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50+ Focused Taxation Research Topics For Your Dissertation

Published by Ellie Cross at December 29th, 2022 , Revised On May 2, 2024

A thorough understanding of taxation involves drawing from multiple sources to understand its goals, strategies, techniques, standards, applications, and many types. Tax dissertations require extensive research across a variety of areas and sources to reach a conclusive result. It is important to understand and present tax dissertation themes well since they deal with technical matters.

Choosing the right topic in the area of taxation can assist students in understanding how much insight and knowledge they can contribute and the tools they will need to authenticate their study. 

If you are not sure what to write about, here are a few top taxation dissertation topics to inspire you .

The Most Pertinent Taxation Topics & Ideas

• The effects of tax evasion and avoidance on and the supporting data
• How does budgeting affect the management of tertiary institutions?
• How does intellectual capital affect the development and growth of huge companies, using Microsoft and Apple as examples?
• The importance and function of audit committees in South Africa and China: similarities and disparities
• How taxation can aid in closing the fiscal gap in the UK economy’s budget
• A UK study comparing modern taxation and the zakat system
• Is it appropriate to hold the UK government accountable for subpar services even after paying taxes?
• Taxation’s effects on both large and small businesses
• The impact of foreign currencies on the nation’s economy and labour market and their detrimental effects on the country’s tax burden
• A paper explaining the importance of accounting in the tax department
• To contribute to the crucial growth of the nation, do a thorough study on enhancing tax benefits among American residents
• A thorough comparison of current taxes and the Islamic zakat system is presented. Which one is more beneficial and effective for reducing poverty?
• According to the most recent academic study on tax law, what essential improvements are needed to implement tax laws in the UK?
• A thorough investigation of Australian tax department employees’ active role in assisting residents of all Commonwealth states to pay their taxes on time.
• Why establishing a taxation system is essential for a country’s growth
• What is the tax system’s greatest benefit to the poor?
• Is it legitimate to lower the income tax so that more people begin paying it?
• What is the most significant investment made using tax revenue by the government?
• Is it feasible for the government to create diverse social welfare policies without having the people pay the appropriate taxes?
• How tax avoidance by people leads to an imbalance in the government budget
• What should deter people from trying to avoid paying taxes on time?
• Workers of the tax department’s role in facilitating tax evasion through corruption
• Investigate the changes that should be made to the current taxation system. A case study based on the most recent UK tax studies
• Examine the variables that affect the amount of income tax UK people are required to pay
• An analysis of the effects of intellectual capital on the expansion and development of large businesses and multinationals. An Apple case study
• A comparison of the administration and policy of taxes in industrialised and emerging economies
• A detailed examination of the background and purposes of international tax treaties. How successful were they?
• An examination of the effects of taxation on small and medium-sized enterprises compared to giant corporations
• An examination of the effects of tax avoidance and evasion. An analysis of the worldwide Panama crisis and how tax fraud was carried out through offshore firms
• A critical analysis of how the administration of higher institutions is impacted by small business budgeting
• Recognising the importance of foreign currency in a nation’s economy. How can foreign exchange and remittances help a nation’s finances?
• An exploration of the best ways tax professionals may persuade customers to pay their taxes on time
• An investigation of the potential impact of tax and accounting education on the achievement of the nation’s leaders
• How the state might expand its revenue base by focusing on new taxing areas. Gaining knowledge of the digital content creation and freelance industries
• An evaluation of the negative impacts of income tax reduction. Will it prompt more people to begin paying taxes?
• A critical examination of the state’s use of tax revenue for human rights spending. A UK case study
• A review of the impact of income tax on new and small enterprises. Weighing the benefits and drawbacks
• A comprehensive study of managing costs so that money may flow into the national budget without interruption. A study of Norway as an example
• An overview of how effective taxes may contribute to a nation’s development of a welfare state. A study of Denmark as an example
• What are the existing problems that prevent the government systems from using the tax money they receive effectively and completely?
• What are people’s opinions of those who frequently avoid paying taxes?
• Explain the part tax officials play in facilitating tax fraud by accepting small bribes
• How do taxes finance the growth and financial assistance of the underprivileged in the UK?
• Is it appropriate to criticise the government for not providing adequate services when people and businesses fail to pay their taxes?
• A comprehensive comparison of current taxes and the Islamic zakat system is presented. Which one is more beneficial and effective for reducing poverty?
• A critical evaluation of the regulatory organisations was conducted to determine the tax percentage on different income groups in the UK.
• An investigation into tax evasion: How do wealthy, influential people influence the entire system?
• To contribute to the crucial growth of the nation, conduct a thorough investigation of enhancing tax benefits among British nationals.
• An assessment of the available research on the most effective ways to manage and maintain an uninterrupted flow of funds for a better economy.
• The effect and limitations of bilateral and multilateral tax treaties in addressing double taxation and preventing tax evasion.
• Assess solutions: OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project and explore the implications for multinational corporations.
• The Impact of Tax cuts in Obtaining Social, monetary, and Aesthetic Ends That Benefit the Community.
• Exploring the Effect of Section 1031 of the Tax Code During Transactions on Investors and Business People. 
• Investigating the role of environmental taxes and incentives in addressing global environmental challenges.
• Evaluating the impact of increased transparency on multinational enterprises and global efforts to combat tax evasion and illicit financial flows.
• Exploring the health and financial effects of a proposed policy to increase the excise tax on cigarettes.

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We hope that you will be able to write a first-class dissertation or thesis on one of the issues identified above at your own pace and submit a solid draft. If you wish to use any of the above taxation dissertation topics directly, you may do so. Many people, however, prefer tailor-made topics that meet their specific needs. If you need help with topics or a taxation dissertation, you can also use our dissertation writing services . Place your order now !

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Frequently Asked Questions

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To find taxation dissertation topics:

• Study recent tax reforms.
• Analyse cross-border tax issues.
• Explore digital taxation challenges.
• Investigate tax evasion or avoidance.
• Examine environmental tax policies.
• Select a topic aligned with law, economics, or business interests.

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• 15 Dec 2020
• Working Paper Summaries

Designing, Not Checking, for Policy Robustness: An Example with Optimal Taxation

The approach used by most economists to check academic research results is flawed for policymaking and evaluation. The authors propose an alternative method for designing economic policy analyses that might be applied to a wide range of economic policies.

• 31 Aug 2020
• Research & Ideas

State and Local Governments Peer Into the Pandemic Abyss

State and local governments that rely heavily on sales tax revenue face an increasing financial burden absent federal aid, says Daniel Green. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 12 May 2020

Elusive Safety: The New Geography of Capital Flows and Risk

Examining motives and incentives behind the growing international flows of US-denominated securities, this study finds that dollar-denominated capital flows are increasingly intermediated by tax haven financial centers and nonbank financial institutions.

• 01 Apr 2019
• What Do You Think?

Does Our Bias Against Federal Deficits Need Rethinking?

SUMMING UP. Readers lined up to comment on James Heskett's question on whether federal deficit spending as supported by Modern Monetary Theory is good or evil. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 20 Mar 2019

In the Shadows? Informal Enterprise in Non-Democracies

With the informal economy representing a third of the GDP in an average Middle East and North African country, why do chronically indebted regimes tolerate such a large and untaxed shadow economy? Among this study’s findings, higher rates of public sector employment correlate with greater permissibility of firm informality.

• 30 Jan 2019

Understanding Different Approaches to Benefit-Based Taxation

Benefit-based taxation—where taxes align with benefits from state activities—enjoys popular support and an illustrious history, but scholars are confused over how it should work, and confusion breeds neglect. To clear up this confusion and demonstrate its appeal, we provide novel graphical explanations of the main approaches to it and show its general applicability.

• 02 Jul 2018

Corporate Tax Cuts Don't Increase Middle Class Incomes

New research by Ethan Rouen and colleagues suggests that corporate tax cuts contribute to income inequality. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 13 May 2018

Corporate Tax Cuts Increase Income Inequality

This paper examines corporate tax reform by estimating the causal effect of state corporate tax cuts on top income inequality. Results suggest that, while corporate tax cuts increase investment, the gains from this investment are concentrated on top earners, who may also exploit additional strategies to increase the share of total income that accrues to the top 1 percent.

• 08 Feb 2018

What’s Missing From the Debate About Trump’s Tax Plan

At the end of the day, tax policy is more about values than dollars. And it's still not too late to have a real discussion over the Trump tax plan, says Matthew Weinzierl. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 24 Oct 2017

Tax Reform is on the Front Burner Again. Here’s Why You Should Care

As debate begins around the Republican tax reform proposal, Mihir Desai and Matt Weinzierl discuss the first significant tax legislation in 30 years. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 08 Aug 2017

The Role of Taxes in the Disconnect Between Corporate Performance and Economic Growth

This paper offers evidence of potential issues with the current United States system of taxation on foreign corporate profits. A reduction in the US tax rate and the move to a territorial tax system from a worldwide system could better align economic growth with growth in corporate profits by encouraging firms to invest domestically and repatriate foreign earnings.

• 07 Nov 2016

Corporate Tax Strategies Mirror Personal Returns of Top Execs

Top executives who are inclined to reduce personal taxes might also benefit shareholders in their companies, concludes research by Gerardo Pérez Cavazos and Andreya M. Silva. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 18 Apr 2016

Popular Acceptance of Morally Arbitrary Luck and Widespread Support for Classical Benefit-Based Taxation

This paper presents survey evidence that the normative views of most Americans appear to include ambivalence toward the egalitarianism that has been so influential in contemporary political philosophy and implicitly adopted by modern optimal tax theory. Insofar as this finding is valid, optimal tax theorists ought to consider capturing this ambivalence in their work, as well.

• 20 Nov 2015

Impact Evaluation Methods in Public Economics: A Brief Introduction to Randomized Evaluations and Comparison with Other Methods

Dina Pomeranz examines the use by public agencies of rigorous impact evaluations to test the effectiveness of citizen efforts.

• 07 May 2014

How Should Wealth Be Redistributed?

SUMMING UP James Heskett's readers weigh in on Thomas Piketty and how wealth disparity is burdening society. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

• 08 Sep 2009

The Height Tax, and Other New Ways to Think about Taxation

The notion of levying higher taxes on tall people—an idea offered largely tongue in cheek—presents an ideal way to highlight the shortcomings of current tax policy and how to make it better. Harvard Business School professor Matthew C. Weinzierl looks at modern trends in taxation. Key concepts include: Studies show that each inch of height is associated with about a 2 percent higher wage among white males in the United States. If we as a society are uncomfortable taxing height, maybe we should reconsider our comfort level for taxing ability (as currently happens with the progressive income tax). For Weinzierl, the key to explaining the apparent disconnect between theory and intuition starts with the particular goal for tax policy assumed in the standard framework. That goal is to minimize the total sacrifice borne by those who pay taxes. Behind the scenes, important trends are evolving in tax policy. Value-added taxes, for example, are generally seen as efficient by tax economists, but such taxes can bear heavily on the poor if not balanced with other changes to the system. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

• 02 Mar 2007

What Is the Government’s Role in US Health Care?

Healthcare will grab ever more headlines in the U.S. in the coming months, says Jim Heskett. Any service that is on track to consume 40 percent of the gross national product of the world's largest economy by the year 2050 will be hard to ignore. But are we addressing healthcare cost issues with the creativity they deserve? What do you think? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

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Taxation: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Research

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Taxation involves complex questions of policy, law, and practice. The book offers an innovative introduction to tax research by combining commentary on disciplinary-based and interdisciplinary approaches. Its objective is to guide and encourage researchers how to produce taxation research that is rigorous and relevant. It comments upon how disciplinary-based approaches to tax research have developed in law, economics, accounting, political science, and social policy. Its authors then go to introduce an inter-disciplinary research approach to taxation research. Effective approaches to research problem definition and research method choice are outlined by leading authors in their fields, and topical studies provide bibliographic surveys of specific areas of tax research. The book provides suggestions of topics, readings, and approaches that are intended to help the new researcher choose ways to begin their tax research. Written by a group of international experts, this book will be essential reading for new researchers in the tax field, including PhD students; for existing researchers wishing to broaden their understanding of taxation; for policymakers wanting to gauge where the leading edge of current tax research lies; and for tax practitioners interested in scholarly contributions to their field of practice.

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Guide to Researching US Tax Policy

General tips, ask your professor, general guides to choosing a topic, browse cilp, ssrn, or bepress, newsletters, circuit splits, blogs & web resources, table of contents.

• Finding Books
• Congressional Research Service Reports
• Finding Articles
• Finding Statutes
• Legislative History & Bill Tracking
• Finding Cases by Headnote
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• Evaluating Sources
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If this is for a seminar class, you will want to consult with your professor about what is required from you. Some faculty prepare a list of topic ideas. When choosing a topic, keep the following things in mind: 

(1) choose something you find interesting since you will be spending a large amount of time living with this topic;

(2) think carefully about the scope of the topic – avoid overly broad or general topics as well as topics that are too narrow; and

(3) write about something new or look at an issue in a new light.

If you are writing a paper for a seminar class, your professor may have a list of topics that you can use or give you some ideas.

In addition to the Volokh and Falk books that were listed under Writing an Article - General Tips , the following are guides on finding a topic:

Available on HeinOnline, Lexis, Westlaw.

This Article has two sections. The first suggests ways to find an appropriate topic; the second outlines a procedure for "vetting"-- checking for preemption of the topic.

• Note Topic Selection on the LexisNexis Services This does reference Lexis.com resources rather than Lexis Advance.
• Westlaw, Guide to Legal Research for Law Review

By looking at what others are currently writing about, you can often find ideas about what you want to write about.

• SSRN (Social Science Research Network) This service offers separate electronic journals with abstracts of working papers and articles on various legal topics. Your liaison can assist you in becoming a subscriber to the journals in your areas of interest.

Bloomberg Law Reports

Bloomberg Law publishes over 40 current report services that track news, topics and trends. Beyond the circuit splits found in the United States Law Week, Bloomberg Law Reports are an excellent resource for potential topics. You can even subscribe to email alerts or an RSS feed.

Mealey’s Newsletters (through Lexis)

Mealey's reports include case summaries, commentaries, and breaking news across different practice areas.

Law360 covers 45 practice areas and provides news on litigation, legislation and regulation, corporate deals, major personnel moves, and legal industry news and trends.

Lexis Emerging Issues

Emerging Issues Analysis articles provides guidance written by attorneys practicing in the field. The commentaries examine a wide range of recent cases, regulations, trends, and developments. They also cover national, state and international issues and provide expert insight in important areas and legal developments.

Westlaw Newsletters

• Westlaw Legal Newspapers & Newsletters

CCH Topical Newsletters

CCH is a subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer publishing company and it is well known for business, labor and employment, tax, and health resources. Find and click on your topical area of interest. Then look at the news options for your topic.

A circuit split is where there is a difference of opinion among the United States Courts of Appeal. These often make great law review topics.

United States Law Week (Bloomberg BNA)

The easiest way to browse the Split Circuit Roundup is to use the BNA Online Publications link off of the Law Library’s webpage.

Seton Hall Circuit Review

This law review includes a Current Circuit Splits feature that briefly summarizes current circuit splits, but it also features longer, more in-depth articles analyzing important developments in law at the federal appellate level.

Lexis & Westlaw Searches of Case Law

• Potential search to use: split or conflict /s court or circuit or authority
• Note that you will want to limit by date and subject to avoid an overwhelming list of results.
• Howard J. Bashman, How Appealing

Review the Table of Contents, comments, and/or notes in a textbook or treatise to generate topic ideas.

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Research Overview

Specialized tax research platforms & resources, learning tax research, federal tax statutes, federal legislative history, federal tax regulations, other irs guidance, u.s. tax court, u.s. department of justice -- tax division, treatises, books, and reporters, databases for finding tax-related scholarship (and other types of articles), specific tax journals, tax policy think tanks, online resources, other research guides, contact us, getting started.

This guide is designed to help you find laws and information on tax law issues. Although it focuses on U.S. federal tax law, it does include some information on state and local tax matters as well as some non -U.S. tax information. 

The purpose of this guide is to introduce you to a number of useful tax law resources and get you started in the right direction. Legal research requires analysis and synthesis of information, and no one resource will likely provide complete information or data on any given topic.

For many of these databases, you will need to use your Harvard Key to authenticate yourself as a Harvard or HLS-affiliate.  For others, you may need to register and create an account to gain access ( e.g. , Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg Law).  If you have any trouble accessing a database, please contact the library.

In addition, you should consider looking at the following tax-centric research platforms/resources:

• Checkpoint (Thomson Reuters) Tax topics include federal, state, international, pension & benefits, estate planning, payroll, and more. Includes the US Tax Reporter (also available on Westlaw). NOTE: HLS-Affiliates (students, faculty & staff) can use the 1st link in the HOLLIS record for general access to Checkpoint (after providing their HLSMe credentials). If STUDENTS would like to create a personal account (to save searches, create alerts, etc.), they can do so by clicking on the 2nd link in the HOLLIS record. If FACULTY or STAFF would like to create a personal account, they should contact Lisa Lilliott Rydin at [email protected].
• Cheetah (Wolters Kluwer) Cheetah for Tax Law combines authoritative content, expert analysis, practice tools, and current awareness for legal tax professionals to gain insights on today’s most challenging tax matters. (Formerly known as Intelliconnect.) Includes the Standard Federal Tax Reporter Available online using the "View Online" link in the HOLLIS record above.
• TaxNotes - Federal Available online using the "View Online" link in the HOLLIS record above. NOTE: You must first create an account using an HLS-networked computer. This can be done on-campus or remotely by using a VPN connection.
• Tax Notes - State Available online using the "View Online" link in the HOLLIS record above. NOTE: You must first create an account using an HLS-networked computer. This can be done on-campus or remotely by using a VPN connection.
• Tax Notes - International Available online using the "View Online" link in the HOLLIS record above. NOTE: You must first create an account using an HLS-networked computer. This can be done on-campus or remotely by using a VPN connection.
• IBFD - Tax Research Platform Global tax database, including country-specific tax guides, primary sources of law, tax treaties, global tax topics, books, journal articles and papers. Available online using the "View Online" link in the HOLLIS record above.
• Getting the Deal Through (Lexology) Not exactly a "research platform" but the Getting the Deal Through (GTDT) module of Lexology lets you quickly compare laws across different countries and includes such Topics as "State and Local Taxes," "Tax Controversy" and "Tax on Inbound Investment."
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) -- Tax Tax information, data, and other information regarding OECD member countries.
• European Commission -- Taxation and Customs Union Information on EU tax policies.

Below are some books that can help you better understand how Tax Law resources are organized and where you can find them.

• Federal Tax Research, by William A. Raabe KF241.T38 W47 2006x (Reference)
• Federal Tax Research: Guide to Materials and Techniques, by Gail Levin Richmond & Kevin M. Yamamoto KF241 .T38 R53 2018 (Reference)
• Federal Tax Research, by Joni Larson & Dan Sheaffer KF241 .T38 L37 2011 (Reference)

Primary Sources/Federal Government Resources

• U.S. Code (official U.S. federal government site) See "Title 26" for the Internal Revenue Code (a/k/a "The Code").
• U.S. Code (Legal Information Institute, at Cornell University) An alternative site for the U.S. Code (again, Title 26).

In addition to standard legislative history resources (e.g., ProQuest Congressional's Legislative Insight for federal legislative history), you should check out:

• Taxation & Economic Reform in America, Parts I & II (HeinOnline) This historical archive contains thousands of volumes and millions of pages of legislative history materials and other documents. It includes the complete Carlton Fox Collection which contains nearly 42 years of historical legislation related to the internal revenue laws from 1909-1950, as well as other legislative histories related to taxation, economic reform, and stimulus plans.
• The Joint Committee on Taxation's "Blue Book" Not exactly "legislative history".... At the end of each Congress, the Joint Committee Staff, in consultation with the staffs of the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance, prepare explanations of the enacted tax legislation. The explanation follows the chronological order of the tax legislation as signed into law. For each provision, the document includes a description of present law, explanation of the provision, and effective date. Present law describes the law in effect immediately prior to enactment. It does not reflect changes to the law made by the provision or subsequent to the enactment of the provision. For many provisions, the reasons for change are also included.
• Old Editions of the Standard Federal Tax Reporter (HeinOnline) PDFs of the superseded, loose-leaf volumes (1917-1985).
• Code of Federal Regulations (official U.S. federal government site) Final IRS regulations can be found in Title 26 of the CFR. This compilation of regulations is updated annually, on a staggered basis.
• e-CFR An alternative site for final federal regulations (this compilation, while not "official" is more user-friendly and updated faster). Tax regulations still under "Title 26."

The Federal Register is where all federal agency rules and regulations are initially published (when first proposed -- perhaps re-proposed -- and later finalized). Agencies are required to include summaries of proposed regulations and the public comments received thereon, as well as an agency's reaction to the public comments when finalizing a regulation. This is typically done in the preamble to a finalized or re-proposed regulation.

• Federal Register The official government source for the Federal Register.
• FederalRegister.gov The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) jointly administer the FederalRegister.gov website. This website was developed to make it easier for citizens and communities to understand the regulatory process and to participate in Government decision-making.
• Internal Revenue Bulletins The Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) is the official publication for announcing Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, Notices & Announcement. These are directed to all taxpayers and may be relied upon. The IRB is published weekly and through 2008 was consolidated into semi-annual Cumulative Bulletins (CB).

NOTE: IRS guidance/rulings requested by individual taxpayers ( e.g. , Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memoranda, and Chief Counsel Advice) may not be relied upon by others and are not published in the IRB.

Nevertheless, they may provide insight regarding the IRS's views on various matters. They may be obtained by the public via FOIA requests and can often be found on the IRS.gov (see the IRS's FOIA Library ) or by using commercial legal research platforms.

The IRS website  is not the easiest site to navigate but it does contain a lot of useful information. For example:

• Understanding IRS Guidance -- A Brief Primer Explains the difference between Regulations, Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memoranda, Notices, and Announcements.
• Forms, Instructions, and Publications IRS Publications (on a variety of tax topics) and the Instructions to IRS Forms can often help you understand the IRS's view of tax laws. Keep in mind that these are NOT primary sources of law; however, they can be helpful.
• Tax Code, Regulations, and Official Guidance NOTE: It appears this information is no longer being updated by the IRS; however, you may be able to find useful historical information.
• Basic Tools for Tax Professionals A collection of IRS links likely to be of use to a tax professional, including a link to the Internal Revenue Manual.
• Internal Revenue Manual How the IRS is organized and how it operates. For example, procedures for examining returns, conducting audits, "Offers in Compromise," technical guidelines, etc.
• Tax Statistics Here you will find a wide range of tables, articles, and data that describe and measure elements of the U.S. tax system.
• Tax Topics Source for general individual and business tax information.
• FAQs Frequently Asked Questions (and their answers).
• U.S. Tax Court Website The official website of the U.S. Tax Court, containing information about the court and its cases.
• US Dept. of Justice -- Tax Division Website The Tax Division’'s mission is to enforce the nation’'s tax laws fully, fairly, and consistently, through both criminal and civil litigation, in order to promote voluntary compliance with the tax laws, maintain public confidence in the integrity of the tax system, and promote the sound development of the law.

Secondary Sources

Look under "Secondary Sources" (or "Secondary Materials") in the Tax Practice Center/Area of a legal research platform to find treatises and other materials about tax-related topics. Below are some specific titles:

• Mertens Law of Federal Income Taxation Available online via Westlaw using the link above.
• Bittker, McMahon & Zelenak: Federal Income Taxation of Individuals KF6369 .B5722 Also available online via Westlaw using the link in the HOLLIS record above.
• Bittker & Eustice's Federal Income Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders KF6464 .B53x (Available in the Reading Room Stacks and on Reserve at the Circulation Desk) Also available online via Westlaw and Checkpoint using the "View Online" link in the HOLLIS record above.
• Hill and Mancino: Taxation of Exempt Organizations Available online via Checkpoint.
• Saltzman & Book: IRS Practice & Procedure KF6300 .S262x Also available online via Westlaw and Checkpoint.
• Tax Fraud and Evasion: Offenses, Trials, Civil Penalties (Vol. 1) Available online via Checkpoint.
• Tax Fraud and Evasion: Money Laundering, Asset Forfeiture, and Related Topics (Vol. 2) Available online via Checkpoint.
• Standard Federal Tax Reporter (Cheetah) A Code section-arranged reporter covering Federal income tax law that allows you to navigate between its component parts. The full text of an IRC section, with brief legislative history notes, is followed by the relevant committee reports in full text, final, temporary and proposed regulations, editorially prepared explanations, and annotations. Caution lines and notes are used to alert you to special circumstances concerning a Code section, regulation or annotation. Also included are practice aids, tax rates and other tables, a tax calendar and separate tax planning sections for individuals and businesses, as well as full-text IRS documents (regulations, revenue rulings and procedures), case annotations and other source documents for the current year.
• U.S. Tax Reporter (Checkpoint) On Checkpoint's Home Page, look for "USTR Code Section" (under "My Quick Links"). Another Code section-arranged reporter that provides a comprehensive, up-to-date source of federal tax law, including the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, committee reports, cases, rulings, explanations, and annotations of cases and rulings. Also available online via Westlaw.
• Understanding Federal Income Taxation, by J. Martin Burke & Michael K. Friel KF6369.85 .B87 2019 (Available in the Reading Room Stacks and the Study Guide Collection @ the Circulation Desk)
• Chirelstein's Federal Income Taxation: A Law Student's Guide to the Leading Cases and Concepts KF6369 .C43 2018 (Reserve)

In addition to searching for tax-related law reviews and journals using Westlaw , Lexis Advance , or Bloomberg Law you can try these alternatives:

• HeinOnline's Law Journal Library Browse by Subject and select "Taxation" to see all the tax-related journals you can search.
• Business Source Complete A database of citations to summaries and full text articles from academic journals, magazines, and trade publications.
• ProQuest's Accounting, Tax & Banking Collection This database brings together highly ranked global and scholarly journals with other key resources for locating quick and precise results covering current news and topics, as well as the trends and history influencing important financial issues of the day.
• SSRN (Social Science Research Network) SSRN is a worldwide collaborative of over 352,400 authors and more than 2.2 million users that is devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of research. It provides access to new scholarship including working papers.
• NBER Working Papers The National Bureau of Economic Research is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• Journal of Taxation HJ 2360 .J6 Available online via Westlaw and Checkpoint.
• Tax Law Review K24 .A917 Available online via Westlaw & Lexis Advance.
• The Tax Lawyer (ABA Publication) Available online via Westlaw & Lexis Advance.
• Corporate Taxation Available online via Checkpoint.
• Taxation of Exempts Available online via Checkpoint.

Current Awareness

• Daily Tax Report Available online via Bloomberg Law using the "View Online" link in the HOLLIS record above.
• Tax Notes Available online using the "View Online" link in the HOLLIS record above. NOTE: You must first create an account using an HLS-networked computer. This can be done on-campus or remotely by using a VPN connection.
• Law360 - Tax Requires HLSMe Authenticiation.
• IRS's e-News for Tax Professionals Information on how to subscribe to get the IRS's latest news.
• Politico's Morning Tax Newsletter Subscribe to a daily newsletter.
• International Tax News PWC's International Tax News provides a succinct monthly analysis of select legislative changes, case law and treaty news from around the globe.
• American Tax Policy Institute (ATPI) ATPI supports nonpartisan scholarly research, analysis and discussion of U.S. federal, state and local, and international tax policy issues.
• Tax Foundation The Tax Foundation is the nation’s leading independent tax policy nonprofit. Since 1937, our principled research, insightful analysis, and engaged experts have informed smarter tax policy at the federal, state, and global levels. For over 80 years, our goal has remained the same: to improve lives through tax policies that lead to greater economic growth and opportunity.
• Tax Policy Center (TPC) The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center aims to provide independent analyses of current and longer-term tax issues and to communicate its analyses to the public and to policymakers in a timely and accessible manner. The Center combines top national experts in tax, expenditure, budget policy, and microsimulation modeling to concentrate on overarching areas of tax policy that are critical to future debate.
• TaxProf Blog
• Tax Appellate Blog (Miller & Chevalier) The Tax Appellate Blog is intended to be a resource for information on important tax cases under consideration in the appellate courts. It will feature insightful commentary on the issues and provide a dedicated site for following the progress of these cases.
• Procedurally Taxing Procedurally Taxing considers developments in issues relating to tax procedure and tax administration.
• Tax Controversy Watch (Blank Rome LLP) Blank Rome’s Tax Controversy Watch blog is focused on addressing and providing a comprehensive review of the latest developments in the tax controversy field.
• TaxVox (Tax Policy Center)

State Tax Resources

Individual state tax agencies can provide a lot of helpful state tax information. The Federation of Tax Administrators provides a list of links to the websites for state tax agencies.

You can also find a number of state-specific tax resources if you look for state law content  on Lexis Advance or Westlaw.

See below for more useful links:

• All States Tax Guide (RIA) Available via Westlaw using the link above.
• Bender's State Taxation: Principles and Practice Available online via Lexis Advance using the link above.
• Hellerstein & Hellerstein: State Taxation (WG&L) Available online via Westlaw and Checkpoint using the link above.
• Tax Foundations's Center for State Tax Policy The Tax Foundation’s Center for State Tax Policy produces and markets timely and high-quality data, research, and analysis on state fiscal issues that influence the debate toward economically principled tax policies.
• NYU Conference on State and Local Taxation Each December the biggest names in state and local taxation gather in New York City and offer presentations on cutting-edge issues to their fellow practitioners at the New York University Institute on State & Local Taxation. The speakers then develop their presentations into law review-quality articles, published by Matthew Bender. Though scholarly, the articles are also very practical, laden with examples, tax-planning tips, and commentary.
• Bloomberg Law's Tax Practice Center Select the "State" tab at the top for a collection of state tax resources. In particular, the "State Tax Portfolios" and various "Chart Builders."
• Checkpoint (Thomson Reuters) In addition to state tax law resources, see the "Create-a-Chart" Tool.

Other Resources

Below are some other Research Guides you may find useful, depending on your area of research:

• Federal Tax Research (NYU Law Library) A ton of resources across a broad range of tax-related topics. See tabs for "Statistics," "Foreign & International Tax," "Dictionaries, Directories, & CRS Reports," and more.
• Foreign and International Tax Law Research (NYU Law Library)
• International and Foreign Tax Law Research Guide (Georgetown Law Library)
• History of the U.S. Income Tax (Library of Congress)

NOTE: When using a research guide prepared by a different library, the links may not work for you. However, if you find a title of interest, you may be able to locate it in our collection by using HOLLIS (Harvard's Library Catalog). If not, we may be able to obtain the resource through  BorrowDirect or Interlibrary Loan .

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• Last Updated: Apr 12, 2024 4:50 PM
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267 Interesting Tax Topics to Write about & Examples

Welcome to our list of the most interesting tax topics! Here, you will find trending corporate tax research paper topics, taxes essay ideas, and bonus examples. Check them out!

🔝 Top 10 Tax Topics to Write about in 2024

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• The Basics of Income Tax: Brackets and Deductions
• The Impact of Tax Policies on Business and Investment
• Sales Tax vs. Value-Added Tax
• Property Taxes: Pros and Cons
• Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Tax Evasion
• Challenges and Opportunities of International Taxation
• How Tax Incentives Promote Social Objectives
• The History of Taxation
• Equity and Efficiency in Taxation
• Tax Reform Proposals and Their Implications
• The Benefits of Lowering Taxes There will be prosperity in the country and the same will motivate the people to work very hard, this will again work in the benefit of the economy. This will make a nation prosper and […]
• Property Taxes for Owners of Habitat for Humanity Houses The second argument for establishing a tax break for the owners of the Habitat for Humanity houses is the patent unfairness of the current system of determining the tax rate for this category of property […]
• Carbon Taxes in Environmental Protection In addition, application of the strategy extends to the use of fuels and the amount of carbon emitted in the process of production.
• The Debate About Tax Cuts Therefore, understanding the pros and cons of the tax-cut arguments shows that state and local taxes have a small burden on the businesses and are unlikely to affect their operating costs.
• The Issue of Huge Taxes Increased taxes are perceived to be detrimental to the growth of economy in the sense that, increased taxes on income discourage majority of people from working, more so due to the fact that, they work […]
• The Border Security Tax and Violation of the U.S. Constitution One of them is known as “taxation without representation,” and its applicability to the case is conditional upon the attempts of the president to make Mexico pay for the prospective wall construction.
• Personal Income Tax: Arguments For and Against In addition, there is a liability to a personal income tax and the responsible tax paying entity must compute, file and pay tax as per the rules of the state.
• Tax Avoidance Legal and Illegal Ways Tax avoidance is a serious threat to the ability of tax system to adhere to code of ethics in democratic nations.
• The Pink Tax Issue: Economic Discrimination Against Women Opponents of the Pink Tax argue that it denies women of agency and choice by implying that women are susceptible to a marketing strategy that prevents them from selecting cheaper products.
• Pros and Cons of Regressive Tax Policy in Texas Hence, the Texas case becomes exceptionally peculiar in the context of taxation, as it appears to be a part of a broader discussion.
• Tax Lien as a Car Purchasing Hindrance In case one is buying a house or a car and the tax lien is a hindrance to the purchasing process the Taxpayer Advocate service should be contacted for immediate action to be taken towards […]
• Environmental Management: Green Taxes The most common environmental tax is connected with the task of ensuring that these polluters are fined appropriately for their harmful emissions to the atmosphere.
• Income Tax Breaks and Housing for the Elderly This policy was formulated in 2002 to cater to the elderly as it had been found that the majority of them suffered from fall-related injuries.
• Corporate Tax Assignment in the UK and the US It is noteworthy that companies-residents of countries that have established income tax treaties with the US are only subjected to taxation “only to the extent the income is attributable to a permanent establishments in the […]
• New Tax Reform of 2017 in the United States The paper consists of two parts: the essence of the reform and its perception by various social and political stakeholders will be summarized, and then the reform will be investigated in the context of the […]
• Business and Economics: The Income Tax Citizens started to shift their opinions about the president’s strength and what the national government should do as the presidency changed during the Progressive Era. Between 1901 and 1921, Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson served as […]
• Addressing Tax Challenges by Introducing a Reform A major obstacle to the growth of the economy and the sharing of revenues is tax avoidance or evasion by big businesses.
• Tax Exemption of Churches From Tax Payments It is unfair for the government to exempt religious groups from paying taxes because this marginalizes some other groups, including LGBTQ and atheists.
• “Windfall Taxes on Energy Are All the Rage They Shouldn’t Be” by Mintz As such, the editors expound that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to governments from Europe to the United States grappling with energy alternatives due to its scarcity.
• Aspects of Tax Research Problem According to the Internal Revenue Commissioner’s decision, the installments made throughout the years to the Kellogg Company, deductions from regular earnings, and basic expenses did not happen.
• Tax, Lease and Gross Income Problem If this were the case, it would be subject to the gross income requirements of Section 109 or the taxable amount corresponding to the amount obtained through the sale.
• Poor Segments of Population: Tax Cuts Effects In this context, the reduction of after-tax incomes of low-income families tends to be much more profound, which contributes to the disparities in income and overall wealth inequality.
• Autoethnography: “Black” Taxes in South Africa My brief analysis of the academic literature reveals the significance of the black tax problem, the consequence of which is the compulsion to work harder and a marked decline in the quality of life for […]
• Blockchain and Alteryx Technologies for Tax Administration Alteryx can be considered a comprehensive platform because it is neutral in its data outputs and covers most aspects of the analytics process.
• The Tax Transformation Technology Roadmap The use of outdated programs and tools can lead to several problems related to both the effectiveness of the work and the processes themselves.
• Corporate Sustainability Worldview and Tax Avoidance This proposal introduces the plan of a research project devoted to the association between a company’s adherence to corporate sustainability reporting and tax avoidance trends. Define and research the concept of corporate sustainability reporting within […]
• Transferring Tax Losses to the Future In addition, due to the availability of an estimated reserve, many people may risk opening a company and then abandoning this business.
• Pros and Cons of Consumption Tax Over Income Tax Unlike the income tax, where the target population is low, focusing on the consumption tax gives the government access to all people, increasing revenues. With the elimination of the income tax system, people are encouraged […]
• Value-Added Tax and Tax Morality: Legal Framework In order for the concept of tax morality to be determined, it is essential to identify the legal framework for the flat tax that consumers pay once they purchase an item.
• The Federal Unemployment Tax Some percent of wages is retained by the employer from the employee’s pay, who then remits the funds to the government on the worker’s behalf.
• The Federal Unemployment Tax Act Rates In conclusion, FUTA rates regulate the unemployment rates by punishing states that fail to keep their economies balanced in times of crisis, yet they are essential for preventing a decline in the job market.
• History of Tax Morality Theory At the beginning of the 1990s, tax morale drew widespread interest and has since become a fundamental problem in the scholarly investigation of tax compliance.
• Global vs. India Tax and Remuneration Policies Some MNCs use a standard compensation rate, while others depend on the market forces of the host country to determine the compensation of the employees.
• The Food Tax in Oklahoma Articles This article is about the food tax in Oklahoma, one of the few states where this measure exists. In the news about the passage of the food tax ban bill, there is a brief interview […]
• Systems of Taxes During the Era of Colonialism As a result, the history of taxes is inextricably linked to the nation’s progress and influence since the colonial period. Individuals in the UAE are not subject to income tax.
• The US Tax Planning Strategy and Reporting Standards The move will require the government to analyze tax implications and determine whether making the tax approach conforms to the method allowed by the standards.
• Exports and Excise Taxes as Critical Powers of the U.S. Congress To summarize, it should be recalled that the powers of the U.S. Among these powers, one of the most important is the administration of excise taxes and the country’s import policy.
• Privatization, Public-Private Partnerships, and Tax Policy in San Diego In the end, the San Diego Administration Government took control of the project and has been able to operate it successfully as a component of the open road system in the County.
• The Laffer Curve: Tax Revenue History & Reforms In the practical sense, the Laffer Curve is a simple graph, which is demonstrated below: In the chart, the far left point on the X-axis represents the 0% tax rate which would result in the […]
• Case Study on Tax Crimes: Distributional Implications of Joint Tax Thus, the above action amounted to tax avoidance since the firm failed to pay the full amount of tax to the United States government.
• Biden’s Push to Increase Tax on the Rich From New York Times The major reason for this news is Biden’s will to increase taxes for the rich to fund his plan of reshaping the economy.
• The Child Tax Credit Program’s Analysis According to the creators of this bill and the research conducted, the CTC reflects the ideological idea of providing as many citizens of the country as possible with the same living standards.
• Article Review on Carbon Tax Policy Whereas the article points out the financial implication of the Canadian government policy on climate change, it failed to appreciate the general ethical benefits that the world will gain if Canada commits to climate change […]
• Tax Effect of Salary Dividends & Cash Withdrawal If Bob chooses to structure his venture as a corporation, it is recommended for him to receive salaries up to the IRS’s highest level.
• Business Charitable Contributions for Tax Purposes For instance, the way a tax is imposed for a sole proprietor is different for a partner in a partnership business.
• The Impact of the New Tax Law on Executive Compensation The latter point connects executive compensation and the issue of the new tax law, which affects several aspects of the former.
• Taxes, Public Utilities, and Impact on Households However, despite the direct impact of the levies on the household budgets, taxes are critical in supporting governmental expenditure, including offsetting costs of delivery of public utilities and services, such as road construction and healthcare.
• The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 The 2017 tax reform ended up in the first significant changes in the field since the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
• Researching Worldwide Tax Avoidance According to Prosser & Murray, “tax avoidance” is the legitimate use of the taxation system to decrease the amount of tax payable within a regulatory framework.
• The Concept of Interperiod Tax Allocation Under this method, the current income tax of a specific period is considered as the income tax expense of that period.
• Tax Consequences Advice Sue of the Above Transactions The information provided is not sufficient for one to tell if Sue has been receiving rent and if yes, she has been paying her tax.
• Double Tax Convention Between Kenya and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 5 Stefan, who is responsible for the daily activities of the company, will receive management fees arising from the operations in Kenya will be taxed in Kenya inline with Article 14 of the agreement that […]
• Tax Research Problem: Mr. Smith Medical Case Study He also incurs maintenance expenses of the pool and other medical expenses, while the existence of the pool increases the value of the home to some extent.
• The Supreme Court’s Internet Sales Tax Decision The added input leads to an increase in products’ prices, making it hard for e-commerce startups to compete with other large-scale retailers and wholesalers.
• The Sale Tax Legislation of Hong Kong This study also explained the provisions of the IRD that relate to the Goods and Services Tax in Hong Kong. Tax administration of a particular country is a significant concern as the issue of development […]
• Estate and Ownership Transfer Tax Policy and Regulations in Connecticut Fairfield Therefore, estate owners should considerably reduce their property taxes according to the tax laws to ensure that those who inherit the estates remain comfortable in the future.
• Specific Tax Measures to Digitalized Economy The formation of the digital economy determines the need for appropriate development and improvement of the processes and mechanisms of state regulation.
• Analysis of Federal Tax Policy According to Page, “Implications of Federal tax policies of significance to farmers are particularly notable in tax burdens, land prices and the ownership of capital assets, the cost of capital relative to labor, the size […]
• Taxation: CPA Tax Software The implementations of the income tax law require the political and legal willpower of those who are in the leadership positions.
• Tax Return Process Analysis Form 1040 is the form of the US Individual Income Tax Return. The next section of form 1040 gives the amount of tax and credits.
• Taxation Law: UK Inheritance Tax For example, in the UK inheritance tax is a tax levied on the assets of the dead and therefore estate tax and inheritance tax are more of the same.
• Tax Research: Ed and Whitney case The taxability of the elemental document that was discovered by use of CCH remedies will be dependent on manifold concerns, encompassing: whether there is a taxable income that is associated with this document and if […]
• Accounting: The Payment of Taxes The payment of taxes for both Rigas and Adelphia with one Adelphia check and the outrageous spending of the company could also be used as a recommendation for the discovery of the case.
• Working Income Tax Benefit in Canada Several measures have been enacted to address the issues of income inequality in the tax system, including the changes in the treatment of capital income, changes in unemployment and the structure of the labor market, […]
• Property Taxes Herb Construction Company This is because the taxes of the property are directly due to the development of the property. Therefore, Herb Construction Company should capitalize interest and property taxes of the hotel under construction.
• Tax Consequences: Result of Selling The tax implication on the shares that Amy intents to dispose depends on two issues: First, whether Amy sells her shares to Beth and Meg or to either Beth or Meg, and secondly, whether she […]
• Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities This paper seeks to examine whether deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities satisfy the definition and recognition criteria for assets and liabilities according to the AASB framework for the preparation and presentation of Financial […]
• Bylaw No. 8370: Downtown Revitalization Tax Exemption The council of the City of Prince George is charged with the mandate of providing a variety of services to residents and inhabitants of the area.
• Australian Income Tax Law Reform on Education Expenses Under the prevailing Australian federal income tax law, stipulated in the provisions of the income tax law, section 8A of the Income Tax Assessment Tax 1936 refutes deductions exceeding $250 of expenses incurred on self-education.
• Progressive Consumption Tax A consumption tax is a duty on goods and services spent by a household. Third, consumption taxes have a wider base, easier to implement as all consumption levels are taxed and it is considered a […]
• Taxation: Income and Corporation Tax in UK In 2006 for example, the percentage of the national income absorbed by tax in the UK averaged those of the developed countries.
• The Role of Offshore Tax Havens This particular scenario was seen in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis wherein despite the bailouts provided by the government there was still a certain degree of hesitance on the part of banks to […]
• New Tax Proposals: Perry Tax Plans Indeed, one of the outstanding attributes of this tax plan is that it attempts to level down all major tax deductions. The good element in this tax plan is that it brings about total change […]
• Factors That Should Take Into Account When Designing a Tax System to Finance Public Expenditure The tax collected is principally used to finance the expenditure of the government, for instance, paying of government officials and provision of essential services to the residents of the country.
• Tax Treatment of Attorney Fees During the pendency of her appeal in the court of law, the Texas County changed the zoning law permitting two residences per acre as against the original law of only one residence per every two […]
• Legal Costs of Acquiring a Capital Asset: Tax Problem Analysis In 2010, she appealed the decision to the Texas County Board of Supervisors challenging the County’s zoning law. Is the attorney fee incurred in the process of challenging the appraisal of the land tax deductible?
• Taxable Events and Complexity of the Tax System Arguments in favor of corporate formations as taxable events: Taxable events refer to financial transactions that are likely to lead to tax consequences.
• Taxation Law: Tax and Fees Paid to the Attorney The tax of the $11,000 fees paid to the attorney by Sarah is a fixed amount hence no deductions will be made on the value.
• China Looks at Introducing Tax on Foreign Currency Transactions Even though the overall outflow of foreign capital slowed down, there is still the danger to the economic wellbeing of the country.
• Tax Eligibility and Disability Payment Another reason is that the injury he suffers occurred during his service in the army as an employee of the state.
• Individual Income Tax & Home Mortgage Interest Deduction To ease the burden of taxation on the citizens, the United States Congress included the deduction for home mortgage interest in the internal revenue code.
• Tax Research Memorandum for Lunar Corporation Further, Mo wants to write off the loans as a bad debt expense on the returns for the personal tax. Mo is a shareholder and an employee of the company.
• Taxpayers’ Reaction to Payment of Tax Thus, taxpayers’ reaction to payment of taxes should focus on tax compliance and tax evasion in order to understand underlying behaviours that influence tax payment and evasion and get insights on such reactions.
• Trade Groups Identifies Medical Device Makers Passing on Federal Tax If higher pricing is illegal in the context of the new taxation policy for all organizations and importers of medical devices, it implies that they need to look for alternative ways of recovering the costs.
• Offshore Tax Structures and Foreign Exchange Regulations In this paper, the researcher seeks to determine the offshore tax structures and foreign exchange regulations that will affect the decision to take the Venezuelan boulevards into the international market.
• American Tax Code Analysis Throughout the article, the authors revolve around the desire to push the conversation forward bearing in mind that it is long overdue. The energy sector is the latest target in the proposed White House budget […]
• Corporate Tax to Grind In an effort to eliminate the negative impacts associated with tax avoidance both to the corporation and the overall economy, the article highlights some of the efforts that countries are making.
• Taxation: The Australian Carbon Tax According to Bourdieu’s school of thought, economic capital is the total sum of material objects that a person possesses. Carbon taxes indicate these costs, and they have the capacity to minimise inequalities from forms of […]
• Financial Operation Within Tax-Exempt Country This means that the test results obtained cannot help to explain the capital structure of companies in tax-exempt countries that still developing.
• Tax Periods and Method. Organization and Summary The main source of income / revenue in this business will be offering of SEO services to website owners. Einstein Web Solutions is committed to provision of SEO services that will raise the online presence […]
• Tax-Deductible Losses in the United States After the end of the civil war, the need for federal revenue declined considerably, and the government officials thought that abolishing the income taxes would be a fair approach to relieve the citizens.
• Worldwide Tax versus Territorial Tax The main distinction between the United States’ tax system and that of most countries is the manner in which the earnings that are made in foreign countries are handled when they are repatriated back to […]
• Researching Tax in the United States The defensible strategy for the client is based on the six steps in the tax research process namely establishment of facts, identification of issues, location of the authority, evaluation of the authority, development of conclusions […]
• Tax Effects of Various Methods of Forming a Corporation The possible methods are the distribution of the assets to the partners who are expected to contribute the assets to the corporation; the method of transferring the assets to the corporation directly; and the method […]
• Individual Income Tax Gains due the cancellation or sale of a life insurance policy before the death of the insured are subject to taxation because the tax exemption on proceeds from life insurance applies upon the death of […]
• Taxation: Tax Compliance The approach is relevant for determining the undisclosed income since it involves assessing the tax accountability by examining the financial performance of a taxpayer from assortment of sources outside the declaration of the taxpayer and […]
• Federal Income Taxation: Tax File Memorandum It is within this layover moment that Mark takes a 4-hour nap in the ferryboat Is the cost of meals Mark purchased while on his usual rounds deductible?
• Australia’s Car Fringe Car Tax Benefits In May 2011, the federal government implemented some changes to the income tax laws and one of the areas that was affected was the car fringe benefit calculations and the take home pay of employees.
• Ethical Standards for Tax Professionals She is entitled for tax deduction if the equipment purchased is for producing income for the business and in this case the equipment has to be capitalized in the year of purchase.
• Australia Corporate Tax on Income The rate on the income for the tax period 2009/2010 is 30%. Replacement value is the price to be paid in future for the stock.
• Canadian Income Tax Return For instance, if an employee uses a motor vehicle for both corporate and private purposes, he/she should distinguish between these issues and count only the kilometers passed on business while the total amount of kilometers […]
• Discriminatory Tax Provisions But the establishment of a uniform tax regime to implement the principle of freedom of movement of goods as one of the four fundamental freedoms for the entire region has not been smooth and the […]
• Stock Share: Tax on Transfer Gain It is important to note that according to the Special Law for the Promotion of Venture Business, the new technology investment company is not considered registered.
• Income Tax Deductions Issues According to Fishman, income tax is the tax levied on the incomes of businesses both corporations and other legal entities and on the income of individual citizens of a country.
• Business Ethics: Tax Scamming Of course, in viewing the problem ethically, small business whose incomes suffer from abusive taxations, as their main goal is to justify the inputs made by investors, to produce the outputs for the customers and […]
• Tax Planning for Low-Income Taxpayers The definition of family in the family trust selection regulations will be changed to restrict lineal successors to children or grandchildren of the test persons or the test someone’s spouse.
• An Existing Obesity Crisis: A Sugar Tax? Tirado agrees that the problem of obesity and, particularly, the issue of excessive sugar consumption, exists but the current measures and methods do not address the root of it.
• COVID-19 Effect on Global Tax Collections The emergence of the digital economy has caused confusion concerning how tech companies should pay their corporate taxes. The Global Tax Project of 2013 seeks to address these issues to avoid a patchwork of national […]
• “Why Do Developing Countries Tax So Little?” by Besley and Persson The present paper offers a response to the article by discussing the major strengths and weaknesses of the arguments provided in the article and describing the implications of the findings.
• Strategies of Tax Avoidance This paper aims to dwell upon several issues, including previously mentioned problems along with the use of the Double Irish and the Dutch Sandwich by Google, Google’s negotiation with the Internal Revenue Service, and Microsoft’s […]
• Zero Personal Income Tax in the US Thus, the primary source of tax income for Saudi Arabia is the taxation of various types of businesses. The authors went on to theorize that the tax system in general and tax rates for both […]
• Opioid Epidemic and Budget Losses in Tax Revenue The authors provide the estimates of the budget losses in tax revenue associated with opioid use disorder. The authors also claim that the investment in the prevention and treatment of substance abuse disorders can mitigate […]
• Snack Tax as an Effective Food Policy This is because the Massachusetts Food Policy Alliance abides in the contents and provisions of the Toronto Food Policy. In conclusion, I strongly believe that effective food policy can impact the abilities of governments to […]
• Border Tax Adjustment and Greenhouse Gas Emissions With regards to this, the short-term effect of the BTAs is that they will create equal competition conditions in the world market, while the long-term one is that the BTAs will contribute to the achievement […]
• Reasons Why Countries Give Credit for Taxes Paid on Foreign Source Income The objective of this paper is to describe foreign tax credit and explain the reasons why countries give a tax credit to non-citizens.
• Tax Money Usage on Military Spending Issue The fact that America won the Cold War and defeated the Soviets is taken as a vindication by the American leaders of the need to continue military spending.
• Obama’s Tax Relief Plan Analysis The following graph outlines the proposed tax cut relief plan in detail and it would be analyzed in terms of the effect that it has had on the economy and it’s bearing on the American […]
• Efficacy of the Taxes Act 2003 This paper critically examines the efficacy of the Taxes Act 2003, passed by former President Bush by cutting personal taxes and depreciation rates, in order to create more incomes and thus increase consumer spending, leading […]
• President Bush’s Tax Cut Policies The impact of the tax cuts on the high-income households, the middle-income households and the low-income households have been assessed. Taylor argues that the tax cut policies of President Bush have minimized the amount of […]
• Should Tax Laws Be Reformed to Encourage Saving? Because of the lack of honesty by taxpayers, there is always a shortfall of about 300 billion dollars compared with the amount of tax owed to the federal government.
• Accounting for Sales Tax Revenue in Florida State The Florida State Department of Revenue has the responsibility of administering revenue laws of the state to its citizens as well as the laws that are related to the inspection of the books of accounts […]
• Tax Law in Accounting Thus, it is not surprising to see that the higher the income of the individual the higher would be share in taxes. Similarly, difference in net income between financial accounting and tax accounting could be […]
• Approaches of Different Tax Systems The advantage of National sales tax is that it is not a direct tax and accordingly the taxpayers may not feel that as a cut from their income is being made directly.
• Carbon Tax in Norway & Denmark: Economic Analysis In the long term, carbon tax can make the use of alternative energy sources the new norm and set the standard in stone.
• Tax Authority’s Effectiveness and Implications Apply the provisions of tax treaties in a fair and consistent manner; promote the fair sharing of taxing rights in tax treaties and the development of domestic laws; not promote or facilitate tax evasion or […]
• Ecology of Commerce: Green Taxes The Ecology of Commerce is a critical analysis of the way we conduct our business and our society today. This will provide incentives for businesses to produce things in an environmentally sound way, and it […]
• Internal Revenue Service in Tax Administration This is an analytical as well as empirical study with a view to exploring the deficiencies and impediments in the way of effective operation and management of the Internal Revenue Service.
• Lomanno: Tax Law and Court Rulings Report The second fact is that the husband of a petitioner did not have the permission to sign her name to income tax in the years that are discussed and there was also no approval to […]
• The Provision of the Information on Tax Treatments The complexity of this framework might be confusing for people and presuppose some difficulties with the determination of various types of payments that are obliged to do.
• How to Tax the Digitalized Economy As such, the company has to pay fees twice, which results in a significant economic burden, increased prices to compensate for the loss and a general slowing of business growth.
• Property Taxes Concepts Analysis To adjust this indicator, it is necessary to review the market value of the property regularly, which will be the main function of the group of market agents.
• Property Taxes and Assessment System The government should consider not only the current value of the property in the area and state of the evaluated object but also the term of ownership to distribute taxes equitably.
• Sweden’s vs. Ireland’s Tax Policy In this regard, it can be expressed differently, noting that in Sweden, there is no tax on the property of individuals in its classical sense.
• Tax Policies in Sweden and Ireland The tax burden on the economy is more significant in Sweden than in Ireland, and the rules of fiscal laws are more stringent in the Scandinavian country, although its self-regulation is more advanced.
• Microeconomics: Cigarette Taxes and Public Smoking Ban The problem of passive smoking will be minimized when the number of smokers decreases. It is agreeable that the meager incomes of such families will be used to purchase cigarettes.
• The Political Stream: New Tax on Sweetened Beverages We delegate our rights to the government, including the local government of San Francisco, so that they can perform the measures that are beneficial to us.
• Tobin Tax for the United Kingdom and United States The reason is that the commission has put it clear that the financial transaction tax will not only be implemented to financial institutions that are within the FTT region.
• Swobodaville City’s Tax Revenues Most of the tax rates are imposed by either the central government or the local authority. When the income tax rates are set locally, there is a tendency for the authority to offer lower tax […]
• Federal Government’s Tax Spending: Rules and Limits The article called “Federal employees ask taxpayers to buy them personal items” posted on The Washington Examiner news portal by Sarah Westwood discusses the areas of expenditures of the federal employees and the prohibitions concerning […]
• International Tax Havens and Impact on Arizona and World The study will be focusing on examining the impact of international tax havens on Arizona and the world, specifically the international financial market, which in turn has the capacity to affect the agribusiness environment, its […]
• “Tobacco Companies Elude Tax Increase” by Matt Apuzzo In this work, some economic models will be considered in order to understand the intentions of the author of the article “Tobacco Companies Elude Tax Increase” and clear up whether the information presented is reliable […]
• Deferred Tax Assets and Future Payments Study The author also establishes the significance of the research question, explaining that determining the presence of a strong association between deferred taxes and future tax payments could be used to improve the current financial accounting […]
• The Importance of Tax in Our Life A critical view of the tax reveals that its intention was not to boost health outcomes for the citizens of Cook County, but to help the administration in raising about $1.
• Repealing Soda Tax: Pros and Cons The article titled “Chicago’s Soda Tax is Repealed,” published by The Economist on October 13th, 2017, celebrates the repeal of the infamous soda tax, which received large amounts of criticism from both the soft drink […]
• Republican Tax Rewrite: Helps Some, Hurts Others The purpose of the piece is to explore the consequences of the recent tax rewrite, pushed by the Republicans. An excellent alternative to the government’s actions, in this case, would be to involve the public, […]
• Tax Reform in the United States Furthermore, the adoption of the Consumption Tax as the foundation for the current fiscal system will encourage the residents of the United States to change their buying behavior.
• Corporate Tax Rates and Project Valuation In this paper, the influence of corporate tax rates and the importance of project valuation, cash flows, and risk analysis will be discussed.
• Legal Marijuana Market Analysis and Taxes Impact Consequently, the primary goal of this paper is to understand the impact of taxes on the financial stability of the market for legal marijuana with the help of the law of supply and demand and […]
• US Corporate Taxes Improvement and Alternatives The repatriation process will also increase the total US income; since many companies will relocate, back home and their tax revenues will benefit the country.
• American Estate Tax, Laws and Ways of Minimization The fair market value of the estate is adjusted with the amount of related allowable deductions to obtain the value of the net value of the Estate.
• Value-Added Tax in the United Arab Emirates The discovering of the oil sources transformed the UAE to the economically powerful country; however, the other side of the problem is that oil and gas made the UAE dependent from the sources and can […]
• Drug Legalization: Increased Taxes v Health Issues A brief analysis of the problem shows that legalisation of drugs is an efficient and even necessary measure to address the problem.
• UAE Tax Policy Analysis Put back on the blue hat and make recommendations
• Effects of Taxes and Economic Incentives on Business In spite of the wide array of these elements, analysts argue that taxes play the most critical role in influencing the location choices. In this paper, the author will assess the impacts of taxes and […]
• The “Waist Banned” Article – Taxes on Junk Food On the other hand, the article describes the possibility of a failure in the projected effects of taxation on junk foods because of the likelihood of junk food addicts to forego expenditures of important foods […]
• Taxes on Alcohol and Cigarettes as a Healthcare Costs According to the Senate Committee mandated to oversee the department of finance, the cost of managing diseases related to liquor and cigarettes in the next ten years will be over $1.
• The Strategy of Toyota and H&R Tax Service As such, the key to success as well as prolonged existence in the market calls for the organizations to establish a tradition that ensures the development of modern initiatives, training and the application of new […]
• Tax Shelter and Offshore: Control and Investment From this point, the long-term investment can be discussed as the effective tax shelter method to reduce the taxable income and tax payments.
• Liberty Tax Services Company Analysis This essay describes an interview conducted to establish the reasons why the management of this company decided to ignore all norms and jokingly use phrases that seem to belittle the quality of services offered by […]
• Federal Tax Law: Implications of Replacement The integration of the federal tax rate would improve the government’s capacity to ensure equity in the administration of the tax law. Replacing the federal income tax rate would contribute to considerable promotion in the […]
• Increasing Sin Tax for Increasing Costs of Medical Care
• VAT Versus Flat Tax Versus More Progressive Tax
• Need of Tax Cuts
• University Students Should Not Pay Tax
• Taxes and Education: A Cooperation That Went Awry
• Hollywood Taxes for the Film Industry
• Taxes Effects on Goods and Services
• Property Tax Role in a Developing Country
• Tax Law Sources: Substantial Authority and Courts
• Organizational Change Project “Fat Tax” in Denmark
• Effectiveness of Carbon Tax in Environmental Sustainability
• Tax Equity in Countries Economy
• Best Tax Preparation Office in Tampa, Florida
• Mineral Resource Rent Tax Policy
• Using Taxes to Address Traffic Safety Problems in Oman
• Impacts of the Implementation of Australia’s “Carbon Tax”
• Bush Tax Cuts Debate
• Taxes, Capitalism, and Democracy: Karl Marx vs. Plato
• Tax Cuts in Keynesian Economics
• Income Taxation in Canada
• Putting Out the Fires: Will Higher Taxes Reduce the Onset of Youth Smoking?
• State Management of Taxes and Policies
• Inflation Tax – Printing More Money to Cover the War Expenses
• Australian Taxation: Minerals Resource Rent Tax
• Carbon Tax Advantages and Disadvantages in Australia
• The Mineral Resource Rent Tax in Australia
• Fixing Illinois’ Taxation Mess
• Exempted From Paying Taxes: International Students Who Are Not Working
• Self Managed Super Fund: Superannuation and Tax
• Tax Hikes and the 2011 Economic Collapse
• Fraudulent Accounting and Tax Evasion
• Legal and Illegal Tax Shelters
• Roles of Property Tax
• Effect of tax on Vietnamese hangers
• Economic Effects of Tax Reform
• Tax Evasion in Egypt
• The Evaluation of Tax Reform Strategies in the United States
• The raise of Taxes at the United States
• We Should Use Tax Money to Enforce Mandatory Drug Treatments on Drug
• U.S. Corporate Tax Havens
• The Internal Revenue Service Uncovers Tax Fraud with a Data Warehouse
• Government Spending and Tax Legislation Signed by the President
• Welfare Expenditure Reduction: Obama’s Federal Worker “Tax”
• Relationship Between Budget Deficits and Tax Cutting
• Tax efficient financial planning
• Fair Tax and Laffer Curve
• The Significance of Lower Taxes to the average Canadian Citizen
• Budgeting in USA: Property Tax
• How tax cuts help revive the economy
• American Tendency of Rising Taxes
• Australian Goods and Services Tax System
• The Fat Tax Concept
• Are Capital Taxes Racing to the Bottom in the European Union?
• Does Firm Heterogeneity Impact the Effectiveness of Carbon Taxes?
• Why Are Property Taxes Important for Local Communities?
• Can Border Carbon Taxes Fit Into the Global Trade Regime?
• How Do Taxes Affect Interstate Migration?
• Who Benefits Most From Property Assessment Taxes?
• Are Consumption Taxes Preferable to Income Taxes for Preventing Macroeconomic Instability?
• Does Social Trust Increase Willingness to Pay Taxes to Improve Public Healthcare?
• Can Green Taxes Save the Environment?
• How Do Tax Policies Affect Individuals and Businesses?
• Why Doesn’t the US Include Sales Tax in Prices?
• Should Euro Area Countries Cut Taxes on Labor or Capital in Order to Boost Their Growth?
• Are Differentiated Carbon Taxes Inefficient?
• How Do Capital Taxes Harm Economic Growth?
• Can Property Taxes Reduce House Price Volatility?
• Would People Rather Pay Taxes or Trade Taxes to Pay for Environmental Goods?
• Are Environmental Taxes Affected by Legislatures’ Ideological Positions?
• How Do Major Local Taxes Affect Private Employment?
• Can Redistributive State Taxes Reduce Inequality?
• Are Small Business Owners More Successful in Avoiding Taxes?
• What Is the Most Important Tax Used at the Local Level?
• Can Taxes Drive Agglomeration While Approaching the Global Economy?
• How Effective Are Environmental Taxes in the Petroleum Industry?
• Are Soft Drink Taxes an Effective Mechanism for Reducing Obesity?
• Should the Government Increase Taxes on Oil to Encourage More Public Transport Use?
• What Are the Ways to Save Income Tax in India?
• How Do the Wealthy Minimize Their Tax Burden in the U.S.?
• Are Taxes Credits Effective in Developing Countries?
• How Do Taxes Affect the Incentive to Invest in New Intangible Assets?
• Could Higher Taxes Increase the Long-Run Demand for Capital?
• The Impact of Taxation on Investment Rates
• Tax Havens: Strategies and Consequences of International Taxation Avoidance
• Evaluation of Profit Shifting in Corporate Taxation
• Use of Tax Incentives in Promoting Adoption of Renewable Energy
• How Tax Policy Affects Small Business Growth and Entrepreneurship
• Tax Compliance and Behavioral Economics
• Wealth Taxation’s Feasibility in Addressing Income Inequality
• Global Efforts to Tax Digital Economy Transactions
• The Laffer Curve and Optimal Tax Rates
• Tax Treaties, Double Taxation, and Taxation Rights Between Countries
• Green Taxation Policies and Environmental Sustainability
• Foreign Direct Investment Inflows and Taxation
• Value-Added Tax and Consumption Taxes: Different Models
• Property Tax in Funding Local Services
• The Challenges of Tax Enforcement in Developing Countries
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174 Tax Research Topics to Write About

Are you looking for interesting tax topics for research? StudyCorgi has collected the most exciting tax research paper topics on corporate and personal income taxes, tax law, and other taxation aspects. Read on to get inspired!

🏆 Best Tax Research Topics

🔎 easy tax research paper topics, 👍 good tax topics for research paper, 🌶️ hot tax topics for presentation, 🎓 most interesting tax topics to write about, 💡 simple taxes essay ideas, ❓ tax research questions.

• Fair Trade: Japan – Taxes on Alcoholic Beverages
• Amazon Inc.’s Consolidation Process and Tax Benefits
• High Taxes’ Benefits for Education and Healthcare
• The Pink Tax: Inequality Should Be Outlawed
• Combating Recessions with Spending Hikes Rather Than Tax Cuts
• Tax Incentives and Their Benefits to Communities
• Tax Information Exchange Agreements and Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties in Kenya
• Tax Reform as a Solution of Economic Problems The ailing economy is a strong incentive for implementing tax reforms to reduce the risks of financial problems. A flat tax system can be the best solution for the problems.
• Softron Tax Company’s Segmentation Issues The main issue identified for Softron Tax is low awareness and the need to establish a strong customer base in Ottawa; the issue is directly associated with segmentation.
• Tax Reforms From a Judeo-Christian Perspective Tax is a primary method used by most governmental organizations to collect revenue. Tax cuts are the depletion and changes made to taxes paid by citizens, saving taxpayers money.
• Human Resource Management at Vigo County Tax and Municipal Services Office Compensation and benefits administration should be considered by the HRM in Vigo County Tax & Municipal Services Office, as the information clerks are not motivated enough.
• The Value Added Tax in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, value added tax is the main source of the government revenue. The value added tax finances the largest fraction of the government spending.
• A Black Tax Phenomenon: Economic and Social Perspectives A black tax is a phenomenon that makes Black society feel uncomfortable living. Examining the black tax from an economic and social perspective is essential.
• Effect of Soda and Plastic Bag Tax Policies Within modern society, it is crucial to be acknowledged the core principles of the economic theory and its implications on every aspect of daily life.
• The Role of Tax System, Tax Reform in Hong Kong The major revenue for Hong Kong has been extremely volatile with the amounts approximated to the nearest billion.
• Collaboration Agreement: A Partnership for Tax Purposes A collaboration agreement between A Corporation and B Corporation is a partnership for tax purposes under the current regulations.
• Multijurisdictional Tax Planning Multijurisdictional tax planning has become an integral part of all financial matters in the trading industry.
• State vs. Federal Taxes: Which Must Be Abolished The purpose of this paper is to examine the unique benefits of federal and state taxes and propose a new model whereby one of the two is abolished.
• McDonald’s Company: The Flawed Fast Food Tax McDonalds is one of the world’s leading fast food restaurants serving more than 57 million customers daily with branches all over the major cities.
• Fat Taxes in the US The paper defends the position that the levies are a practical means through which cases of obesity can be significantly reduced in countries such as America.
• Oil and Energy Companies in the US: The Windfall Profits Tax Although a windfall gains tax would not alter the demand for oil, it may make it more difficult for companies to recoup the costs of new production.
• Tax Research: A Like-Kind Exchange According to US tax law, a like-kind exchange is a single transaction that permits the sale of one asset and the purchase of a different replacement asset.
• The Regressive Tax System in Texas Texas’s regressive tax system is unfair to low-income earners as it heavily taxes them compared to high-income earners.
• Tax Policy on Cryptocurrencies Despite the viability of cryptocurrency for future business stability, the tax policy imposed on it will continue to hinder its vast adoption in the market.
• Implementation of Environmental Tax and Related Economic Instruments It is disadvantageous for the government to control the road, making the people pay double toll fees such as those involved in the construction and maintenance.
• Tax Issues Relating to Multinational Corporations in America The paper examines tax issues related to multinational partnerships in America provides an analysis of the facts and applicable tax laws and how they affect the activities.
• Gasoline Consumption and Tax Effects Consumers respond to gasoline tax increases like changes in gasoline prices, which usually result in a reduction in gasoline consumption.
• Setup of Minimum or Base Federal Tax Rate The paper considers the possibility of creating a minimum or base federal tax rate for all taxpayers, and illustrates the approach for different income levels.
• 1031 Exchanges in the New Tax Environment Investors and business people have the opportunity to benefit from the deferred taxation of exchange by section 1031 of the tax code during transactions.
• The Best Tax System in Personal Opinion Taxation primarily imposes mandatory levies on entities and individuals through countries’ governments globally.
• Tax Inequality in America While the American tax model is intended to remain progressive, little gains have been recorded so far since the level of tax inequality has remained the same over the years.
• Landline Service Taxes and Impact on Markets Governments have imposed high tax rates on landline usage. The essay discusses why landlines are heavily taxed and their impact on the markets.
• Earmarking Taxes for Improving the Health Sector This paper aims to examine policies regarding earmarking taxes on luxury goods, such as oil and tobacco, in favor of healthcare improvements.
• Aspects of Obama’s Tax Reforms This essay discusses the taxation policies proposed during the Obamas administration, their implementation, and an evaluation of the policies’ achievements.
• Cutting Taxes, Increasing Tax Revenue, and Fiscal Policy This annotated bibliography reviews three articles devoted to three different topics: cutting taxes, increasing tax revenue, and fiscal policy.
• Raising Taxes: Is It Really Necessary? An increase in taxes on the number of individuals is not a compulsory measure but only one of the options for solving the country’s financial problems.
• Tax Use and Budget Financial Plan of New York City The cost of living is equally high, with dirty subways, underfunding public schools, and high numbers of homeless people, beating the logic of such high taxes.
• Tax Law Reforms and Individual Tax Burden Two tax reforms that were discussed in the podcast by AICPA are the reduction in corporate tax rates and qualified business income deductions.
• Taxes Analysis in the State of Arizona Arizona’s state income tax is 2% of an individual income based on the payroll statement, while Arizona’s sales tax is 8.6% of the total amount of goods purchased.
• Tax Research Problem Parent Corporation The parent corporation must raise its ownership to eighty percent for it to qualify for the non-recognition requirement before the full liquidation of the subsidiary corporation.
• Aspects of Corporation Tax The paper discusses taxes. They normally decrease the amount of wage the employees take home. In most situations the taxation effects are evident.
• Source Income and Foreign Tax Credits All passive incomes are taxed at a flat rate of 30 percent and neither deductions nor exemptions are allowed on the income.
• Tax Model in Hong Kong Tax Reform The Hong Kong tax system provides practical evidence for developed country`s tax legislation. Hong Kong does not impose a tax on the general income tax nor does its taxation rates.
• Systems of Hong Kong Tax Reform The purpose of taxation can be summarized as very straightforward and understandable, for a good performance of a state.
• International Tax Treaties for Multinational Firms Companies engage in business to make profits after which they either reinvest back into the company to expand the company.
• Contemporary Taxation Issue: Green Tax System The paper debates the objectives of environmental taxes, assesses the arguments on a green tax shift, and examines the approach the UK has adopted in the past two decades.
• Obamacare’s Impacts on Taxes The Obamacare insurance scheme is meant to ensure that even the low-income families in the United States of America can secure a health insurance plan.
• Proposed Tax on Sugary Beverages A recent debate concerning the proposal of Tax on Sugary Beverages has created a huge controversy and divided opinion.
• Is the United States Earned Income Tax Credit Fair? The United States Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) refers to a government initiative that aims to improve the financial stability of citizens by giving tax refunds to citizens.
• Tax Research Problem of Selling Rare Coins According to the definition advanced by IRC, capital assets include assets that are held by the taxpayer either for personal or business use.
• S-Corporations and C-Corporations Transition and Taxes After transiting from a C-corp to an S-corp the S-corp might find itself in tax consequences from earning and also profits that have accumulated from the time of regular taxation.
• Cigarette Tax Policy and Health Care The purpose of this paper is to discuss the health and financial effects of a proposed policy to increase the excise tax on cigarettes.
• Tax Issues Affecting Non-US Citizens The purpose of the research paper will be to look at taxation issues that affect non-US citizens in the country.
• Tax Research Problem: Determination of Taxable Income This document examines the facts, issues, and authorities involved in determining taxable income in situations where property improvements are being made.
• Tax Research Problem of Espionage Fees Mr. Towers is liable for failing to pay tax for the one million he withdrew from the account provided by the Soviet Union.
• Tax Planning for Executive Compensation The efficiency of executive compensation for shareholders is something that boards of directors and companies strive to achieve by maximizing their tax deductibility.
• The Sources of Tax Revenue in the US From an economic perspective, taxes fall on the one who caters to their burden, be it an establishment such as a business or consumers of manufactured goods.
• Towards a Successful Personal Income Tax System in Hong Kong It is the purpose of this paper to critically evaluate how a successful personal income tax system can be implemented in Hong Kong.
• Hong Kong’s Tax System Any country will adopt a particular tax system as a way of solving most of the social and economic problems faced by the nation.
• Personal Income Tax in Hong Kong and China This paper assesses the salary taxes in Hong Kong in relation to those in the US giving a close analysis to the willingness of the respective citizens to pay up for the taxes.
• Tax System for Decrease of Cigarette Consumption This paper seeks to determine the effectiveness of the taxation system in controlling cigarette consumption behaviors through an economic analysis.
• Tax Research Memo and Calculations This paper can confidently say that since the financial institution bought this annuity from Barry at a discount, the proceeds they would get from this annuity until maturity.
• The US Estate Tax Reform The controversy around the estate tax reflects the conflict between individual property rights and democratic notions of equality.
• Tax Forecasting for the Republic of Vardar This paper seeks to revise a tax collection in the Republic of Vadar, make recommendations and build the forecast.
• CPA Firm: Outsourcing the Basic Tax Revenues Outsourcing the company using basic tax returns affects the effectiveness and efficiency of the company, since the prices of services raise and increase income and investments.
• Tax Cuts and the Economy Even though tax cut draws a lot of arguments for and against them, the tax cut could be really influential in the recovery process of the economy.
• Walmart Organizational Specifications: Increasing Taxes and Lack of Proper Treatment for Employees The essay describes the organizational problems of Walmart company, such as increased taxes on the products and firing the employees without any pension.
• Political Science: Tax Cuts in America: Are They Good? Americans argue about the increases in taxes. Some believe that tax cuts to all income brackets help to stimulate economic growth.
• Income Tax versus National Sales Tax The question of the best kind of taxation system favorable for use has raised great concerns to many people and governments.
• US Tax System: Deferred Compensation Definition The concept of deferred compensation is an essential maneuver in order to alter the tax value. Despite the ongoing theoretical synthesis of various aspects of taxation, there is no specific concept.
• Sugary Drink Tax as a Public Health Policy This paper concentrates on the initial stage of the initiation of the tax on sugary drinks and the part played by a nursing professional in the process.
• Tax Reform: Corporate Tax Reduction and Its Consequences The paper is aimed to discuss the reduction of corporate tax, and the role of the state in corporate relations.
• Fiscal Policy: Federal Investment and Taxes The main instruments of fiscal policy are the revenues and expenditures of the state budget, which are taxes and government spending.
• How Taxes Affect Deadweight Loss? Deadweight loss is the loss in social surplus that occurs when a market produces an inefficient quantity. Deadweight loss appears in case demand and supply are unbalanced.
• Tax Benefits and Social Security Welfare economics lays significance on how the health of citizens contributes to economic growth and development.
• Carbon Tax Role in Enhancing Environmental Sustainability Environmental sustainability involves making decisions and engaging in activities aimed at protecting nature. Emphasis is placed on preserving the earth’s capability to support life.
• “Alberta Should Tax Its Way Out of the Hole” by Lamphier Lamphier’s “Alberta Should Tax its Way out of the Hole” offers suggestions on how to deal with the Canadian province of Alberta’s revenue deficit.
• The US Highway Trust Fund and Federal Fuel Tax The current paper provides an overview of the US Highway Trust Fund’s existing issues and identifies several solutions that may address the problem.
• Tax Incentives Functions and Application The paper discusses probable approaches for the application and utilization of the tax incentives to enhance the social and economic condition of the community.
• Economics: Carbon Tax vs. Cap-and-Trade System The carbon tax discourages the usage of environmentally hazardous vehicles. Cap-and-trade system involves a smooth transition from one type of energy production to another.
• Carbon Tax and Cap-and-Trade System The problem of carbon emission into the atmosphere is highly associated with the greenhouse effect that has become a paradox in the world’s environmental economics.
• Taxes in Australian Gambling Industry The increase in taxes in the gambling industry in Australia cannot directly respond to the problem of gambling costs as well as to many social and moral issues.
• Australian Tax Office’s Transformation Program The Australian Tax Office initiated a 10-year transformation program that was aimed at overhauling its IT platform to enhance its ability to serve its clientele in the year 2000.
• Accofirm Bookkeeping and Tax Compliance Services This report focuses on how the company to be established will help small and medium-sized firms tackle issues from bookkeeping, financial management, auditing, and tax compliance.
• Inflation and Capital Gains Taxes in a Small Open Economy
• International Experiences With Securities Transaction Taxes
• Income Taxes and Dividend Policy
• Corporate Taxes, Strategic Default, and the Cost of Debt
• Debt Policy, Corporate Taxes, and Discount Rates
• Culture and Taxes: Towards Identifying Tax Competition
• Direct and Indirect Taxes in India
• Integrating Business and Personal Income Taxes
• Interdependent Behavior and the Effect of Taxes
• Europe`S New Border Taxes
• Effective Property Taxes and Tax Capitalization
• Corporate Leverage and Taxes in the U.S. Economy
• Flat Taxes and Effective Tax Planning
• Demography and the Composition of Taxes: Evidence From International Panel Data
• Economic Development: Raising Revenues Without Increasing Taxes
• Disability, Taxes, Transfers, and the Economic Well-being of Women
• Energy Taxes and Aggregate Economic Activity
• Federal Taxes Are Used to Fund the Government
• Customs Unions and Domestic Taxes
• Environmental Taxes and Industry Monopolization
• Deferred Taxes, Earnings Management, and Corporate Governance: Malaysian Evidence
• Inflation, Taxes, and the Durability of Capital
• Estate Taxes, Consumption Externalities, and Altruism
• Labor Taxes, Productivity and Tax Competition
• Company Dividends and Taxes in the UK
• Inflation, Taxes, and Interest Rates
• Income Taxes and Urban Spatial Structure
• Domestic Taxes and the External Debt Laffer Curve
• Interest Rates, Income Taxes, and Anticipated Inflation
• Income Taxes and the Composition of Pay
• Insurance and Corrective Taxes in the Health Care Market
• Business Cycles With Distorting Taxes and Disaggregated Capital Markets
• Liquidity, Taxes, and Short-term Treasury Yields
• Inflation, Taxes, and the Composition of Business Investment
• Comparing Progressive and Regressive Taxes
• Deferred Taxes and Bond Ratings: A Canadian Case
• Fiscal Federalism and Optimal Income Taxes
• Interest Rates, Taxes, and Corporate Financial Policies
• Fiscal Competition Over Taxes and Public Inputs
• Inflation, Income Taxes, and Owner-occupied Housing
• Aging, Taxes, and Pensions in Switzerland
• Income Taxes, Sorting, and the Costs of Housing
• House Prices and Local Taxes in the UK
• Environmental Taxes and the Double Dividend
• Government Deficits, Distortionary Taxes, and the Current Account
• Estate and Gift Taxes and Incentives for Inter Vivos Giving in the US
• Globalization and the Mix of Wage and Profit Taxes
• Income Taxes and Entrepreneur’ Use of Labor
• Energy Taxes and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Australia
• Fiscal Federalism Spending and Taxes
• Capital Income Taxes and the Benefit of Price Stability
• Financial Activities Taxes, Bank Levies and Systemic Risk
• Corporate Taxes, Leverage, and Business Cycles
• Government Spending, Taxes, and Economic Growth
• Government Revenue Sources Are Taxes and Borrowing Money
• Contribution Ceilings and the Incidence of Payroll Taxes
• Income Taxes, Property Values, and Migration
• Deferred Taxes and Cost of Debt: Evidence From Japan
• Inflation, Taxes, and the Public Debt
• Marginal Taxes and the Asset Portfolios of Swedish Households
• Have State and Local Taxes Contributed to the South’s Economic Rise?
• Are Progressive Income Taxes Stabilizing?
• Should Rich People Pay More Taxes Than Poor People?
• Are Consumption Taxes Really Better Than Income Taxes?
• How Different Are Income and Consumption Taxes?
• Would Cutting Payroll Taxes on the Unskilled Have a Significant Effect on Unemployment?
• Can Capital Income Taxes Survive in Open Economies?
• Are Canadian Provincial Tax Systems Becoming More Regressive?
• Why Didn’t the Tax Reform Act of 1986 Raise Corporate Taxes?
• Can Fat Taxes and Package Size Restrictions Stimulate Healthy Food Choices?
• Are High Taxes Restricting Indiana’s Growth?
• How Effective Are Emissions Taxes in an Open Economy?
• Can Green Car Taxes Restore Efficiency?
• Are Corporate Tax Burdens Racing to the Bottom in the European Union?
• Can Increasing Taxes Reduce the Budget Deficit?
• Should the Government Increase Taxes for Companies That Are Heavy Polluters?
• Are Corporate Tax Reductions Real Benefits Under Imputation Systems?
• How Does State Ownership Affect Optimal Export Taxes?
• Can Taxes Stabilize the Economy in the Presence of Consumption Externalities?
• Are Current Tax and Spending Regimes Sustainable in Developing Asia?
• Does Business Development Raise Taxes?
• What Advantages Might Indirect Taxes Have Over Direct Taxes?
• Are Family Firms More Tax Aggressive Than Non-family Firms?
• Does Paying Taxes Improve the Quality of Governance?
• Are Local Tax Rates Strategic Complements or Strategic Substitutes?
• What Are the Major Arguments for and Against Cutting Taxes?
• Did Tax Policies Mitigate US Business Cycles?
• Are Multinational Corporate Tax Rules as Important as Tax Rates?
• Why Should Property Taxes Be Lowered for Farmers?
• Does Culture Influence Tax Morale?

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Accounting for Income Tax: A Student Research Project

• Individual Income Taxation
• Specialized Issues

In a research project in the Master of Accountancy Program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, students completed an in-depth study of the consolidated financial statements and accompanying footnotes of a publicly traded, multinational company based in the southeastern United States. This project is easily adaptable for use in both undergraduate and graduate accounting and tax programs.

Background of ASC Topic 740

Standards for accounting for income taxes were previously provided in FASB Statement No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes , which was issued in 1992. This statement was codified mostly in FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 740, Income Taxes (Topic 740). When the statement was issued, FASB recognized that "income taxes must be computed for complex business transactions within the context of voluminous, complicated, and constantly changing tax laws, rules, and regulations" ( ¶ 69).

The Financial Accounting Foundation issued its Post-Implementation Review Report on the standard in 2013, in which the review team found that "complying with Statement 109 is more difficult today than when the standard was issued because of increased complexities resulting from changes in the economic environment and the tax laws as well as increased operations by U.S. companies in many different foreign jurisdictions."

The review team found preparers and practitioners had difficulties in applying the standard in the following areas: (1) accounting for valuation allowances and (2) computing deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets. Preparers and practitioners also face operational challenges in the following areas: (1) intraperiod tax allocations; (2) accounting for intercompany transfers of assets; and (3) situations in which a deferred tax liability is not recognized for earnings determined to be indefinitely reinvested in foreign subsidiaries. The review team also found that investors who participated in the study had difficulty understanding income tax information provided in the financial statements.

In 2006, FASB issued Interpretation No. (FIN) 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes , which clarified accounting for uncertainty in recognition of income taxes in financial statements. FIN 48 (which is also incorporated mostly into Topic 740) provided guidance on measuring and reporting the benefits of tax positions taken or expected to be taken on tax returns. However, companies continue to face uncertainty in estimating the probability that a tax position would be sustained on audit. This estimate is necessary because a company may recognize only the amount of a benefit from a tax position that has more than a 50% likelihood of being sustained on examination by the taxing authority in its financial state ments.

Purpose of the Student Project

The research project was designed to give students a better understanding of the application of Topic 740 in the real world. Students often find this subject challenging, in part because of the complexities described above. Another reason students fail to fully understand this area of accounting is their lack of experience in reading and analyzing published financial statements, particularly those segments covering accounting principles and reporting practices for income tax expense and related accounts.

Accounting students need to gain an awareness of the variety and complexity of business transactions to succeed in understanding how businesses measure and report income tax expense and related accounts. The study of financial statements and related footnotes in an annual report provides a path for students to gain this awareness and an understanding of Topic 740.

Nature of the Project

The project was an independent study in which graduate students committed to study a published annual report of a designated company for one semester. The students' objective was to learn as much as possible about current financial reporting practices in audited financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. In that context, students focused on all significant accounts involving application of Topic 740's rules. For each account, the students conducted research on the applicable U.S. tax rules and consulted Topic 740 to determine the applicable GAAP rules.

The instructor met with the students and discussed the nature of the assignment, as well as the sequence of research steps. The students' first step was to read the annual report to learn about the company's operations and financial statements. Then the students began identifying balance sheet and income statement accounts that involve book-tax differences. The instructor and students had several meetings and exchanged emails about the preliminary findings and the identification of the most significant accounts requiring analysis in the student reports.

A master of accountancy student may have (or may acquire) an internship or full-time job with a company under study, or with the accounting firm that provides tax and/or audit services for the company. The students were instructed not to obtain any supplementary information from the company or its accounting firm because that could result in disclosure of confidential information. For this project, the research sources were limited to the published annual report and other documents filed with the SEC. This restriction is consistent with the intended focus of the research project.

Research Procedure

As noted earlier, the first step was to identify accounts that involve (1) one set of rules for computing book income and (2) a different set of rules for computing taxable income on a U.S. corporate income tax return. The students conducted research to determine applicable GAAP rules and tax rules the company used for those accounts. Resulting differences in book income and taxable income for the current period were identified as either permanent or temporary differences. Deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities resulting from temporary differences in the book and tax basis of assets and liabilities were described. Also identified were deferred tax asset accounts associated with losses and credits carried forward and used in future periods.

Next, the students addressed issues related to (1) uncertainties whether deferred tax assets will be realized and whether valuation accounts may be needed and (2) uncertainties whether tax positions will be sustained upon audit, which may require the accrual of additional tax liabilities. Finally, the students examined the procedure for computing both the income tax provision and the effective income tax rate.

The company in this study had sales of about $255 million in its latest fiscal year. In each of the last three years, the company had net income before tax expense (benefit) in the range of $14 million to $15 million. The company's federal corporate statutory income tax rate was 34% in each of the last three years, while the company's effective income tax rate ranged from negative 7.3% to positive 7.9% during that period.

Companies report effective tax rates that are lower than the statutory rates as a result of: (1) earning income that is not subject to income tax, such as municipal bond interest income; (2) earning income in a foreign country where income tax rates are lower than the U.S. statutory income tax rate; (3) reducing the valuation account balance for deferred tax assets; and (4) other factors. The company in this study reduced the effective tax rate by 26% for the latest fiscal year as a result of reducing the balance in the valuation account for deferred tax assets. A study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that about 33% of large corporations had effective tax rates of 10% or less ( U.S. Multinational Corporations: Effective Tax Rates Are Correlated With Where Income Is Reported , Rep't No. GAO-08-950 (8/12/08)).

The balance sheet for the company contains seven asset and liability accounts related to income tax. The footnotes indicate the company had gross deferred tax assets of approximately $30 million and deferred tax liabilities of about $5 million. Operating loss carryforwards accounted for about 80% of the total amount of deferred tax assets. A valuation allowance of $12 million was reported for the deferred tax assets. Unrecognized tax benefits are related to 27% of the gross deferred tax assets. Significant deferred tax assets and deferred tax liability accounts are listed in the exhibit .

Adapting Project for Use as a Regular Course Assignment

Using this project in a stand-alone course requires students to commit more time than is usually required for an extra project in a standard tax course. However, the instructor has modified the project substantially to use it in the corporate tax course and in other tax courses.

The headquarters for a major home improvement chain (Lowe's) is near the university. Each semester, the corporation provides copies of its annual report for all students in tax courses taught by the co-author, Howard Godfrey. Before the first class, the instructor studies the financial statements, the income tax footnote, and other footnotes containing relevant information about accounts affected by Topic 740. The annual reports are distributed on the first day of class, and the instructor leads the class on a journey-moving from the financial statements to the footnotes and back several times as information about various accounts or notes is analyzed.

For example, the footnote for property indicates that the straight-line method of depreciation is used in the financial statements, setting the stage for a visit to the balance sheet and to the tax footnote showing a substantial deferred tax liability for the property. The effective income tax rate found in the tax footnote is verified by referring to the income tax provision in the income statement. The details of the income tax provision in the tax footnote are related to the income tax provision shown in the income statement. The deferred tax asset for net operating losses in foreign jurisdictions and the related valuation allowance account are explained by the instructor, as well as the note indicating that the company has not provided for deferred income taxes for undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries. A substantial part of the first class is devoted to studying the annual report. Students are asked to keep their copies of the report for reference later in the semester, especially when the accounting for income tax topic is covered.

Benefits From the Project

In many cases, students in a master of accountancy tax course are just a few months away from starting careers in public accounting (or corporate accounting, etc.). A new graduate may quickly become involved in a "crash course" learning about an important client (or the individual's corporate employer). The graduate may need to quickly learn about the company's (1) business operations; (2) applicable GAAP; (3) tax issues; (4) tax returns; and (5) financial reporting practices.

Students reported the following benefits or discoveries from the project:

• Learning about, and reconciling, book-tax differences using the annual report, tax law, and FASB resources is quite different from learning in a classroom setting or solely from a textbook.

• At the beginning, the project can be somewhat intimidating if they do not have experience studying financial statements.

• Conducting research using a tax research service and the FASB ASC may help when they work simulations on the Uniform CPA Examination.

• The project provides a glimpse into the type of tax issues students will face when preparing tax returns.

It provides an opportunity to learn the language used in financial statements and gain practice thinking analytically.

Getting CPAs Involved in the Project

There is a potential for getting CPAs involved in the project in at least two ways. First, the instructor may have a guest speaker who has a role in preparing the financial statements and the footnotes, either as an accountant or as a tax specialist for the company under study. The speaker may explain the process by which the company accumulates the information for the financial statements and the footnotes, and the process for preparing those documents. The speaker may shed some light on how decisions are made about the need for an allowance account for deferred tax assets, the identification and measurement of uncertain positions, etc. The speaker may be able to use some of the footnotes as a foundation for the presentation and may be able to present some "problems" for classroom discussion. The corporation may understandably limit the scope of the speaker's presentation somewhat, but such a presentation can potentially provide valuable insights for the students and the instructor.

The second alternative is to invite an individual in an accounting firm who has a role related to accounting for income tax, whether as an auditor or as a tax specialist. If the company under study is a client of the firm, discussion of material in the company's annual report would likely be off-limits. However, if the individual is not involved with the company in that way, he or she can provide valuable information about the firm's policies and practices related to determining what should be disclosed, and how it is disclosed in the relevant footnotes of its clients. Other topics may include firm procedures related to deferred tax asset valuation issues and determining the level of authority needed to support tax return positions.

Accounting for income taxes is an exciting and important subject for both students and tax faculty. Many forces collide at the intersection of (1) a government enforcing a complex income tax law; (2) a company seeking to minimize its global income tax burden while providing reliable financial statements to its users; and (3) a CPA firm providing assurance regarding the adequacy of the income tax expense accounts, and other related accounts, and the overall reliability of the financial statements including the footnote disclosures. A project, as described in this column, using a corporation whose headquarters is close to the center of academic study, can provide a helpful bridge for accounting and tax students to see the important intersection of GAAP and tax, and be better prepared for their intended career path.

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Research Topics

Main areas of our research are business taxation, financial accounting and corporate governance.

1. Business Taxation

Business tax research investigates the incentives for tax planning, analyzes corporate tax planning and makes policy recommendations. According to the Scholes/Wolfson paradigma tax planning has to consider all parties, all costs and all taxes (including implicit taxes). 

The institute's research has a focus on the following subjects:

• tax planning of national and multinational firms,
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• tax Information in financial statements.

Further, members of the institute contribute to current tax discussions.

2. Financial Accounting

Financial Accounting serves three purposes: the documentation of business transactions, the information of share- and stakeholders and the the assesment of distributable profits. We investigate these topics within the regulatory framework of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

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• the role of auditors and other enforcement institutions.

Besides, we investigate the relation between financial and tax accounting (e.g. book-tax conformity). 

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If you have questions about our research, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The Reporter

A Summary of Recent Corporate Tax Research

Taxes are thought to influence corporate decisions in many ways. For that reason, in the past decade a number of changes (or proposed changes) to the U.S. tax code have been made in an attempt to affect corporate behavior. For example, U.S. and European authorities have raised the possibility of eliminating or reducing the ability of companies to deduct interest payments from taxable income, because the tax-favored status of debt has reduced tax revenue collection and allegedly encouraged a "debt bias" of corporations. It is believed that by using too much debt financing, firms may have exacerbated economic downturns. Also, during the last two recessions, in an attempt to stimulate the corporate sector, the U.S. government has temporarily granted companies the ability to carry current-year losses back five years, in order to receive a refund on taxes paid during the past five years. Further, equity tax rates have been decreased for retail investors in an attempt to reduce the corporate cost of capital, and these changes are thought to have increased dividend payout. And, there have been proposals to disallow multinational companies from avoiding income taxes on profits earned overseas by their reinvesting those profits overseas. In this report, I summarize academic research on these and related issues.

In 1958 Modigliani and Miller (M&M) laid the groundwork for modern corporate finance research by demonstrating that when capital and informational markets are perfect, firm value is not affected by financial decisions. Five years later they showed that the existence of taxation can create an environment in which financial decisions affect firm value. In particular, M&M demonstrated that when corporate income is taxed and debt interest is a deductible expense, firm value can be increased by using debt financing rather than funding entirely from equity.

Several branches of research emanated from these basic insights. The first addresses whether the tax environment leads to firm-specific optimal capital structures and value enhancement. If there are costs to using too much debt (for example, expected financial distress costs or personal taxes on interest income), then firms with the greatest benefit to shielding taxes (for example, firms facing higher income tax rates) should be the ones with the greatest incentives to use debt financing. Much of my tax research focuses on how to measure these tax incentives in the context of a dynamic tax code.

One important feature of the tax code is that a firm can "carry back" current losses (by refiling past tax returns) to receive a tax refund for taxes paid in recent years. Alternatively, if carrying back losses is not attractive, then firms can carry forward losses to offset taxable income in future years. Therefore, because the dynamic tax code allows firms to move income through time, it is necessary to forecast future taxable income to estimate current-period tax rates and tax incentives.

Capital Structure Choices and Simulating Corporate Marginal Income Tax Rates

In my early work, I simulated dynamic corporate marginal income tax rates that could explain the probability that a firm will be nontaxable and that allow it to carry losses forward and backward. I then used these simulated tax rates to document that firms respond to tax incentives when they make incremental financing choices, 1 and when they choose the level of debt and the level of leasing. 2 These corporate tax incentives hold up even in the presence of high personal tax rates on interest income. 3

Most tax and capital structure research, including the work just mentioned, uses data drawn from financial statements, not data from actual tax returns. Given that financial statements consolidate worldwide income statements and balance sheets for multinational firms, but that tax rules and tax incentives vary by country, one might wonder how closely financial-statement-based research mirrors tax return data. 4 In recent work, Lillian Mills and I access confidential tax returns to explore how closely tax rates estimated from financial statement data parallel those based on tax return data. 5 Fortunately, we find that simulated tax rates based on financial statement data are very highly correlated with tax variables based on tax return data.

Capital Structure - Debt Bias

Documenting that tax rates are correlated with corporate capital structure choices suggests that firms may increase value by choosing debt optimally. However, some argue that an increased use of debt in response to tax incentives leads to negative outcomes. After all, the extent to which firms are able to increase value occurs directly because deducting interest expenses deprives the government of tax revenues. More than just reducing tax revenues, a "debt bias" -- using extra debt in response to tax incentives -- could result in too much debt in the system, increasing the probability that firms will become financially distressed, and thereby exacerbating or perhaps even causing economic downturns. Critics of debt bias argue that the ability to deduct interest should be eliminated or at least reduced. For this argument to have its greatest force, it should be the case that 1) tax incentives lead to a large increase in the use of debt, and that 2) the "extra" debt that firms use in response to tax incentives should lead to a material increase in the probability of experiencing financial distress.

Regarding whether taxes have a first-order effect on the use of debt, I have documented that a tax rate that is 10 percentage points higher (for example, 34 percent instead of the mean 24 percent) leads to debt usage that is 0.7 percent higher. Thus, while taxes do affect capital structure, the effect is moderate, providing only partial evidence of the first debt bias consideration. Regarding whether the extra debt usage increases the odds of encountering distress, two co-authors and I search for these effects when one might expect the negative effects of excess leverage to be at their worst: during the severe economic contractions during the Great Depression and during the years 2008-9. 6 In the first stage of our analysis, we show that firms did in fact use more debt because of tax incentives during the Depression. However, we do not find any evidence that this extra debt increased the probability of encountering distress. Similarly, we do not find any evidence that debt bias led to negative outcomes during the recent recession. It is important to note that our failure to find negative effects of debt bias could be attributable to noise in the data (especially during the Depression era) and to our focus on nonfinancial firms. Clearly, there needs to be more research on this important issue in general, and with respect to financial firms in particular.

Capital Structure - Tax Benefit Functions

One way to measure how much interest tax savings contribute to firm value involves estimating marginal tax benefit functions -- that is, measuring the marginal tax benefit of each incremental dollar of tax deduction. By adding up the value created by each incremental dollar of interest deduction, one can estimate the contribution to firm value associated with the tax savings that flow from a given level of interest deductions. Two co-authors and I follow this approach and estimate that the equilibrium, gross tax benefit of interest deductions (ignoring all costs) equals about 10.5 percent of value across all firms, and about twice that much for the top decile of companies. 7

Analogous to using supply shifts to identify demand curves, we use exogenous variation in benefit functions to deduce the cost-of-debt function that justifies the capital structure choices that firms make. By summing the area under the cost functions up to a given amount of debt, we estimate that the equilibrium all-in expected cost of debt equals about 7 percent of firm value. By summing up the area between the cost and benefit functions, we estimate that the equilibrium net benefits of debt (net of all costs) are about 3.5 percent of firm value. Again, these numbers are fairly moderate and do not suggest pervasive high leverage caused by severe debt bias.

Tax-Loss Carrybacks and Economic Stimulus

For the most part, U.S. companies in recent decades have been able to carry back current-period losses to receive a refund for taxes paid in the past two years. This feature of the tax code serves as an economic stabilizer by providing an infusion of liquidity to (previously profitable) companies that are currently struggling. During the last two recessions, the carryback period was temporarily lengthened to five years in an attempt to stimulate the corporate sector during an economic downturn.

Hyunseob Kim and I examine the economic impact of the stimulus during the most recent recession. 8 Companies were given the option to carry back losses from either their 2008 tax year or their 2009 tax year to receive a refund for taxes paid during the previous five years. Had the carryback period remained at two years, we estimate the carryback feature of the tax code would have provided $77 billion in tax refunds; allowing losses to be carried back an additional three years added an incremental $54 billion in tax refunds to corporate coffers (this estimate ignores TARP recipients and the tax benefits granted to them). Interestingly, the increased benefit was particularly valuable to sectors that were hugely profitable during the economic boom of the mid-2000s but then suffered the greatest losses during the recession: housing, finance, and autos. That is, the U.S. government supported firms in these industries via changes to the tax code.

Payout Policy

One feature of the famous 2003 "Bush tax cuts" was to reduce the maximum tax rate on both qualifying dividends and capital gains to 15 percent, from 38 percent and 20 percent, respectively. This relative reduction in dividend taxation thus made dividends more attractive to taxable individual investors. 9 Given this increased investor preference for dividends, one might expect companies to begin to pay out a larger proportion of profits via dividends. Research shows that there was a surge of dividend initiations following the May 2003 implementation of these tax breaks and that dividend hikes were largest at the companies that had the greatest net tax incentive to increase dividends, such as firms with proportionally more individual investors (which makes sense given that the tax cut was focused on individuals). Chetty and Saez show that the dividend increases were less likely to occur in firms for which the executives owned substantial stock options (which makes sense because options are not dividend protected, meaning that paying a dividend reduces the value of existing options). 10

Thus, investor-level taxes affect corporate payout choices. However, are taxes the dominant force driving payout policy? Based on surveys and one-on-one interviews, three co-authors and I document that CFOs agree with the general conclusion that firms increased dividends in response to the reduction in retail investor dividend tax rates -- but we conclude that the 2003 tax effect on corporate payout decisions was overall moderate. 11 Executives indicate that non-tax conditions (such as generating long-run, sustainable earnings or facing lower growth prospects) are the first-order factors that determine payout policy and also determine whether a particular firm is at a margin where taxes would affect its payout decisions. In summary, most CFOs say that tax considerations matter but taxes are not the dominant factor in their decisions about whether to increase dividends or choose dividends over share repurchases.

Taxes on Foreign Profits

Economics and politics have merged into a contentious debate related to the extent to which U.S. firms should pay U.S. taxes on profits earned by their foreign divisions and subsidiaries. Under current law, taxes are paid to foreign authorities as the profits are earned - but taxes are not paid to the U.S. tax authority until the profits are returned home ("repatriated") to the domestic parent. By surveying tax executives, two-coauthors and I learn that the ability to defer paying U.S. taxes is in fact one of the most important reasons that U.S. companies invest overseas. 12 Opponents of these tax rules argue that evidence like this is proof that U.S. firms shift jobs overseas to the detriment of domestic employment. (Supporters of the repatriation tax rules argue that they help U.S. firms compete overseas.)

If foreign profits are repatriated home, they are then taxed at a rate essentially equal to the degree to which the U.S. tax rate exceeds the tax rate in the foreign jurisdiction in which they were earned (for example, profits earned and taxed at an Irish corporate tax rate of 13 percent would be taxed an additional 22 percent when returned to the United States because the U.S. corporate income tax rate is 35 percent). In 2004, Congress passed the American Jobs Creation Act, which allowed firms to repatriate profits to the United States subject to a tax rate of no more than 5.25 percent and often much lower. Our research documents that many firms embraced this tax break and bought profits home to the United States. Perhaps surprisingly, we also show that some firms did not repatriate earnings, even at low repatriation tax rates, and even though repatriation would have a positive effect on actual cash flows, because it would lead to a reduction in reported earnings. That is, even at low tax rates repatriation is at times avoided by firms because it reduces earnings per share, which financial executives believe in turn hurts stock price. Interestingly, Senator Kay Hagen recently proposed instituting another "one time" reduction in taxes owed on repatriated profits. Justification for such a proposal is unclear given that, overall, academic research into the 2004 reduction in repatriation taxes does not provide clear evidence that on net firms used the funds brought home to increase investment or hiring.

In summary, the tax code is constantly under revision, in part in an attempt by authorities to alter corporate behavior. Recent research documents that tax incentives do affect corporate behavior, but often the effects are often modest. I look forward to future research that helps explain why tax effects are not always as large as we might expect, whether the reason be measurement issues, offsetting nontax influences, or unanticipated changes in corporate behavior that occur as the economy re-equilibrates.

1.   J. R. Graham, "Debt and the Marginal Tax Rate,"  Journal of Financial Economics , 41, 1996, pp. 41-74. 2.   J. R. Graham, M. Lemmon, and J. Schallheim, "Debt, Leases, Taxes, and the Endogeneity of Corporate Tax Status,"  Journal of Finance , 53, 1998, pp. 131-62. 3.   J. R. Graham, "Do Personal Taxes Affect Corporate Financing Decisions?"  Journal of Public Economics , 73, 1999, pp. 147-85. 4.   For details, see J. R. Graham, J. Raedy, and D. Shackleford, "Accounting for Income Taxes," NBER Working Paper No.  15665 , January 2010, and  Journal of Accounting and Economics  forthcoming 5.   J. R. Graham and L. Mills, "Using Tax Return Data to Simulate Corporate Marginal Tax Rates", NBER Working Paper No.  13709 , December 2007, and  Journal of Accounting and Economics , 446:2-3, 2008, pp.366-88. 6.   J.R. Graham, S. Hazarika, and K. Narasimhan, "Financial Distress during the Great Depression", NBER Working Paper No.  17388 , August 2011, and  Financial Management  forthcoming. 7.   J. van Binsbergen, J. R. Graham, and J. Yang, "The Cost of Debt", NBER Working Paper No.  16023 , May 2010, and  Journal of Finance  65:6, 2010, pp.2089-136. 8.   J.R. Graham, and H. Kim, "The Effects of the Length of the Tax-Loss Carry back Period on Tax Receipts and Corporate Marginal Tax Rates", NBER Working Paper No.  15177 , July 2009, and  National Tax Journal , 62, 2009, pp.413 - 27. 9.   Alok Kumar and I find that individual investors form clienteles based on tax preferences of holding dividends and that individual investors shift holdings to tax-deferred accounts in response to higher income tax rates. See J.R. Graham and A. Kumar, "Do Dividend Clienteles Exist? Evidence on Dividend Preferences of Retail Investors",  Journal of Finance  61, 2006, pp. 1305-336. 10.   R. Chetty and E. Saez, "Dividend Taxes and Corproate Behavior: Evidence from the 2003 Dividend Tax Cut", NBER Working Paper No.  10841 , October 2004; J. Poterba, "Taxation and Corporate Payout Policy", NBER Working Paper No.  10321 , February 2004; J. Bouin, J. Raedy, and D. Shackelford, "Did Dividends Increase Immediately After the 2003 Reduction in Tax Rates?" NBER Working Paper No.  10301 , February 2004. 11.   A. Brav, J. R. Graham, C. R. Harvey and R. Michaely, "Payout Policy in the 21st Century," NBER Working Paper No.  9657 , April 2003, and  Journal of Financial Economics , 77:3, 2005, pp. 483-527. 12.   J.R. Graham, M. Hanlon, and T. Shevlin, "Real Effects of Accounting Rules: Evidence from Multinational Firms Investment Location and Profit Repatriation Decisions",  Journal of Accounting Research , 49, 2011, pp.137-85.

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Changing Partisan Coalitions in a Politically Divided Nation

5. party identification among religious groups and religiously unaffiliated voters, table of contents.

• What this report tells us – and what it doesn’t
• Partisans and partisan leaners in the U.S. electorate
• Party identification and ideology
• Education and partisanship
• Education, race and partisanship
• Partisanship by race and gender
• Partisanship across educational and gender groups by race and ethnicity
• Gender and partisanship
• Parents are more Republican than voters without children
• Partisanship among men and women within age groups
• Race, age and partisanship
• The partisanship of generational cohorts
• Religion, race and ethnicity, and partisanship
• Party identification among atheists, agnostics and ‘nothing in particular’
• Partisanship and religious service attendance
• Partisanship by income groups
• The relationship between income and partisanship differs by education
• Union members remain more Democratic than Republican
• Homeowners are more Republican than renters
• Partisanship of military veterans
• Demographic differences in partisanship by community type
• Race and ethnicity
• Age and the U.S. electorate
• Education by race and ethnicity
• Religious affiliation
• Ideological composition of voters
• Acknowledgments
• Overview of survey methodologies
• The 2023 American Trends Panel profile survey methodology
• Measuring party identification across survey modes
• Adjusting telephone survey trends
• Appendix B: Religious category definitions
• Appendix C: Age cohort definitions

The relationship between partisanship and voters’ religious affiliation continues to be strong – especially when it comes to whether they belong to any organized religion at all.

The gap between voters who identify with an organized religion and those who do not has grown much wider in recent years.

Protestants mostly align with the Republican Party. Protestants remain the largest single religious group in the United States. As they have for most of the past 15 years, a majority of Protestant registered voters (59%) associate with the GOP, though as recently as 2009 they were split nearly equally between the two parties.

Partisan identity among Catholics had been closely divided, but the GOP now has a modest advantage among Catholics. About half of Catholic voters identify as Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party, compared with 44% who identify as Democrats or lean Democratic.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remain overwhelmingly Republican. Three-quarters of voters in this group, widely known as Mormons, identify as Republicans or lean Republican. Only about a quarter (23%) associate with the Democratic Party.

Jewish voters continue to mostly align with the Democrats. About seven-in-ten Jewish voters (69%) associate with the Democratic Party, while 29% affiliate with the Republican Party. The share of Jewish voters who align with the Democrats has increased 8 percentage points since 2020.

Muslims associate with Democrats over Republicans by a wide margin. Currently, 66% of Muslim voters say they are Democrats or independents who lean Democratic, compared with 32% who are Republicans or lean Republican. (Data for Muslim voters is not available for earlier years because of small sample sizes.)

Democrats maintain a wide advantage among religiously unaffiliated voters. Religious “nones” have become more Democratic over the past few decades as their size in the U.S. population overall and in the electorate has grown significantly. While 70% of religiously unaffiliated voters align with the Democratic Party, just 27% identify as Republicans or lean Republican.

Related: Religious “nones” in America: Who they are and what they believe

Over the past few decades, White evangelical Protestant voters have moved increasingly toward the GOP.

• Today, 85% of White evangelical voters identify with or lean toward the GOP; just 14% align with the Democrats.

• Over the past three decades, there has been a 20 percentage point rise in the share of White evangelicals who associate with the GOP – and a 20-point decline in the share identifying as or leaning Democratic. 

Over the past 15 years, the GOP also has made gains among White nonevangelical and White Catholic voters.

About six-in-ten White nonevangelicals (58%) and White Catholics (61%) align with the GOP.    Voters in both groups were equally divided between the two parties in 2009.

Partisanship among Hispanic voters varies widely among Catholics and Protestants.

• 60% of Hispanic Catholic voters identify as Democrats or lean Democratic, but that share has declined over the past 15 years.
• Hispanic Protestant voters are evenly divided: 49% associate with the Republican Party, while 45% identify as Democrats or lean Democratic.

A large majority of Black Protestants identify with the Democrats (84%), but that share is down 9 points from where it was 15 years ago (93%).

Atheists and agnostics, who make up relatively small shares of all religiously unaffiliated voters, are heavily Democratic.

Among those who identify their religion as “nothing in particular” – and who comprise a majority of all religious “nones” – Democrats hold a smaller advantage in party identification.

• More than eight-in-ten atheists (84%) align with the Democratic Party, as do 78% of agnostics.
• 62% of voters who describe themselves as “nothing in particular” identify as Democrats or lean Democratic, while 34% align with the GOP.

Voters who regularly attend religious services are more likely to identify with or lean toward the Republican Party than voters who attend less regularly.

In 2023, 62% of registered voters who attended religious services once a month or more aligned with Republicans, compared with 41% of those who attend services less often.

This pattern has been evident for many years. However, the share of voters who identify as Republicans or lean Republican has edged up in recent years.

For White, Hispanic and Asian voters, regular attendance at religious services is linked to an increase in association with the Republican Party.

However, this is not the case among Black voters.

Only about one-in-ten Black voters who are regular attenders (13%) and a similar share (11%) of those who attend less often identify as Republicans or Republican leaners.

Higher GOP association among regular attenders of religious services is seen across most denominations.

For example, among Catholic voters who attend services monthly or more often, 61% identify as Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party.

Among less frequent attenders, 47% align with the GOP.

Black Protestants are an exception to this pattern: Black Protestant voters who attend religious services monthly or more often are no more likely to associate with the Republican Party than less frequent attenders.

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Two MIT PhD students awarded J-WAFS fellowships for their research on water

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Since 2014, the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) has advanced interdisciplinary research aimed at solving the world's most pressing water and food security challenges to meet human needs. In 2017, J-WAFS established the Rasikbhai L. Meswani Water Solutions Fellowship and the J-WAFS Graduate Student Fellowship. These fellowships provide support to outstanding MIT graduate students who are pursuing research that has the potential to improve water and food systems around the world. 

Recently, J-WAFS awarded the 2024-25 fellowships to Jonathan Bessette and Akash Ball, two MIT PhD students dedicated to addressing water scarcity by enhancing desalination and purification processes. This work is of important relevance since the world's freshwater supply has been steadily depleting due to the effects of climate change. In fact, one-third of the global population lacks access to safe drinking water. Bessette and Ball are focused on designing innovative solutions to enhance the resilience and sustainability of global water systems. To support their endeavors, J-WAFS will provide each recipient with funding for one academic semester for continued research and related activities.

“This year, we received many strong fellowship applications,” says J-WAFS executive director Renee J. Robins. “Bessette and Ball both stood out, even in a very competitive pool of candidates. The award of the J-WAFS fellowships to these two students underscores our confidence in their potential to bring transformative solutions to global water challenges.”

2024-25 Rasikbhai L. Meswani Fellowship for Water Solutions

The Rasikbhai L. Meswani Fellowship for Water Solutions is a doctoral fellowship for students pursuing research related to water and water supply at MIT. The fellowship is made possible by Elina and Nikhil Meswani and family. 

Jonathan Bessette is a doctoral student in the Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Center within the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, advised by Professor Amos Winter. His research is focused on water treatment systems for the developing world, mainly desalination, or the process in which salts are removed from water. Currently, Bessette is working on designing and constructing a low-cost, deployable, community-scale desalination system for humanitarian crises.

In arid and semi-arid regions, groundwater often serves as the sole water source, despite its common salinity issues. Many remote and developing areas lack reliable centralized power and water systems, making brackish groundwater desalination a vital, sustainable solution for global water scarcity. 

“An overlooked need for desalination is inland groundwater aquifers, rather than in coastal areas,” says Bessette. “This is because much of the population lives far enough from a coast that seawater desalination could never reach them. My work involves designing low-cost, sustainable, renewable-powered desalination technologies for highly constrained situations, such as drinking water for remote communities,” he adds.

To achieve this goal, Bessette developed a batteryless, renewable electrodialysis desalination system. The technology is energy-efficient, conserves water, and is particularly suited for challenging environments, as it is decentralized and sustainable. The system offers significant advantages over the conventional reverse osmosis method, especially in terms of reduced energy consumption for treating brackish water. Highlighting Bessette’s capacity for engineering insight, his advisor noted the “simple and elegant solution” that Bessette and a staff engineer, Shane Pratt, devised that negated the need for the system to have large batteries. Bessette is now focusing on simplifying the system’s architecture to make it more reliable and cost-effective for deployment in remote areas.

Growing up in upstate New York, Bessette completed a bachelor's degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo. As an undergrad, he taught middle and high school students in low-income areas of Buffalo about engineering and sustainability. However, he cited his junior-year travel to India and his experience there measuring water contaminants in rural sites as cementing his dedication to a career addressing food, water, and sanitation challenges. In addition to his doctoral research, his commitment to these goals is further evidenced by another project he is pursuing, funded by a J-WAFS India grant, that uses low-cost, remote sensors to better understand water fetching practices. Bessette is conducting this work with fellow MIT student Gokul Sampath in order to help families in rural India gain access to safe drinking water.

2024-25 J-WAFS Graduate Student Fellowship for Water and Food Solutions

The J-WAFS Graduate Student Fellowship is supported by the J-WAFS Research Affiliate Program , which offers companies the opportunity to engage with MIT on water and food research. Current fellowship support was provided by two J-WAFS Research Affiliates: Xylem , a leading U.S.-based provider of water treatment and infrastructure solutions, and GoAigua , a Spanish company at the forefront of digital transformation in the water industry through innovative solutions. 

Akash Ball is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering, advised by Professor Heather Kulik. His research focuses on the computational discovery of novel functional materials for energy-efficient ion separation membranes with high selectivity. Advanced membranes like these are increasingly needed for applications such as water desalination, battery recycling, and removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater. 

“Climate change, water pollution, and scarce freshwater reserves cause severe water distress for about 4 billion people annually, with 2 billion in India and China’s semiarid regions,” Ball notes. “One potential solution to this global water predicament is the desalination of seawater, since seawater accounts for 97 percent of all water on Earth.”

Although several commercial reverse osmosis membranes are currently available, these membranes suffer several problems, like slow water permeation, permeability-selectivity trade-off, and high fabrication costs. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline materials that are promising candidates for highly selective ion separation with fast water transport due to high surface area, the presence of different pore windows, and the tunability of chemical functionality. In the Kulik lab, Ball is developing a systematic understanding of how MOF chemistry and pore geometry affect water transport and ion rejection rates. By the end of his PhD, Ball plans to identify existing, best-performing MOFs with unparalleled water uptake using machine learning models, propose novel hypothetical MOFs tailored to specific ion separations from water, and discover experimental design rules that enable the synthesis of next-generation membranes.  

Ball’s advisor praised the creativity he brings to his research, and his leadership skills that benefit her whole lab. Before coming to MIT, Ball obtained a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Jadavpur University in India. During a research internship at IIT Bombay in 2018, he worked on developing a technology for in situ arsenic detection in water. Like Bessette, he noted the impact of this prior research experience on his interest in global water challenges, along with his personal experience growing up in an area in India where access to safe drinking water was not guaranteed.

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Expiring TCJA Tax Provisions in 2026 Would Produce Substantial Tax Hike across the U.S.

At the end of 2025, the individual tax A tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ( TCJA ) expire all at once . Without congressional action, most taxpayers will see a notable tax increase relative to current policy in 2026.

In 2026, business taxes will also be higher as 100 percent bonus depreciation Bonus depreciation allows firms to deduct a larger portion of certain “short-lived” investments in new or improved technology, equipment, or buildings in the first year. Allowing businesses to write off more investments partially alleviates a bias in the tax code and incentivizes companies to invest more, which, in the long run, raises worker productivity, boosts wages, and creates more jobs. continues to phase down and TCJA base broadeners like research and development (R&D) amortization and a tighter limit on interest deductions remain in effect.

Policymakers may consider extending the current TCJA policy for individual tax provisions and canceling the business tax hikes. Tax Foundation estimates that permanence for the individual and business provisions (excluding the estate tax An estate tax is imposed on the net value of an individual’s taxable estate, after any exclusions or credits , at the time of death. The tax is paid by the estate itself before assets are distributed to heirs. changes) would cost about $3.8 trillion over the 10-year budget window from 2025 through 2034.

To visualize what’s at stake, Tax Foundation has estimated the average change in taxes paid per taxpayer under TCJA expiration relative to current policy across each congressional district. The congressional district map below shows the tax increase households will face if TCJA individual tax provisions expire and business taxes increase as scheduled.

The tax hikes from TCJA expiration would vary across the United States . The largest average tax hikes would be experienced by taxpayers who reside in California ’s congressional districts. For example, the congressional district covering the San Francisco area would see an average tax hike of $16,127 per taxpayer, the highest in the U.S.

By contrast, northern New York City would see an average tax increase of $807 per taxpayer under TCJA expiration. Across all congressional districts, the average tax increase costs each taxpayer about $2,853 compared to current policy where TCJA remains in place and the business tax hikes are canceled.

Individual tax provisions also exhibit geographic variation. For example, the $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions tends to have the greatest impact on taxpayers in higher tax localities on the coasts of the U.S.

Tax Foundation estimates permanence for TCJA would create about 904,000 full-time equivalent jobs, ranging from more than 136,000 jobs in California and 75,000 jobs in Texas to about 1,660 new jobs in Vermont .

The resulting increase in employment would otherwise not occur if the TCJA is allowed to expire as scheduled in 2026 or is not made permanent. The map provides a state-level breakdown of the full-time equivalent jobs that would be lost if the TCJA individual provisions are not made permanent and the domestic TCJA-related business tax hikes are not canceled. In other words, it illustrates the potential job gains forfeited by allowing the TCJA to expire rather than be made permanent.

The choice to let TCJA provisions expire or to extend them will also forfeit broader economic gains. Making the TCJA individual tax provisions permanent and canceling TCJA-related business tax hikes would raise long-run GDP by about 1.1 percent, increase wages by about 0.3 percent, and create a 0.9 percent larger national capital stock.

The Impact Of TCJA Expirations By Congressional District, 2026

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Methodology

We estimate the geographic distribution of tax changes under an extension of the TCJA individual provisions and cancellation of domestic business provisions using conventional revenue estimates at the national level generated by the Tax Foundation’s General Equilibrium Model. In this map, we do not include the impact of making permanent the TCJA’s estate tax changes.

We then allocate to filers in congressional districts using data from the IRS Statistics of Income for individual tax returns in 2021. (Conventional revenue estimates do not include impacts on GDP and other economic aggregates.) The IRS data provides various tax characteristics broken down by congressional district (CD). For consistency with the latest SOI data, we use CDs as they existed in 2021, which may not map onto existing CDs due to redistricting.

From the IRS data, certain tax characteristics are used to allocate to CDs the conventional national revenue estimates for each of the TCJA provisions, as described in Table 2, and then averaged by the number of filers in each CD. This analysis’s accuracy is limited by the extent of the IRS data at the CD level.

For the TCJA business provisions, we assume these fall partly on capital income and partly on labor income, in accordance with several studies . In particular , we assume the corporate tax is initially borne mainly by capital income (90 percent in the first year), and over time the burden shifts to labor income until it is evenly split across capital and labor income in the long run (50 percent capital income and 50 percent labor income in the fifth year and beyond).

Our state-level jobs impacts are allocated based on the national jobs estimated from the Tax Foundation General Equilibrium Model and the distribution of labor and capital income across the states.