Research Areas
Sales & Use Taxes
Sales taxes are a form of excise levied when a good or services is sold to its final consumer. Sales taxes are levied at both the state and local level, and commonly exempt food, utilities and other necessities from taxation. Since state sales taxes only apply to purchases within a state's borders, they are typically accompanied by a use tax that applies to the use, storage, or other consumption within the state of goods or services purchased out of state.
Additional questions about sales and use taxes? Contact Bill Ahern at (202) 464-5101.
Articles from the Tax Foundation
- Testimony on H.R. 5267, the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2008, by Joseph Henchman, June 24, 2008
- State General Sales Tax Collections Per Capita and Per Household, Fiscal Year 2006 , June 3, 2008
- States Should Avoid Sales Taxes on Nonprofit Hospital Purchases, by Joseph Henchman, April 11, 2008
- Maryland Flouts Regional Tax Competition with Historic Tax Hike, by William Ahern, April 9, 2008
- State Sales, Gasoline, Cigarette, and Alcohol Tax Rates by State, 2000-2008, March 7, 2008
- State and Local General Sales and Gross Receipts Tax Collections Per Household and Per Capita, Fiscal Year 2005, February 5, 2008
- State Selective Sales Tax Collections Per Household, 2006, February 5, 2008
- State and Local General Sales Tax Collections Per Household, Fiscal Year 2005, February 5, 2008
- Santa Fe Should Not Fatten Budget with Soda Taxes, by Gerald Prante, August 23, 2007
- General Sales Tax Collections by State, Fiscal Year 2006, June 28, 2007
- William Fox on the Merits of State Sales Taxes and Local Property Taxes, April 5, 2007
- The Hidden Tax for Sm(all) Business in Governor Blagojevich's Gross Receipts Tax, by Chris Atkins, March 29, 2007
- Gross Receipts Taxes in State Government Finances: A Review of Their History and Performance, by John L. Mikesell, January 31, 2007
- Tax Pyramiding: The Economic Consequences of Gross Receipts Taxes, by Patrick Fleenor and Andrew Chamberlain, December 4, 2006
- Holiday Season 'Tax Holidays' No Break for Taxpayers, by Jonathan Williams, November 22, 2006
- Sales tax 'holiday' more hoopla than helpful, by Jonathan Williams, August 23, 2006
- Sales Tax Holidays: Politically Expedient but Poor Tax Policy, by Jonathan Williams, Curtis S. Dubay and Johanna Mausolf, August 3, 2006
- Temporary Gasoline Tax Holidays: Relief for Motorists or Poor Tax Policy?, by Jonathan Williams and Andrew Chamberlain, July 10, 2006
- How Excise Tax Differentials Affect the Cross-Border Sales of Beer in the United States, by Patrick Fleenor, May 1, 1999
- Analysis and Summary of the National Retail Sales Tax Act of 1996, by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D., March 1, 1996
- State and Local Sales Taxes, by TF Staff, August 1, 1970
- Federal Non-Income Taxes: An Examination of Selected Revenue Sources, by TF Staff, April 1, 1965
- Retail Sales and Individual Income Taxes in State Tax Structures, by TF Staff, January 1, 1962
- Links to Other Tax Policy Resources, January 1, 1937