigation: Estimating the Cost of Judicial Mandates for State and Local Education Spending, by Chris Atkins, July 26, 2007
- Asking the U.S. Supreme Court to Settle Tax Nexus Issue?FIA Card Services, N.A., fka MBNA America Bank, N.A., v. Tax Commissioner of the State of West Virginia, by Chris Atkins and Kyle O. Sollie, May 9, 2007
- Arthur Rosen on the Commerce Clause, Nexus, and State Taxation of Business, February 13, 2007
- Establishing Physical Presence: Borders Online Case Reveals Court Disharmony in Applying Physical Presence Rules to State Sales Taxes, by Chris Atkins, September 26, 2006
- The Business Activity Tax Simplification Act: A Good Standard for Multi-State Business, by Chris Atkins, July 24, 2006
- Defending Tax Competition in the U.S. Supreme Court?DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Charlotte Cuno, et al., by Kyle O. Sollie and Chris Atkins, November 14, 2005
- A Twentieth Century Tax in the Twenty-First Century: Understanding State Corporate Tax Systems, by Chris Atkins, September 30, 2005
- Paying for "Civilized Society" in the Global Marketplace: H.R. 1956's Physical Presence Rule Accurately Matches Taxes Paid and Benefits Received, by Chris Atkins, September 26, 2005
- Cuno v. DaimlerChrysler: A Pyrrhic Victory for Economic Neutrality, by Chris Atkins, April 18, 2005
- FSC/ETI Transition Relief in the New JOBS Act: Does the U.S. Have to Quit Cold Turkey?, by Chris Atkins, March 28, 2005
- An Analysis of Misleading Attacks on Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights, by Chris Atkins, March 25, 2005
- Montana Corporate Tax Disclosure Lawsuit is Built on Shaky Foundations, by Chris Atkins, March 22, 2005
- Federal Court Ruling May Hurt Tax Competition, State Tax Reform, by Chris Atkins, September 20, 2004
- Current Problems and Issues in State Taxation of interstate Commerce, January 30, 1966
- Links to Other Tax Policy Resources, December 31, 1969