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Tax Reform

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Taxes directly affect Americans by compelling them to surrender part of their income to the government, and indirectly since the taxing power can positively or negatively affect economic growth.

In the U.S., our tax regimes are in serious need for reform, both at the state and federal level. Our tax code fails to sufficiently incentivize investment, the primary driver of economic growth. And it hobbles U.S. companies as they compete internationally.

IPI believes that the purpose of taxes is to raise the revenue necessary to fund the legitimate functions of government while imposing the least possible impact upon the functioning of the economy. We therefore believe that taxes should be simple, transparent, neutral, territorial and competitive.

Because of its tremendous potential to stimulate real long-term economic growth, tax reform should be a top priority of policymakers.

February 24, 2016

Conservatives Who Defy the Rule-of-Law on Taxation

Conservative legislators should not defy rule-of-law in their greed for more tax revenue.

February 23, 2016

When Will Republican Candidates Start Identifying Proposed Spending Cuts?

Tax cuts are nice but they are not enough. The government doesn’t just take too much money, it also spends too much.

February 13, 2016

Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act Passes Congress

Congress has voted to permanently bar state and local governments from taxing access to the Internet. For 17 years, the ban on Internet taxes has benefited millions of Americans by empowering them to conduct transactions on the Internet free from the fear of additional tax burdens. "This is a tremendous victory for America's Internet economy, and for all of us who participate in this economy", said Institute for Policy Innovation president Tom Giovanetti.

February 12, 2016

Senate Passes Customs Bill With PITFA Intact

Passage of PITFA as part of HR-644 now "intensifies" S-698 opponents' push to "stave off the attempt" to pass that bill, said IPI president Tom Giovanetti in a statement. S-698 "has never had committee scrutiny on the Senate side and [has] never been subject to amendment on the floor." Senate Republican leaders "must commit to first submitting this legislation to the same procedures, hearings and scrutiny appropriate to any and all legislation, especially since this proposal has serious Constitutional questions," Giovanetti said.

February 11, 2016

Powell Praises PITFA Passage

Fans of the just-passed permanent Internet Tax Fairness Act (PITFA), which bans taxes on Internet servcie, were weighing in Thursday (Feb. 11), including warning about the Internet sale tax legislation whose future consideration was a tradeoff for that passage.

February 11, 2016

PITFA Tremendous Victory for U.S. Internet Economy

The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) commends the U.S. Senate for passing the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA). "This is a tremendous victory for America’s Internet economy, and for all of us who participate in this economy," said IPI president Tom Giovanetti. 

February 4, 2016

Tax Succor or Sucker Punch

For years, big-government pro-taxers have often deployed parliamentary tricks to thwart the vote on a permanent Internet tax fix. This time, however, there may be nowhere to hide.

February 3, 2016

Brady Briefing: Ways & Means Important to Texas, U.S.

Tom Giovanetti, president of the freedom-oriented IPI, recently wrote “Now that Texas Republican Kevin Brady chairs the Ways & Means Committee, he will have more to say about the details of any eventual tax reform than will the future president. So what really matters is Brady’s priorities…and they are encouraging”.

February 3, 2016

Comparing the Major Candidates' Tax Plans

Most of the major presidential candidates have released tax reform plans with enough specifics to run them through an economic model. On tax policy, Republicans tend to focus on economic growth, while Democrats tend to focus on distributional effects.

January 15, 2016

The Value-Added Tax Should Be Political Poison for Advocates of Limited Government

Bartlett Cleland of the Institute for Policy Innovation writes: The VAT is attractive to those who…[w]ant to grow government… Whether or not those proposing such taxes are interested in expanding the scope of government is almost irrelevant, because once the tools for such expansion are in place they can be used by future politicians to grow government subtly.  Similarly, whether a tax is labeled as a VAT or not is also irrelevant if the function is the same—for example by not allowing companies to deduct wages.

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