Publications -- Taxes

BA #451 – Corporate Taxes

U.S. corporate income taxes are among the highest in the world and - unlike most developed countries - the United States imposes them on income earned by corporate subsidiaries in foreign countries. In recent years, an increasing number of American companies have reincorporated abroad to avoid these U.S. taxes. Their actions have been under fire.

BA #446 – NCPA's Value-Added Report Card on Texas Schools: A Model for Meaningful Assessments

The No Child Left Behind Act, the new school accountability measure that became law in 2001, requires that all states develop and administer standards-based tests to students in grades 3 through 8 and report results by student subpopulation (race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status and disability) for districts and campuses.

BA #445 – Marriage Penalty Relief in the New Tax Law

Some things never seem to die. The marriage penalty is one of them. The new tax law benefits most married couples somewhat, but it does not eliminate the so-called marriage penalty for lower- and upper-income couples. Even more important, the new law does not address other tax rules that financially penalize married couples and two-income couples

ST #260 – Does It Pay Both Spouses to Work?

Social Security was created in an era in which the typical household consisted of a working husband and a stay-at-home wife. The structure of Social Security rewards that type of arrangement and penalizes two-earner households.

BA #439 – Flexible Spending Accounts: The Case for Reform

Congress can help control health care costs, reduce the number of uninsured and promote quality medical care by making an existing health benefit - Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) - more flexible, portable and widely available. Doing so would give millions of Americans more control over their medical care and make them more cost-conscious patients.

BA #433 – The Bush Tax Plan: Tax Reform in the Making

President Bush has proposed a tax package to spur economic recovery and promote growth. The President's plan includes accelerating scheduled tax rate cuts, ending the double taxation of corporate income and increasing the amount of capital expenditures small businesses can deduct from their taxable income.

ST #258 – Does It Pay to Work?

What is the economic reward for working? The answer is surprisingly complicated. Going to work, earning a living, and spending one's earnings over time raises a variety of taxes and government benefits and lowers a variety of taxes and benefits - and not just in the current year, but in all future years as well.

BA #431 – The IRS vs. Foreign Investment

Foreigners have invested more than $1 trillion in capital in the United States since 1984, when Congress and the Reagan administration established a policy of not taxing interest they earn on U.S. bank deposits.

BA #425 – Investor Tax Relief

With continued sluggishness in the economy, the Bush administration is looking at new tax initiatives that will have a quick, positive impact on growth. However, the key to truly helping the economy is long-term, not short-term, thinking.

BA #423 – Cigarette Smuggling

Diverse state tobacco taxes are a key reason for cigarette smuggling, in which organized crime and terrorist groups increasingly are involved.