California’s latest proposal to levy a one-time tax on billionaires has ignited the predictable controversial debate. Before taking sides in this debate, it is worth asking a more basic question: even if the tax works as advertised and raises $100 billion, would it solve the problem it is meant to address?
Like everyone else, athletes pay federal income taxes. But the key difference lies at the state level. Some states—such as Florida or Texas—have no state income tax, while others, like California, tax top incomes at rates above 13 percent. In new research, we study how this tax difference affects the success of college basketball programs. We analyze all Division I men’s basketball teams from 2016 to 2024 and compare their performance before and after NIL rules began.
Wealth taxes have gained political momentum as a tool to address inequality and raise revenue. But setting aside practical implementation challenges, how do wealth taxes compare to income taxes in purely economic terms? This analysis examines a fundamental distinction: income taxes apply to realized profits, while wealth taxes effectively tax expected future earnings. The implications for investment incentives, industry distortions, risk-taking, and economic growth may be significant.
Are dividend recipients lightly taxed? A common claim suggests wealthy investors pay lower tax rates than wage earners. But this comparison typically overlooks a key feature of the tax system: corporate profits are taxed twice—first at the corporate level, then again when distributed as dividends. This analysis examines the combined tax burden and compares it across countries.
Do large companies actually pay corporate taxes? Using data from over 18,000 firms across 27 countries, this analysis examines effective tax rates—what companies actually pay relative to their profits. The findings reveal a more complex picture than political rhetoric suggests, with significant variation across countries and important exceptions to common assumptions.
Corporate tax avoidance remains a central concern in public debate, with claims that multinational companies exploit loopholes to reduce their tax burdens. But much of the evidence cited comes from decades-old data. This analysis examines how international tax rules have fundamentally changed over the past ten years, and asks whether policy discussions have kept pace with regulatory reforms already in place.
Policymakers worldwide are requiring companies to publicly disclose tax information, with the goal of helping investors and consumers identify aggressive tax avoidance. But does public tax transparency actually work as intended? Recent experimental research examines whether ordinary users of information can meaningfully interpret corporate tax disclosures—and the findings challenge common assumptions about disclosure’s effectiveness.