The Nicotine Pouch Dilemma: How States Are Botching Tax Policy on Alternative Tobacco Products

As traditional cigarette consumption continues a decades-long, public-health-driven decline, state budgets face an impending fiscal reckoning. For generations, tobacco excise taxes served as a reliable, highly lucrative stream of revenue for local governments. But as smokers successfully stub out traditional cigarettes in favor of non-combustible alternatives, states are experiencing a profound revenue crater. Enter oral…

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Beyond the Delivery Room: Why Trump Accounts Fail to Solve America’s Savings Crisis and Where Lawmakers Should Look Instead

By Daniel Bunn, President and CEO of the Tax Foundation Main Facts Passed in the wake of sweeping legislative battles during President Trump’s second term, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) stands indisputably as the most consequential piece of economic policy of the current administration. Within its massive framework, which overhauled large swaths of…

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Ghosts of the 1990s: What the Failed ‘Bit Tax’ Teaches Us About Modern Proposals to Tax Artificial Intelligence

As billions of dollars in capital pour into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure across the United States, lawmakers in Washington and state capitals are increasingly looking for ways to capture revenue from the boom. While some tax proposals focus broadly on high earners and corporate giants, others target the narrow machinery of the AI revolution itself—such…

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The Shifting Landscape of American Road Funding: Gas Taxes, Environmental Mandates, and the Move Toward VMT

For decades, the traditional gas tax has served as the financial backbone of American infrastructure, acting as a direct user fee intended to charge motorists precisely for the privilege of driving on government-maintained roads. However, a complex web of state excise taxes, local levies, and aggressive new environmental regulations has drastically altered the cost of…

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The High Cost of Borrowing: How Fluctuating US Treasury Yields Ripple Through the Federal Budget and Tax Revenues

WASHINGTON — In the complex machinery of the modern American economy, few components are as vital—or as volatile—as the borrowing costs of the United States government. As national debt continues to cast a long shadow over fiscal policy, shifting Treasury yields have once again seized the spotlight, revealing a delicate and often precarious relationship between…

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Belgium’s New Digital Tax Proposal: A Corporate Income Tax Reform or a Digital Services Tax in Disguise?

BRUSSELS — As global economies grapple with the rapid digitalization of commerce, governments are scrambling to capture tax revenues from companies that operate across borders without a physical footprint. In Belgium, a major legislative push is underway to adapt the nation’s corporate income tax (CIT) framework to the realities of the modern digital economy. However,…

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Architect of Modern Competitiveness: Remembering Siim Kallas and the Blueprint of Estonian Tax Reform

By Daniel Bunn President and CEO, Tax Foundation The global economic community recently lost a true visionary and pioneer of tax reform. Siim Kallas—the former Estonian Prime Minister, European Commissioner, and the intellectual architect behind the policies that catapulted Estonia’s economy into the modern era—passed away on August 22 at the age of 77. In…

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Debunking the Myth: Why The Washington Post’s Take on Social Security Progressivity Misses the Mark

WASHINGTON — As lawmakers grapple with looming insolvency deadlines and the structural fiscal imbalances facing America’s premier social safety net programs, the debate over entitlement reform has taken center stage in national economic policy discussions. Recently, The Washington Post editorial board published an opinion piece highlighting a striking figure: 37 percent of Social Security benefits…

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Who Pays for Tariffs? New Economic Research Challenges Conventional Wisdom on the 2025 Trade Policies

By Tax Foundation Analysis Desk The debate over who ultimately bears the financial burden of international trade barriers has long divided economists, policymakers, and business leaders. Conventional economic modeling has frequently suggested that when the United States imposes tariffs on foreign goods, the domestic economy pays the overwhelming price—often calculated as a near-complete pass-through to…

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Navigating the Fiscal Cliff: Tax Foundation Releases Comprehensive Guide to Federal Tax Reform and Deficit Reduction

WASHINGTON — As annual federal budget deficits approach an alarming $2urillion threshold, lawmakers in Washington are increasingly looking toward the federal tax code to generate revenue and stabilize the national debt. Amid this fiscal pressure, the Tax Foundation has released its flagship resource, Options for Reforming America’s Tax Code 3.0: A Policymaker’s Guide to Tax…

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