Trump and Harris' Economic Plans Are Depressingly Similar
Both campaigns represent variations on a theme of big, fiscally irresponsible, hyper-interventionist government.
Tax credits
J.D. Vance Wants To Control You With Taxes
People making the same income should be paying the same level of taxes no matter how they choose to live their lives.
J.D. Vance Says Childless Americans Should Pay Higher Taxes. They Already Do.
Donald Trump's running mate has discovered the most politically toxic way to demand the status quo.
Netflix's 'Don't Look Up' Got $46 Million From Massachusetts Taxpayers
According to recently updated figures, more than half of the state's film production credits for 2021 went to just one film, whose two stars collectively earned over $50 million.
N.J. Businessman Indicted for Sopranos-Style Economic Development Racket
George Norcross III's alleged actions are almost cartoonishly corrupt. But for economic development programs, it's not too far off from business as usual.
The Best of Reason: Government Can't Fix America's Baby Bust
The obstacles to having more babies can't be moved by tax incentives or subsidized child care.
Government Can't Fix America's Baby Bust
The obstacles to having more babies can't be moved by tax incentives or subsidized child care.
Congress Yet Again Abuses 'Emergency Spending' for Non-Emergency Purposes
Let's just call this what it is: another gimmick for Congress to escape its own budget limits and avoid having a conversation about tradeoffs.
This Tax Week, Remember That the Federal Income Tax Is Relatively New
There are many pervasive myths about the U.S. tax code. Here are a few.
Politicians Are Showering Manufacturing Companies With Crony Subsidies for 'Job Creation.' It Won't Work.
These handouts will flow to businesses—often big and rich—for projects they would likely have taken on anyway.
New Georgia Law Limits Film Tax Credits. But Marvel Would Still Qualify.
While the state senate's bill would cap tax credits at 2.3 percent of the state's budget, any production filming at a big enough studio would be exempt.
Rivian Pauses Construction at Factory That Costs Georgia Taxpayers $1.5 Billion
The company will now build everything in its existing Illinois factory, pausing construction on the Georgia plant until "later."
Biden's Plan To Subsidize Homebuyers Won't Work
The president's laundry list of proposed tax credits would likely make the problem of high housing costs worse.
Congress Continues To Make the Tax Code Ridiculously Hard To Understand
I shouldn't have to spend so much money on an accountant every year. But I don't really have a choice.
Expanding the Child Tax Credit Would Perpetuate Systemic Poverty
The policy is a true budget buster and is ineffective in the long term.
Biden Pours Out Another $6.5 Billion for the CHIPS Act's Costly Protectionism
It's part of the government's expensive public-private partnership meant to address concerns over a reliance on foreign countries, like China, for semiconductors.
Audit Finds New York's $700 Million Film Tax Credits Make Little Difference
The credit "is at best a break-even proposition and more likely a net cost" for the state.
Study Funded by Shell Convinced Pennsylvania To Give Shell $1.6 Billion Tax Break
The tax credits currently rank as the largest subsidy in state history.
Bipartisan Tax Credit Bonanza
Plus: California reparations bills drop, the Biden administration continues the war on gas stoves, and D.C.'s rising crime rate.
The Government Is Better at Picking Losers Than Winners
It's taxpayers who lose when politicians give gifts, grants, and loans to private companies.
St. Louis Schools Lost $260 Million to Economic Development Subsidies
According to a report from Good Jobs First, St. Louis' public schools took the brunt of the loss at nearly 65 percent of the total.
On Economic Issues, the Populist Right and Left Share a Lot of Common Ground
That's bad news for Americans.
All I Want for Christmas Is for Congress To Exercise Fiscal Restraint
Lawmakers can take small steps that are uncontroversial and bipartisan to jumpstart the fiscal stability process.
Georgia Taxpayers Lose $160,000 for Every Job Created by Film Tax Credits
The program generates just 19 cents for every dollar spent.
Tesla's Expensive New Cybertruck May Qualify for $7,500 in E.V. Tax Credits
According to a Treasury Department website, two of the three Cybertruck models currently offered would qualify for tax credits.
Promoting Free Market Solutions to Climate Change at COP28
How to declare a ceasefire in the carbon tariff wars.
The Real Scandal in Washington Is the Government's Reckless Spending
Those sounding the loudest alarms about possible shutdowns are largely silent when Congress ignores its own budgetary rules. All that seems to matter is that government is metaphorically funded.
Companies Seeking CHIPS Act Subsidies Are Encouraged To Double-Dip
At least a dozen states have beefed up targeted incentives to coincide with handouts from the Commerce Department.
Industrial Policy Isn't About Creating Jobs
It's a short-sighted approach that distracts us from the more important question.
Movie Industry Says Georgia's Film Tax Credits Are Great. State Auditors Say They're a Waste of Money.
Contradicting a new report funded by entertainment industry advocates, state auditors have cast significant doubts on the tax credit program's actual effectiveness.
Michigan Has Given the E.V. Industry $1.4 Billion and Counting
Carmakers don't need a crony-capitalist slush fund.
Conservatives Pushing 'Common Good Capitalism' Sound a Lot Like Progressives
The ideology champions the same tired policies that big government types predictably propose whenever they see something they don't like.
Don't Believe the Media Fearmongering About Spending Cuts
In 2019, discretionary spending was $1.338 trillion—or some $320 billion less than what Republicans want that side of the budget to be.
Auditors Asked the IRS To Figure Out Why So Many Taxpayers Make Mistakes. The IRS Said 'No.'
Maybe taxpayers would make fewer mistakes if the federal tax code weren't so hopelessly complex.
Georgia Is Shoveling Cash Into a Failing Electric Vehicle Company
In 2021, the state of Georgia made an expensive bet on an unproven company that could be headed for financial catastrophe.
Electric Car Prices Are Falling, With or Without Tax Credits
The Inflation Reduction Act imposes byzantine requirements to qualify for the credits. Some automakers are simply ignoring them and finding other ways to lower prices.
I Gave Myself Severe Diarrhea for Science. Don't Tax Me for It.
Eliminating taxation on compensation for being a human guinea pig is just good public policy.
Tennessee Will Use Eminent Domain To Evict Black Farmers for Ford E.V. Factory
The state promised Ford nearly $900 million in incentives, including new and upgraded roads. But it chose to run that new road through a number of black-owned farms.
The Inflation Reduction Act Is Screwing Up the Market for Electric Vehicles
Volkswagen unveiled a cheap new electric concept car, but protectionist policies mean it's not worthwhile for the company to introduce it in the U.S.
Bringing the Child Tax Credit Back to Life Is Too Costly
Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation reported that a permanent expansion would cost more than $1.4 trillion over a decade.
Electric Truck Manufacturer Featured in Super Bowl Ad Got $186 Million in Taxpayer Subsidies
Stellantis, one of the largest automakers on the planet with billions in cash on hand, got a generous handout from the state of Indiana for choosing to build its battery manufacturing plant there.
The Fight Over the Debt Ceiling Is Just Beginning
Legislators will increasingly argue over how to spend a diminishing discretionary budget while overall spending simultaneously explodes.
Biden Promotes a Hummer That Doesn't Even Qualify for His Electric Vehicle Tax Credits
Biden sat in a truck that costs as much as $120,000 to promote a tax credit that only applies to electric vehicles retailing for up to $80,000.
Youngkin Nixes Ford Electric Vehicle Plant Over Anti-China Paranoia
The factory may have been a bad deal for Virginia, but tying the decision to Chinese aggression is the wrong move.
Trump's Tax Returns Show What Sort of Tax Reform We Need
But partisans are having the wrong debate.
Free Market Think Tank Names Georgia Electric Vehicle Plant the 'Worst Economic Development Deal of 2022'
Rivian, an electric truck manufacturer that hopes to compete with Tesla, received a lucrative deal to build a new factory in Georgia despite concerns about its finances.
Congress Can Reduce the Deficit by $7.7 Trillion in 10 Years
The Congressional Budget Office projects that future deficits will explode. But there's a way out.
Subsidies To Help Workers Would Hurt Poor People
Some people would benefit. Others would lose money or be rendered unemployable.
