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.
Nevada is not alone in its need to find revenue, but it should take care not to embrace bad tax policy in the process. Significant rate increases, a shift in the tax base, and provisions which make it easier to hike taxes than to cut them would heavily burden the mining industry in the state.
3 min read
The question, “Does my state tax Social Security benefits?” may be simple enough, but the answer includes a lot of nuance. Many states have unique and specific provisions regarding the taxation of Social Security benefits, which can be broken into a few broad categories.
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California pumps out the highest tax rate of 62.47 cents per gallon, followed by Pennsylvania (58.7 cpg), Illinois (52.01 cpg), and Washington (49.4 cpg).
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Seeking new sources of funding, New York and New Jersey—two states at the heart of global financial markets—are considering financial transaction taxes.
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In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, some states are hoping that a sales tax holiday might help restart struggling industries by stimulating the economy. However, sales tax holidays can mislead consumers about savings and distract from genuine, permanent tax relief.
41 min read
Sales tax rates differ by state, but sales tax bases also impact how much revenue is collected from a tax and how the tax affects the economy.
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As New Jersey lawmakers grapple with reduced revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic, they have turned to an unusual solution: the issuance of bonds that would be repaid, if necessary, through temporarily higher sales and property taxes.
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Many states may be looking toward vapor and other excise taxes to fill budget holes caused by the coronavirus crisis. While those areas may represent untapped revenue sources for many states, taxing those activities is unlikely to raise much revenue in the short term.
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Consumption taxes, like sales taxes, are more economically neutral than taxes on capital and income because they target only current consumption.
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State recovery plans should lessen the burden on businesses by shifting from capital stock taxes and other taxes that are charged regardless of profitability. Louisiana does well to target its Corporation Franchise Tax, a burdensome tax that would target businesses that may already be struggling.
2 min read
While the current crisis has caused consumption to drop dramatically, it is generally true that income taxes are more volatile than consumption taxes in an economic downturn and income taxes tend to be more harmful to economic growth than consumption taxes and property taxes.
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Alabama and Missouri are considering excluding the CARES Act Economic Impact Payments from being taxed and exclude them from state income tax calculations.
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Inventory taxes are levied regardless of whether a business makes a profit, adding to the burden of businesses already struggling to stay afloat.
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As many businesses may need time to return to profitability after this crisis, states should prioritize reducing reliance on capital stock taxes, and shift toward more neutral forms of business taxation.
4 min read
As states look for a path out of these fiscally troubling times, Louisiana has several options for aspects of its tax code to promote economic recovery and growth. The Pelican State’s federal deductibility, Corporation Franchise Tax, and sales tax structure present opportunities for beneficial tax reform in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
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