Fundamental Tax Reform

Our Research & Offerings on Fundamental Tax Reform
  • WebMemo posted January 24, 2012 by Curtis Dubay Tax To-Do List for 2012 for the President and Congress: Focus on Growth

    President Obama and Congress need to focus on policies in 2012 that will unleash the economic growth necessary to get the economy back on track, create jobs, and lower the unemployment rate. As more government spending has failed to create that growth, the President and Congress… Read more

  • Backgrounder posted November 2, 2011 by J.D. Foster, Ph.D. True Tax Reform: Improves the Economy, Does Not Raise Taxes

    Abstract: There is little dispute that the current federal income tax is in real need of an overhaul. The heart of tax reform is to achieve a stronger economy through the adoption of a more economically neutral tax system featuring much lower marginal… Read more

  • Backgrounder posted June 13, 2011 by Curtis Dubay The 2010 Tax Deal: A Chance for Congress to Lay the Groundwork for Tax Reform

    Abstract: The 2010 Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act—which extended the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for two years—also extended the lifespan of other policies that will not benefit the economy. The country is in dire need of tax reform, yet… Read more

  • WebMemo posted May 13, 2011 by Brian Riedl, Robert Moffit, Ph.D., Romina Boccia Ten Myths of Ryan’s House Budget Plan

    Runaway spending and deficits continue to grow unabated in part because any attempts to rein them in are relentlessly demagogued by defenders of big government. The latest example is the budget recently authored by House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI) and passed by the House of Representatives. … Read more

  • WebMemo posted November 9, 2009 by William Beach Seven Reasons Why Congress Should Repeal, Not Fix, the Death Tax

    The House and Senate may soon begin debate on what to do with the federal estate tax. If Congress fails to act before January 1, 2010, current law calls for death taxes to disappear entirely for one year before returning in 2011 at a top rate of 55 percent… Read more

  • Commentary posted January 15, 2009 by Helle Dale While the U.S. Expands Government...

    The irony of it all. The United States is currently faced with the prospect of the biggest government expansion in American history in the shape of the giant stimulus package proposed by president-elect Barack Obama. The expenditures contained therein are so humongous that even Rep. Barney Frank has stated that he will need to… Read more

  • Commentary posted November 18, 2008 by Brian Darling Congress Declares War on Taxpayers

    This week on Capitol Hill, we expect to see at least two specious ideas up for consideration -- a bad stimulus package and an ill-advised automaker bailout. A cascade of bad headlines over the past three months influenced many voters to blame Republicans for an economic slowdown, including a… Read more

  • WebMemo posted August 30, 2005 by Kirk Johnson, Ph.D., Rea Hederman, Jr. New Census Bureau Report Underscores the Need for More Pro-Growth Policies

    On August 30, 2005, the Census Bureau reported that the poverty rate was essentially unchanged in 2004 and that the level of income inequality was unchanged, as well.[1] Still, expect the familiar refrain that the "rich are getting richer"… Read more

  • WebMemo posted July 29, 2005 by Ben Lieberman The Bad Tax Bill Within the Bad Energy Bill

    Within the just-passed energy bill are tax provisions containing a wide variety of inducements designed to help solve the nation's energy challenges. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the proposed tax measures could cost $11.5 billion through 2015. The real price tag could go even higher, but in any event, Americans will not be… Read more

  • Testimony posted June 8, 2005 by William Beach Measuring the Fairness of a Tax System

    Testimony of William W. Beach, Director, Center for Data Analysis, The Heritage Foundation, Before the Committee on Ways and Means of the United States House of Representatives   The President's call for fundamental tax reform combined with this committee's continued interest in repairing and improving our tax code… Read more

View All
Find more work on Fundamental Tax Reform
  • WebMemo posted January 24, 2012 by Curtis Dubay Tax To-Do List for 2012 for the President and Congress: Focus on Growth

    President Obama and Congress need to focus on policies in 2012 that will unleash the economic growth necessary to get the economy back on track, create jobs, and lower the unemployment rate. As more government spending has failed to create that growth, the President and Congress… Read more

  • Backgrounder posted May 16, 2005 by Daniel Mitchell, Ph.D. Beware the Value-Added Tax

    America is one of the few nations without a value-added tax (VAT), but there is growing pres­sure to impose the levy. In simple terms, a VAT is a type of national sales tax. However, instead of being collected at the cash register, it is imposed on the “value added” at… Read more

  • WebMemo posted May 13, 2011 by Brian Riedl, Robert Moffit, Ph.D., Romina Boccia Ten Myths of Ryan’s House Budget Plan

    Runaway spending and deficits continue to grow unabated in part because any attempts to rein them in are relentlessly demagogued by defenders of big government. The latest example is the budget recently authored by House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI) and passed by the House of Representatives. … Read more

  • Backgrounder posted November 2, 2011 by J.D. Foster, Ph.D. True Tax Reform: Improves the Economy, Does Not Raise Taxes

    Abstract: There is little dispute that the current federal income tax is in real need of an overhaul. The heart of tax reform is to achieve a stronger economy through the adoption of a more economically neutral tax system featuring much lower marginal… Read more

  • Lecture posted September 10, 1998 by William Beach Why Taxes Affect Economic Growth

    To those who struggle daily to succeed in business, it is well known that the rules of government and the customs of the community can influence the scope of economic activity. Certain communities permit trade on holy days; others do not. Some governments encourage exchange with suppliers and customers in other countries; others raise… Read more

  • WebMemo posted December 31, 2002 by Andrew Olivastro Tax Cuts Increase Federal Revenues

    A New York Times article, Deficit Spending Can Help Republicans, by Daniel Altman, shows that old, wrong assumptions die hard. The article reports that: "From the beginning of 2001 through the third quarter of 2002, the… Read more

  • WebMemo posted November 9, 2009 by William Beach Seven Reasons Why Congress Should Repeal, Not Fix, the Death Tax

    The House and Senate may soon begin debate on what to do with the federal estate tax. If Congress fails to act before January 1, 2010, current law calls for death taxes to disappear entirely for one year before returning in 2011 at a top rate of 55 percent… Read more

  • Backgrounder posted May 22, 2001 by Daniel Mitchell, Ph.D. Lowering Marginal Tax Rates: The Key to Pro-Growth Tax Relief

    The decision to scale back the level of tax relief over the next 10 fiscal years to either $1.25 trillion or $1.35 trillion,1 substantially less than the $1.6 trillion requested by President George W. Bush, means that less than 25 percent of the projected $5.6 trillion budget surplus will be returned to taxpayers. For… Read more

  • Backgrounder posted May 3, 2002 by Daniel Mitchell, Ph.D. The Correct Way to Measure the Revenue Impact of Changes in Tax Rates

    The debate between static and dynamic scoring may seem an esoteric inside-the-Beltway squabble, but the choice of how to estimate revenues has important implications. In the short term, better revenue estimating methods would make it easier to implement tax rate reductions.1 In the long term, shifting to a simple and fair… Read more

  • WebMemo posted October 13, 2004 by Norbert Michel, Ph.D. Anything but Avoidance: Citizens for Tax Justice's BlunderingCorporate Tax Report

    The nonprofit group Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) recently blasted U.S. corporations for increasing their "tax avoidance" behavior during the presidency of George W. Bush. The CTJ report "Corporate Income Taxes in the Bush Years"[1] examines the annual financial reports of a group of large U.S. corporations and purports to… Read more

Find more work on Fundamental Tax Reform
View All
Find more work on Fundamental Tax Reform
Other Topics Related to Fundamental Tax Reform
Our Work
View All
View All
View All
ABOUT The HERITAGE FOUNDATION

The Heritage Foundation is the nation’s most broadly supported public policy research institute, with nearly 700,000 individual, foundation and corporate donors. Heritage, founded in February 1973, has a staff of 255 and an annual expense budget of $75.3 million.

Our mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. Read More

Our Initiatives
especially for
 
receive updates & newsletters

Receive updates from Heritage about current events and initiatives in your email inbox

http://www.heritage.org/issues/taxes/tax-reform-issues/tax-simplification/fundamental-tax-reform?fb=true#foot_anchor

© 2012, The Heritage Foundation
Conservative policy research since 1973