How Well-Funded Are Pension Plans in Your State?
Although most states are on solid financial footing following the coronavirus crisis, pension liabilities are a deep-seated problem that long predates the pandemic.
2 min read
Expert
Janelle Fritts
Policy Analyst
Janelle Fritts is a Policy Analyst with the Tax Foundation’s Center for State Tax Policy. She is the lead researcher on the annual State Tax Competitiveness Index and is one of the lead authors of Pro-Growth Tax Reform for Oklahoma. Her work has been cited in The New York Times, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and numerous state media outlets across the country.
Before joining the Tax Foundation team, Janelle interned at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, the Reason Foundation, and the Illinois Policy Institute. She graduated from Dordt College (Sioux Center, Iowa) with a bachelor’s degree in English with a writing emphasis and a minor in Chemistry.
Janelle was born and raised in Midland, Michigan, which is near Lake Huron and about halfway up the “mitten.” In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, hiking, swing dancing, and singing. You’ll also find her rocking out to metal in Roxanne, her bright yellow Celica.
Latest Work
How Does Your State Treat Social Security Income?
Thirteen states tax Social Security benefits, a matter of significant interest to retirees. Each of these states has its own approach to determining what share of benefits is subject to tax, though these provisions can be grouped together into a few broad categories.
4 min read
Oklahoma Passes Corporate and Individual Income Tax Reductions
Last Friday, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) signed House Bills 2960, 2962, and 2963 into law as part of a budget agreement, bringing the legislature’s tax plans across the finish line. These bills will reduce the state’s corporate and individual income tax rates beginning in tax year 2022.
3 min read
How Much Does Your State Collect in Property Taxes Per Capita?
Property taxes are an important source of revenue for local and state governments. In FY 2018, property taxes generated over 30 percent of total U.S. state and local tax collections and over 70 percent of local tax collections.
2 min read
How Much Does Your State Collect in Sales Taxes Per Capita?
Rightsizing a state’s sales tax base can not only make the tax more equitable and better align it with the modern economy but also generate revenue that can be used to pay down the rates of more harmful taxes. That is why sales tax base broadening, which is favored by public finance scholars across the political spectrum, features in many tax reform plans.
3 min read
Location Matters 2021: The State Tax Costs of Doing Business
A landmark comparison of corporate tax costs in all 50 states, Location Matters provides a comprehensive calculation of real-world tax burdens, going beyond headline rates to demonstrate how tax codes impact businesses and offering policymakers a road map to improvement.
8 min read
Louisiana Aims at Comprehensive Tax Reform
While many of the tax proposals work in tandem, some conflicts continue to exist. If lawmakers were able to repeal federal deductibility, reduce income tax rates, finish the job on inventory taxation, and phase out the capital stock tax, this would represent a marked improvement in the state’s tax climate, eliminating several of the most uncompetitive features of the current code.
6 min read
State and Local Individual Income Tax Collections Per Capita
The individual income tax is one of the most significant sources of revenue for state and local governments, generating approximately 24 percent of state and local tax collections in FY 2018.
2 min read
State and Local Tax Collections by State, 2021
Although Tax Day has been pushed back this year, mid-April is still a good occasion to take a look at tax collections in the United States. Because differing state populations can make overall comparisons difficult, today’s state tax map shows state and local tax collections per capita in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
3 min read
Vaping Taxes by State, 2021
Several states are considering introducing or increasing taxes on vapor products to make up declining tax revenue from traditional tobacco products or to fill budget holes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. However, lawmakers should approach the issue carefully because flawed excise tax design on vapor products could drive consumers back to more harmful combustible products like cigarettes.
3 min read
Does Your State Levy a Capital Stock Tax?
Capital stock taxes are imposed on a business’s net worth (or accumulated wealth). As such, the tax tends to penalize investment and requires businesses to pay regardless of whether they make a profit in a given year, or ever.
4 min read
Does Your State Tax Business Inventory?
Inventory taxes are levied regardless of whether a business makes a profit, adding to the burden of businesses already struggling to stay afloat.
3 min read
Gross Receipts Taxes by State, 2021
Moving away from state gross receipts taxes would represent a pro-growth change to make the tax code friendlier to businesses and consumers alike, which is especially necessary in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
3 min read
Facts and Figures 2021: How Does Your State Compare?
Our updated 2021 edition of Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
1 min read
New Hampshire Bill Aims to Reduce Tax Burden on Businesses
A year ago, it seemed possible that New Hampshire was headed toward a triggered tax increase. Instead, lawmakers may trim business tax rates and begin the phaseout of the state’s tax on interest and dividend income, which would take away the asterisk and make New Hampshire the ninth state to forgo an individual income tax altogether.
4 min read
Estate and Inheritance Taxes by State, 2021
In addition to the federal estate tax, with a top rate of 40 percent, some states levy an additional estate or inheritance tax. Twelve states and Washington, D.C. impose estate taxes and six impose inheritance taxes. Maryland is the only state to impose both. Most states have been moving away from estate or inheritance taxes or have raised their exemption levels, as estate taxes without the federal exemption hurt a state’s competitiveness.
3 min read
Alabama Passes Tax Reform Aimed at Throwback, GILTI, and More
Learn more about the recent Alabama tax reform measures (House Bill 170), which combines pandemic-era tax policy responses with broader tax policy reforms.
4 min read
To What Extent Does Your State Rely on Individual Income Taxes?
Sources of state revenue have come under closer scrutiny in light of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, as different tax types have differing volatility and economic impact—although even beyond these unique circumstances, it is important for policymakers to understand the trade-offs associated with different sources of tax revenue.
4 min read
Florida and Missouri, the Last Wayfair Holdouts, Consider Remote Sales Tax Bills
Two states—Florida and Missouri—have held back on online sales taxes thus far following the landmark 2018 Supreme Court case, South Dakota v. Wayfair. Now, lawmakers in both states have filed bills to address the issue this session.
4 min read
State Corporate Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2021
North Carolina’s 2.5 percent corporate tax rate is the lowest in the country, followed by Missouri (4 percent) and North Dakota (4.31 percent). Seven other states impose top rates at or below 5 percent: Florida (4.458 percent), Colorado (4.55 percent), Arizona (4.9 percent), Utah (4.95 percent), and Kentucky, Mississippi, and South Carolina (5 percent).
7 min read