Tax Foundation

About Tax Foundation

The Tax Foundation is the nation’s leading independent tax policy 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Since 1937, our principled research, insightful analysis, and engaged experts have informed smarter tax policy at the federal, state, and global levels. For over 80 years, our goal has remained the same: to improve lives through tax policies that lead to greater economic growth and opportunity.

Every day, our staff works toward a singular vision: a world where the tax code doesn’t stand in the way of success. We believe that an ideal tax code follows the principles of sound policy: simplicity, neutrality, transparency, and stability.

“I like to think we’re happy warriors,” said Tax Foundation President Emeritus & Senior Policy Advisor Scott Hodge. “We believe deeply in our mission. We’re motivated to come to work every day to change the world. The way that we change the world is through tax policy. Admittedly, it’s a rather narrow focus; a narrow solution to the world’s problems. But that’s our mission. We believe, and it’s not just a slogan, that we can improve lives through smarter tax policy.”

What We Do

Tax reform isn’t just about growing the economy, or raising revenue; it’s about making people better off. That’s why we’re so passionate about our mission: to lead the tax reform debate toward smarter, simpler policy.

Center for State Tax Policy

Our state tax policy team achieves this through a proven process of ranking states on our State Business Tax Climate Index, educating legislators, businesses, and taxpayers with our chart book program, and providing detailed, personalized, and common sense options to states that are ripe for reform. Every year, our team is on the ground in more than 30 states, testifying, presenting, and working closely with governors, key policymakers, and business leaders to craft the best tax policies for each state. Our accessibility extends to news outlets large and small across the country, answering reporters’ questions on the new horizons we help states explore.

Center for Federal Tax Policy

Our federal tax policy team produces timely data, research, and analysis to educate Congress and politicians across the country about the short- and long-term impact of tax reform policies they might be planning. Our team also takes a quantitative approach to analyzing federal tax policies and proposals using our Taxes and Growth (TAG) macroeconomic model. Since 2015, the TAG model has been used to analyze dozens of legislative and campaign tax proposals, including every major tax plan put forth during the 2016 presidential campaigns, the House GOP’s 2016 Tax Reform Blueprint, and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Center for Global Tax Policy

Our global tax policy team publishes data and research on the tax codes of countries around the world and works directly with policy professionals and legislators in those countries to educate them about options for tax reform. In addition to several comparative studies, we publish the International Tax Competitiveness Index annually, which ranks the structure of each country’s tax code in the OECD.