Economic Analysis of Business Taxation
Business tax reform remains an ongoing area of policy interest at all levels of government. Recent legislation, such as the Big Beautiful Bill—which made permanent many provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017—has renewed attention to how business income is taxed and how reforms might influence economic outcomes. Internationally, policymakers are also grappling with the challenge of taxing capital income in an environment where businesses retain significant discretion over where to report that income. Research can play a vital role in informing these debates by analyzing how current tax systems and potential alternatives affect investment, employment, and the distribution of real incomes.
To advance analysis of these issues, on Friday, October 24, 2025, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), with the generous support of the Smith Richardson Foundation, will convene a research conference. The program will be organized by NBER Research Associates Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato of Stanford University and Eric Zwick of Chicago Booth. The conference will highlight research on the economic effects of business taxation.
Examples of topics that would be suitable for presentations include, but are not limited to:
- Incidence of business taxation across workers, owners, and consumers
- How labor market frictions and institutions shape tax incidence
- Firm ownership structures and the incidence of corporate taxes
- Effects of business taxes on consumer prices
- How tax policy impacts income inequality within and across firms
- Interest deductibility limits and firm financing decisions
- Private equity responses to business tax reform
- Taxes and corporate payout, financing, and capital structure decisions
- Profit shifting and international tax provisions under the TCJA
- Effects of tax policy on R&D, innovation, and growth
- Innovation incentives and the distribution of gains from R&D
To be considered for presentation, papers or work-in-progress project summaries of no more than five pages that might be suitable for short presentation slots, must be uploaded by 11:59 ET on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. Please do not submit papers that will be published by October 2025. Time for short presentations of new projects will be allocated primarily to early-career researchers. Submissions from scholars who are early in their careers, members of groups that are under-represented in the economics profession, and who are not NBER affiliates are welcome. The program will be announced in late September.
NBER will cover the travel expenses for up to two authors per paper, and for one author for each short presentation. Questions about this meeting may be addressed to tricias@nber.org.