Making a Case for Taxes

Nearly every public policy depends on the ability to fund it. Recognizing the need for a cultural shift in how Americans think about taxes and budgets, Topos has made tax and budget communication central to our work.

Most people see taxes as money taken from them—too high, unfair, and wasted by politicians—rather than as shared investments in our communities. Communicators need strategies that break through these entrenched views.

For more than two decades, Topos has partnered with advocates to reframe the public’s understanding of taxation and tackle issues from regressive tax structures to property tax reform, federal deficits, and corporate and wealth taxes. Our research and insights have guided advocates nationwide in shaping more effective messages.

In an era of disrupted federal programs and tax cuts for the wealthy, state and local governments face unprecedented challenges—and new opportunities. The upheaval of the Trump years doesn’t just intensify old debates; it rewrites the conversation about how taxes and budgets work. This disruption opens space for innovation, and Topos is leading the effort to reimagine how advocates talk about public revenue.

Beginning with a 2025 landscape scan, we examined how advocates communicate today, how media frame tax and budget issues, and what organizers and experts see as the biggest opportunities. That research revealed key tensions, promising strategies, and open questions about reframing public revenue as a tool for shared prosperity.

In 2026, we move into original public research to explore how people think about taxes now and test new ways to strengthen advocacy messaging. Based on our findings-to-date, we’ve published a series of concise strategic essays that distill current insights, highlight common challenges, offer practical takeaways, and guide our next phase of testing and learning.

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