Tax Code in Transition: How to Treat Accumulated Untaxed Foreign Earnings

Tax Code in Transition: How to Treat Accumulated Untaxed Foreign Earnings

Lawmakers are on the verge of fundamentally updating the international provisions of the US tax code. Currently, we have a worldwide system, under which profits US firms earn abroad are subject to US tax minus a credit for foreign taxes paid and subject to a deferral until repatriation. In an effort that began in 2011 with draft legislation from former Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, Republicans have been determined to transform the US tax code into a territorial system, under which active income earned abroad is generally exempt from US tax.

MGA’s Alex Brill on WAMU-FM’s “1A”

MGA’s Alex Brill on WAMU-FM’s “1A”

“The bills both in the House and the Senate not only reduce the corporate C corporation tax rate from 35 to 25%, the issue we have been discussing, but both bills create a lower tax rate for pass through businesses: sole proprietorships, S corps, LLCs. Not all LLC’s will get that pass through. Not all pass throughs will get that break. But there is a large explicit tax break for small businesses. With respect to the question about deductions, those deductions will remain. Business deductions will remain deductible. Other deductions for individuals, some of them are being curtailed, but not on the business side.”

Fiscal Reform Lessons from the Anglosphere

Fiscal Reform Lessons from the Anglosphere

Congress is deeply entrenched in an effort to reform the federal tax code. Central to this effort is a desire to lower the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent — a level on par with the rest of the developed world. Policymakers are keenly aware of the competitive advantages this change could bring based on similar rate changes across Europe and around the globe.

The Bleak Long-Run Outlook: US Fiscal Policy and How to Improve It

The Bleak Long-Run Outlook: US Fiscal Policy and How to Improve It

The United States is slowly but surely headed toward a federal debt crisis certain to inflict serious economic hardship on future generations. Today, the amount of federal debt held by the public stands at $14.8 trillion (all figures in this paper are in US dollars). While the US economy is expected to grow 76 percent in the next 30 years, that debt burden will, in inflation-adjusted terms, increase by over 240 percent during that time. Returning to a sustainable fiscal outlook will require hard choices and a clear understanding of both what led us to this point and the economic consequences of inaction.

Republicans Forge Ahead With Tax Reform

Republicans Forge Ahead With Tax Reform

“The House bill and the Senate bill are not identical but are very much on the same page, according to Alex Brill, a resident fellow at AEI, a conservative think tank. Most changes will be technical in nature and carried out by the conference committee. According to Brill, reconciliation might take longer than lawmakers have predicted, but he is confident that the differences will ultimately get resolved.”