Tax Foundation

[[File:Tax Foundation Logo 2023.png|thumb|Pioneering the new logo style: Civic drab.]]
{{uspolitics}}
{{cquote|This deliberate fraud — because that’s what it has to be — is an example of the reasons knowledgeable people don’t trust the Tax Foundation.|||[[Paul Krugman]]<ref>[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/stocks-flows-and-fuzzy-math/ Stocks, Flows, and Fuzzy Math]</ref>}}

The '''Tax Foundation''' is an [[United States|American]] 
non-partisan
 [[wingnut]] (un)[[think tank]] which publishes slanted [[economic]] papers about politically charged issues to push a [[libertarian]] perspective. The Foundation was founded by and for corporate interests by its own admission,<ref>[http://taxfoundation.org/sites/taxfoundation.org/files/docs/TaxWatchWinter2013.pdf Tax Foundation Annual Dinner 2013]</ref> and advocates theories about the legality of [[tax]]ation,<ref>[http://taxfoundation.org/sites/taxfoundation.org/files/docs/tax-foundation-annual-report-2014.pdf Tax Foundation Annual Report, 2014]</ref> and other [[neoconservative]] talking points. Another major think tank that studies taxes, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)  heavily critized one of their reports, claiming that its “[f]igures do not represent typical households’ tax burdens” and that "The Tax Foundation report calculates the average tax rate by measuring tax revenues as a share of the economy, but in a country with progressive tax system like that of the United States, only upper-income households pay federal tax at rates that are equal to or above federal revenues as a share of the economy." As a result, 80% of the American households paid a smaller share of their income in federal taxes in 2013 (the year of the report) than the Tax Foundation’s average tax rate.<ref>[http://www.cbpp.org/research/tax-foundation-figures-do-not-represent-typical-households-tax-burdens-2 Tax Foundation Figures Do Not Represent Typical Households’ Tax Burdens]</ref> The Tax Foundation was also criticized by [[Forbes]] contributor Peter J Reilly  during the [[2016 US Presidential Election|2016 US presidential campaign]]. According to Reilly, their model was more of a counterfactual than a forecast of what would happen if [[Bernie Sanders]] was elected that year and implemented his [[health care]] program. Reilly also criticized the TF for not incorporating much from the new field of {{wpl|behavioral economics}} on their study. Reilly made clear however that he “really like what the Tax Foundation does, but I tend not to like too much what some people do with what the Tax Foundation does.”<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2016/02/09/is-tax-foundation-unfair-to-bernie-sanders/#5c19f3b57869 Is Tax Foundation Unfair To Bernie Sanders?]</ref>

The Tax Foundation is heavily bankrolled by the [[Koch Industries|Koch Brothers]], who donated $545,000 through the Claude R. Lambe Foundation,<ref>[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_Family_Foundations#Contributions_of_the_Claude_R._Lambe_Foundation Contributions of the Claude R. Lambe Foundation]</ref> a Koch owned "charity"<ref>[http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/3/6/953240/- Who is this Claude R. Lambe?]</ref> which also funded similar (un)think tanks such as the [[Heritage Foundation]], [[Cato Institute]], and [[Americans for Prosperity]] before it was dismantled in 2013.<ref>[http://conservativetransparency.org/donor/claude-r-lambe-charitable-foundation/ Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation]</ref><ref>[http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/04/12460/koch-foundation-quietly-folds One of the Koch Family-Controlled Foundations Has Quietly Folded]</ref> Not to be left out, the Charles G. Koch Foundation managed to cough up another $182,100 to support the Foundation's [[bullshit|economic research]].<ref>[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_Family_Foundations#Contributions_of_the_Charles_G._Koch_Foundation Contributions of the Charles G. Koch Foundation]</ref> The Charles Koch Institute shamelessly lists the Tax Foundation as a "partner organization", along with other (un)think tanks.<ref>[http://www.charleskochinstitute.org/koch-associate-program/partner-organizations/ Charles Koch Institute - Partner Organizations]</ref>

Other upstanding citizens who contribute to the Tax Foundation include ExxonMobile,<ref>[http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=158 ExxonSecrets Factsheet: The Tax Foundation]</ref> PepsiCo,<ref>[http://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=268fc64b-e0c8-4aea-b8a6-3a285599263d&filingTypeID=89 Senate Lobbying Contribution Report - PepsiCo]</ref> General Electric,<ref>[http://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=7bd253c2-1795-486e-b4f9-f90e535c5d9c&filingTypeID=87 Senate Lobbying Contribution Report - General Electric]</ref> Hewlett-Packard,<ref>[http://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=933604c0-086a-4e46-9e7f-9cd3b5c1761f&filingTypeID=89 Senate Lobbying Contribution Report - Hewlitt-Packard]</ref> and General Motors.<ref>[http://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=c163b6f3-b14a-498e-95c3-6e258ad54ec9&filingTypeID=87 Senate Lobbying Contribution Report - General Motors]</ref> The Tax Foundation receives 40% of its funding from corporate sponsors, and an additional 42% from "philanthropic foundations" like the Koch groups above, [[wingnut welfare|providing obedient cranks with job security.]] <ref>[http://taxfoundation.org/funding Tax Foundation Annual Reports and Funding]</ref> 

From its website:
{{Cquote|We believe that we have an obligation to respect your philanthropic intent as a donor and that we are strictly accountable to you. To that end, we pledge always to respect your philanthropic intent. To ensure our supporters can remain confident in our commitment to promoting sound tax policy as an independent organization: our Board of Directors has amended our By-laws to ensure the Tax Foundation remains true to its purpose.<ref>[http://taxfoundation.org/faqs-about-donations Tax Foundation FAQ’s About Donations]</ref>}}

So much for non-partisan.

==External links==
*[http://taxfoundation.org/ The Tax Foundation]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Organizations]]
[[Category:Think tanks]]
[[Category:Denialist organizations]]
[[Category:Kochsphere]]

Categories: Organizations, Think tanks, Denialist organizations, Kochsphere