the state level, they advise policymakers how to make their tax systems more pro-growth and use their various state rankings to foster tax competition between the states.

At the heart of the great depression, federal spending had climbed 170 percent; over the previous five years internal revenue collections had risen 198 percent. So concerned about the effect such expansion might have on private sector growth, a small group of business executives gathered in New York City to discuss how they could monitor fiscal activities at all levels of government and convey the information to the general public. They decided to launch an organization which, through research and analysis, could inform and educate Americans using objective, reliable data on government finance. In the subsequent seven decades, the Tax Foundation has been a leader in promoting a sense of tax consciousness in the public. Its distribution of information has helped provide policymakers and the public with the lay of the land in the ongoing debate over tax and budget policies and a greater understanding of the policies proposed.

The Tax Foundation's agenda has had a large impact on state and federal tax debates. At the federal level, they have built the tools and intellectual arguments for initiating a multi-year debate over fundamental tax reform and restoring America’s global tax competitiveness. At the state level, they advise policymakers how to make their tax systems more pro-growth and use their various state rankings to foster tax competition between the states.

Tax Foundation research receives a record number of citations, ranging from newspaper and television journalists to governors and presidential candidates. In addition to traditional outreach and media cultivation, their videos have done much to advance public education on key tax issues, as has their blog and their social media presence on Facebook and Twitter.

Tax Foundation was founded in 1937 and is based in Washington, D.C, United States.