Taxes

Inside the Remarkable — and Costly — Decline of the IRS

By Michael Rainey

Weighed down by budget cuts and staff reductions, the number of audits performed by the Internal Revenue Service has been dropping for years. A new report from ProPublica and The Atlantic takes a...
Taking the Sting Out of a New Tax on Nonprofits

By Michael Rainey

Under the 2017 tax law, some churches, charities and other nonprofit organizations are being hit with a new tax on the value of transportation benefits provided to employees, including free parking...
The 3 False Claims Trump Repeats Most

By Michael Rainey

Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler analyzed President Trump’s voluminous record of false claims to determine which specific issues crop up most frequently. The top three have a strong fiscal...
Poll of the Day: Paying More, Less or the Same After the New Tax Law?

By Yuval Rosenberg

A new poll from The Economist and YouGov finds a sizable partisan divide in American’s perception of how the new tax law will affect their finances, with 67 percent of Democrats saying they expect to...
How Congress Got So Broken

By Yuval Rosenberg

More than 50 House members chose not to seek re-election in 2018, and a new report from nonprofit groups Issue One and the R Street Institute examines what drove so many to that decision. The report...

A Plea from the Left and the Right to End ‘Temporary’ Tax Breaks

By Michael Rainey

There aren’t many issues that the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute and the right-libertarian, Koch-funded Freedom Partners can agree upon, but putting an end to Washington’s annual ritual of...
Larry Kudlow Still Insists Tax Cuts Will Pay for Themselves, Deficits Will Fall 'a Lot'

By Yuval Rosenberg

Isn’t it time to admit that the tax cuts are not going to pay for themselves? Larry Kudlow, the director of President Trump’s National Economic Council, was asked that question Friday morning on CNBC...
Trump Promised Companies Would Bring Back Trillions. They Haven’t Yet

By Michael Rainey

Trillions of dollars in cash held by U.S. corporations overseas were supposed to come flowing back to the country as a result of the Republican tax bill, which provided a one-time lower tax rate on...
Chart of the Day: The Most Taxed Countries

By The Fiscal Times Staff

France is now the most heavily taxed developed nation, according to the latest annual review by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. French tax revenues rose in 2017 to the...
‘Read My Lips’: How George H.W. Bush’s Tax Hikes Changed Our Politics

By Yuval Rosenberg

The tributes to former President George H.W. Bush have focused on his life of service, his character, his sense of humor, his courage and his leadership. But as the nation mourns and celebrates the...

Trump Says National Debt Is Not His Problem: Report

By Michael Rainey and Yuval Rosenberg

As a candidate, Donald Trump said he could eliminate the national debt in eight years, largely by focusing on better trade deals. But in office, Trump has presided over a considerable increase in red...
Tax Burden in France Now Highest in the World: OECD

By Michael Rainey

France is now the most heavily taxed developed nation, according to the latest annual review by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD’s analysis includes federal, state...
4 Lessons from the GOP Tax Bill

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The Wall Street Journal’s Theo Francis says that while the Republican tax bill signed by President Trump a year ago has produced some obvious effects for U.S. businesses, including a solid boost to...
Why GM Pays Almost No Federal Income Tax

By Michael Rainey

General Motors has earned billions of dollars in the decade since its bankruptcy and bailout, but thanks to a provision in the tax code called "net operating loss carryforward," it has paid very...
One Simple Reason the GOP Tax Bill Has Stalled

By Michael Rainey

Republicans hold the majority in the House for a few more weeks, but that numerical advantage doesn’t mean much if lawmakers don’t show up to vote. Politico’s Brian Faler says that dozens of...