The hottest Tax policy Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top U.S. Politics Topics

June 28, 2025

Letters from an American • 22 implied HN points • 29 Jun 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. The Republicans introduced a controversial budget bill late at night, revealing it to be quite unpopular. Many important provisions were removed due to Democratic challenges, but the bill still favors the wealthy.
  2. The new bill is expected to significantly cut Medicaid funding, which could lead to millions losing their health insurance. Health systems have warned that these cuts would have devastating effects on care.
  3. This situation mirrors historical events where unpopular policies led to public outrage and political consequences. Just like past instances, people today are recognizing that the system may be unfairly benefiting the rich.

The Wealth Transfer Nobody Talks About

Ijtihad • 57 implied HN points • 10 Nov 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. The U.S. military spending largely benefits the wealthy, as tax money is used to fund arms sales to other countries.
  2. Around $113 billion has been spent on military assistance to Ukraine and Israel over the past decade, taking funds from public resources.
  3. Mainstream media often ignore this issue, which affects many Americans, likely due to their ties to rich donors.

🤑 Stop Calling it 'The Middle Class'

UnfairNation by Ehsan Zaffar • 10 implied HN points • 12 Aug 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. The term 'middle class' is misleading because it suggests a larger and powerful group, but they actually represent a shrinking portion of the population.
  2. The wealth gap is widening, with the top 5% controlling a huge amount of wealth and spending, leaving the middle class financially strained.
  3. High costs of living, influenced by tariffs and other factors, make it harder for the middle class to participate in democracy and compete with wealthy donors.

should you pay tax on food

The Daily Bud • 16 implied HN points • 30 May 25
💰 Finance Tax policy
  1. Buying food as medicine can be tricky with tax laws. Only certain medical diets or special food costs may qualify as deductible expenses.
  2. Court cases show that just having a medical condition isn’t enough; the food must be different or cost more than regular food to count for tax deductions.
  3. Changes to tax rules about food as medicine are needed, but that will take time, especially if Congress gets involved.

Abolish the SALT Deduction

California Thoughts • 19 implied HN points • 12 Feb 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. Repealing or increasing the cap on the SALT deduction would benefit the richest Americans and increase inequality.
  2. Factors like housing costs influence migration more than taxes, so removing the SALT deduction cap may not lead to as much migration as expected.
  3. It is suggested to abolish the SALT deduction and most other itemized deductions to prioritize spending on anti-poverty measures.
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It’s budget day in the UK

Klement on Investing • 2 implied HN points • 26 Nov 25
💰 Finance Tax policy
  1. Changes in tax rates usually don’t alter long‑run economic growth and have little effect on equity market returns, so don’t buy or sell stocks just because taxes go up or down.
  2. Fiscal multipliers vary a lot: the OBR uses a tax multiplier of about 0.33 in year one, a capital investment multiplier of about 1.0, a regular (RDEL) multiplier of 0.34, and a welfare (AME) multiplier of about 0.6.
  3. What the government spends tax revenues on matters more than the tax increase itself — funding capital investment boosts GDP substantially, funding routine public services does little for growth, and cutting welfare to invest only yields a small net gain.

December 11, 2024

Letters from an American • 16 implied HN points • 12 Dec 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. Biden contrasted his economic approach with Trump's supply-side economics, highlighting the success of creating over 16 million jobs during his term. He believes growth should come from the middle and bottom of the economy.
  2. He emphasized that the previous supply-side policies mostly benefited the wealthy and left the middle class struggling, suggesting that tax cuts primarily helped the rich while public investment was cut.
  3. Biden warned that if Trump reinstates old policies, it could harm economic progress made in recent years, urging voters to recognize the positive effects of his administration's investments in the American people.

Philosophical economics: The golden calf of business and finance

Klement on Investing • 5 implied HN points • 23 Jan 25
💰 Finance Tax policy
  1. Cutting taxes isn't always the best option for improving the economy. Sometimes, raising taxes can actually help fund important things like infrastructure and education.
  2. There's a lot of disagreement about whether low taxes lead to higher profits and growth. In reality, many developed countries show no clear link between tax rates and economic growth.
  3. It's important to consider how tax money is spent. If governments invest in useful projects, they can create more value than just cutting taxes.

The Billionaire Tax: The Worst Tax Idea Ever?

Musings on Markets • 19 implied HN points • 25 Oct 21
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. The billionaire tax targets a very small number of rich people, but taxing such a small group can lead to unpredictable results and lower revenue. It's better to have broader taxes that apply to more people.
  2. This tax includes taxing unrealized capital gains, which means taxing increases in asset value that people haven't actually sold for cash. This creates challenges, as people need cash to pay taxes even if they haven't sold anything.
  3. The new tax may inadvertently affect other areas, like estate taxes, because it changes how asset values are assessed. This could lead to less tax revenue in the future instead of more.

Tax Reform, 2017: Promise of Plenty or Poisoned Chalice?

Musings on Markets • 0 implied HN points • 06 Oct 17
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. Tax reform often promises to make the system fairer and simpler, but it usually ends up being more complex and less fair.
  2. Changes in tax laws can impact a company's cash flows, cost of capital, and growth potential in different ways depending on their financial structure.
  3. Not all companies benefit equally from tax reforms; those with high effective tax rates and low debt tend to gain, while companies with low tax rates and high debt may struggle.

The Buffett Plan: An apt name for a sanctimonious, hypocritical and superficial proposal

Musings on Markets • 0 implied HN points • 22 Sep 11
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. The Buffett tax plan seems noble, but it may really just be a way to make millionaires feel good about paying taxes. It's suggesting the wealthy can afford more taxes, but the details aren't clear.
  2. There are accusations of hypocrisy towards Buffett because he talks about fairness while his company's structure doesn't always match that. Some believe the idea that millionaires dodge taxes is oversimplified.
  3. The tax plan lacks important specifics, which makes it hard to understand. Critics say it doesn't really solve tax issues, and may even complicate the tax system further.

Tax policy

Musings on Markets • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jan 11
💰 Finance Tax policy
  1. The average U.S. company pays about 29% in taxes on its taxable income, which is higher than many companies in other countries.
  2. U.S. companies experience much more variation in tax rates due to a complicated tax code, which can lead to unequal tax burdens.
  3. Investment and borrowing decisions should focus on economics rather than the tax code, but simplifying taxes might require sectors to shift their tax responsibilities.

Abolish the Income Tax

The Oasis • 0 implied HN points • 03 Feb 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. Some people believe that income tax is a way to control the population and discourage hard work. They feel that the more you earn, the more you pay, which can be unfair.
  2. The history of income tax in the U.S. shows that it has changed a lot over time, especially during wars. Many believe that it was introduced to help fund wars, not necessarily to support the people.
  3. There are ideas about completely getting rid of the income tax and going back to a system before it was established. Some see this as a chance to rethink how taxes work and what they are used for.

Property Tax is horrifically inefficient.

PashaNomics • 0 implied HN points • 24 Nov 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. Property taxes can make it harder for people to buy homes and can lead to higher rents, which actually doesn't help affordability. Since buyers have to consider the extra tax costs, it may not really lower home prices as expected.
  2. Higher property taxes discourage builders from constructing new homes, which reduces the overall housing supply. If building a house becomes less appealing due to taxes, fewer homes are available, causing more competition and higher prices.
  3. Switching from property taxes to other forms of taxation, like sales taxes on homes, could be less disruptive. Using different taxes may help generate revenue without hurting both sellers and buyers as much as property taxes do.

Joxley Reads 21.01.24

Joxley Writes • 0 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
📰 News Tax policy
  1. Joxley recommends an event on tax returns with expert Dan Niedle on Jan 31
  2. To access full post archives, subscribe to Joxley Writes for a 7-day free trial
  3. Existing paid subscribers can sign in for full access

Is it the Foreigners?

Nothing Human is Alien • 0 implied HN points • 09 Sep 22
🌍 World Politics Tax policy
  1. The Foreign Buyer Tax in British Columbia has seen a decline in foreign-involved transactions over time
  2. The tax potentially impacted foreign demand for real estate and foreign money in the market
  3. Immigration's role in the housing market complexity is debated due to factors like birth rates and housing spending preferences of immigrants

The Debt Crisis

America in Crisis • 0 implied HN points • 15 Jun 23
💰 Finance Tax policy
  1. The debt crisis in the West is seen as a necessary and inevitable event that will lead to major global restructuring.
  2. The rise of speculative and Ponzi finance units in the economy increases the likelihood of a financial crisis, as seen in historical examples like the 2008 Great Recession.
  3. To move towards a more stable economic future, a shift towards stakeholder capitalism culture, high taxes on the wealthy, and internal financing mechanisms like QE may be necessary.

Wealth distribution and feedback loops

Space chimp life • 0 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. Wealth distribution behaves like a feedback loop, where the rich can continue to get richer without sufficient checks. This happens when there's less competition or enforcement against hoarding wealth.
  2. Currently, wealth is distributed in an exponential way, meaning a few people have a lot while most have very little. This leads to an unstable system that might keep expanding the income gap.
  3. To fix the growing wealth gap, we need to introduce ways to balance the system, like better policies or incentives, to help distribute resources more fairly.

Making Payroll

Matt’s Five Points • 0 implied HN points • 09 Dec 11
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. The payroll tax cut should stay focused on helping the American people, without getting mixed up in other political issues. If lawmakers complicate it too much, it might not go through.
  2. It’s surprising to see Democrats supporting payroll tax cuts now. In the past, they would have been concerned that it could hurt Social Security, but opinions seem to be changing.
  3. Bringing the payroll tax back to its old rates is unlikely because many people depend on it as their only federal tax. Raising it again could feel like a big burden for those who have the least.

Flattened

Matt’s Five Points • 0 implied HN points • 25 Oct 11
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax policy
  1. Flat tax proposals often benefit the rich and hurt the middle class, making them unpopular and unlikely to pass.
  2. Simplicity in taxes doesn't only come from a flat tax; current tax systems can also be simplified without losing their structure.
  3. A progressive tax with fewer brackets and no deductions could be as simple as a flat tax and might be more widely accepted.

January 2018 Data Update 8: Debt and Taxes

Musings on Markets • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jan 18
💰 Finance Tax policy
  1. The U.S. tax code has favored debt financing, giving businesses tax advantages for taking on debt rather than using equity. This has encouraged many companies to load up on debt for growth.
  2. Recent tax reforms have reduced the benefits associated with debt, leading companies to rethink how much debt they carry. This could lower overall borrowing and help stabilize businesses.
  3. As companies adjust to these new tax rules, we may see a trend of firms paying down debt and reconsidering their capital structures, which could lead to less volatility in their financial performance.

January 2018 Data Update 3: Taxing Questions on Value

Musings on Markets • 0 implied HN points • 12 Jan 18
💰 Finance Tax policy
  1. The 2017 Tax Reform lowered the corporate tax rate significantly from 35% to 21%, affecting how much companies pay in taxes.
  2. Changes to how foreign income is taxed allow companies to bring money back to the US more easily, which can impact growth and investment.
  3. The tax reform creates winners and losers among sectors, benefiting those with high taxes and physical assets, while hurting those with low taxes and high debt.