Erica York Tax Foundation
Expert

Erica York

Senior Economist, Research Director

Erica York is Senior Economist and Research Director with Tax Foundation’s Center for Federal Tax Policy. She previously worked as an auditor at a large community bank in Kansas and interned at Tax Foundation’s Center for State Tax Policy.

Her analysis has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Politico, and other national and international media outlets. She holds a master’s degree in Economics from Wichita State University and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Economics from Sterling (KS) College, where she is currently an adjunct professor. Erica lives in Kansas with her husband and their two children.

Request as Speaker Contact Erica York Follow Erica York on Twitter

Written Works

2022 state tax changes effective January 1, 2022 child tax credit changes and child tax credit reform options 2021 state tax changes July 1 2021 US business tax collections remained close to historical norm in 2018. US business tax revenue and taxes paid by pass-through firms
Blog

Temporary Policies Complicate the Child Tax Credit’s Future

Over the next ten years, the structure of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is scheduled to change, complicating efforts to extend enhanced CTC benefits or reform the CTC for the long-term. Rather than take an all-or-nothing approach or kick the can down the road by relying on temporary expansions, lawmakers could consider alternative options that better target low-income households, retain work incentives, reduce the impact on federal revenue, and provide taxpayers with a stable, consistent tax code.

8 min read
emergency savings accounts retirement savings accounts Build Back Better plan inflation Build Back Better plan deficit carbon tax reconciliation hr3 tax prescription drugs tax help pay for reconciliation, revenue for federal government retirement savings federal reform proposals SECURE Act Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021
Blog

Lawmakers’ Tax Rate to Help Pay for Reconciliation is 1,900 Percent

While the excise tax penalty in H.R. 3 is referred to as a 95 percent tax rate, it actually amounts to a 1,900 percent tax rate because of how the proposal defines the tax base. In other words, under the H.R. 3 tax penalty, a drug that sells for $100 would incur a $1,900 tax.

3 min read
SALT cap repeal, State and local tax deduction cap repeal (state and local tax cap). Repealing the cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction would be regressive and mainly benefit the wealthy SALT deduction cap, House Ways and Means Committee testimony, impact of limiting SALT deduction, SALT deduction cap, State and Local Tax Deduction cap
Blog

Paying for Reconciliation Bill with “Health Care Savings” Threatens Medical Innovation

One of the ways lawmakers intend to pay for $3.5 trillion of new spending in the budget reconciliation package is by creating “health care savings.” The leading proposal to achieve this is H.R. 3, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would change the way that prescription drug prices are negotiated under Medicare Part D.

5 min read
Claiming 97 Percent of Small Businesses Exempt from Biden Taxes Is Misleading. Fact-checking claim that 97 percent of small businesses wont pay income taxes under Biden tax plan
Blog

Claiming 97 Percent of Small Businesses Exempt from Biden Taxes Is Misleading

The Biden administration recently cited an analysis from Treasury claiming that “the President’s agenda will protect 97 percent of small business owners from income tax rate increases.” However, the figure is misleading. To assess the economic effect of higher marginal tax rates, it matters how much income or investment will be affected—not how many taxpayers.

3 min read
Money and 1040 forms symbolizing the new federal income tax returns
Data

Sources of Personal Income, Tax Year 2018

Reviewing the sources of personal income shows that the personal income tax is largely a tax on labor, primarily because our personal income is mostly derived from labor. However, varied sources of capital income also play a role in American incomes. While capital income sources are small compared to labor income, they are still significant and need to be accounted for, both by policymakers trying to collect revenue efficiently and by those attempting to understand the distribution of personal income.

10 min read
Blog

Should the U.S. Copy Denmark’s Social Welfare Policies?

To fully follow the Scandinavian model would require additional taxes that place a higher burden on middle-income earners, but instead, Biden proposes higher taxes on corporations and households making more than $400,000.

3 min read
federal infrastructure investments and federal highway trust fund user fees regressive
Blog

How Did We Ever Agree to Fund Infrastructure Investments?

As lawmakers explore funding mechanisms for additional federal infrastructure investment, they should focus on permanent, sustainable, and transparent revenue options that conform to the benefit principle. Permanent user fees, appropriately adjusted to restore and maintain their purchasing power, would serve as ideal revenue sources for federal infrastructure investments.

5 min read
billionaire playbook propublica sports owners deductions sports owners lowering tax liability sports deductions
Blog

Amortization Deductions for Sports Teams Properly Part of the Income Tax System

The media has reported on how wealthy taxpayers who own sports teams lower their tax liability by deducting the cost of purchasing a sports team over 15 years. Contrary to claims that deducting the cost of a sports team from taxable income is a “loophole,” such deductions are a normal and proper part of the income tax system.

3 min read
The Compliance Costs of IRS Regulations
Blog

IRS Sends Nearly $15 Billion of Advance Child Tax Credit Payments

New Treasury Department data released on the advance Child Tax Credit payments shows the distribution by state, including how much, on average, households in each state received. The expansion will only be in effect for the 2021 tax year—if policymakers wish to continue providing the increased benefits, they must address the administrative and revenue costs of the policy.

4 min read
US households saved their COVID-19 economic impact payments during the pandemic
Data

Census Data Shows Households Saved Economic Impact Payments

In 2020 and 2021, Congress enacted three rounds of economic impact payments (EIPs) for direct relief to households amidst the pandemic-induced downturn. Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that households increasingly saved their EIPs or used them to pay down debt rather than spend them.

5 min read
What is a Tax Refund? Why do I get a tax refund? How much do I owe in taxes?Advance Child Tax Credit Payments IRS Tax Refund Where's my refund? Tax Refund calculator, How much will my tax refund be? Tax withholding calculator, How much taxes did I pay? 1040
Blog

Unanswered Questions about Upcoming Advance Child Tax Credit Payments

Amidst the outstanding questions, potential confusion over how advanced child tax credit payments will affect tax refunds, and an incomplete portal to update taxpayer information, the IRS will begin sending payments to millions of households this month.

4 min read
Tax Foundation jobs Build Back Better Act: Details & Analysis of the House Ways and Means Committee Tax Proposals Reconciliation Bill Tax, Biden taxes, Biden tax plan, Biden tax increases upcoming tax changes and upcoming federal tax changes ALIGN Act american innovation and jobs act Permanently Preserving America’s Investment in Manufacturing Act
Blog

Policymakers Offer Proposals to Fix Three Upcoming Tax Changes

Three upcoming tax law changes scheduled by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) to help offset its revenue losses would be canceled by proposed legislation that would prevent the tax treatment of investment from worsening over the coming years.

4 min read
Tracking the 2021 Biden Tax Plan
Blog

Tracking the 2021 Biden Tax Plan and Federal Tax Proposals

Taxes are once again at the forefront of the public policy debate as legislators grapple with how to fund new infrastructure spending, among other priorities. Our tax tracker helps you stay up-to-date as new tax plans emerge from the Biden administration and Congress.

1 min read