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1 Alex Muresianu & Alex Durante, Understanding the Tax Treatment of Inventory: The Role of LIFO 1 (2022)

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                              Understanding the Tax Treatment


                              of Inventory: The Role of LIFO

FISCAL                        Alex Muresianu      Federal Policy Analyst
FACT                          Alex Durante        Federal Tax Economist
No. 801
Oct. 2022


                              Key   Findings


                                •   Last-in, First-out (LIFO) and First-in, First-out (FIFO) are two methods of
                                    inventory accounting  used for both financial accounting and tax purposes.


                                •   Both LIFO  and FIFO  rely on the accounting principle of deducting costs from
                                    income  when  goods  are sold.


                                •   This principle often comes into conflict with the economic principle of
                                    deducting  costs when  incurred, as inflation does not reduce the value of the
                                    deduction  in real terms.


                                •   However,  LIFO  comes  close to matching the economic  ideal while still
                                    remaining true to the accounting principle.


                                •   Repealing LIFO  would  disincentivize inventory investment, hampering  efforts
                                    to make  U.S. supply chains more resilient.


                                •   Repealing LIFO  would  also reduce economic  growth  and penalize industries
                                    that typically keep more inventory on hand.





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