Janelle Fritts Tax Foundation
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.

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Latest Work

Which states have a gross receipts tax? State gross receipts tax, state gross receipts tax, Washington state gross receipts tax, Washington gross receipts tax, Oregon gross receipts tax, Nevada gross receipts tax, Texas gross receipts tax, Tennessee gross receipts tax, Ohio gross receipts tax, Delaware gross receipts tax
Data

Gross Receipts Taxes by State, 2020

While it’s unclear how soon state economies may be able to fully open again, it’s not too early for states to consider how they can remove barriers to businesses & consumers resuming activity.

3 min read
state pensions. How well-funded are pension plans in your state? State public pension funding, state pension plan funding, pension plan crisis, pension plan underfunded
Data

How Well-Funded Are Pension Plans in Your State?

The current crisis highlights the cost of underfunding pensions in years of economic growth. Twenty states have pension plans that were less than two-thirds funded, and five states had pension plans that were less than 50 percent funded.

3 min read
Research

State Rainy Day Funds and the COVID-19 Crisis

State revenue stabilization funds, often called rainy day funds, are better funded now than they were at the start of the Great Recession and can be a valuable tool as states face a sharp pandemic-linked economic contraction.

18 min read
Blog

Tracking State Legislative Responses to COVID-19

Many states are racing to pass budgets, emergency COVID-19 supplemental appropriations, and other must-pass legislation as quickly as possible. We’re tracking the latest state legislative responses to the coronavirus crisis.

66 min read
How healthy is your state's rainy day fund? State rainy day funds and state rainy day balances as a percentage of state general fund expenditures
Data

How Healthy is Your State’s Rainy Day Fund?

Rainy day funds have increasingly emerged as a standard component of states’ budgeting toolkits. Economic cycles can have significant impacts on state revenue, but states can prepare for the inevitable downturns during good times by putting away money in a revenue stabilization fund.

2 min read
State Corporate Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2019, state corporate tax rates 2020
Data

State Corporate Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2020

Forty-four states currently levy a corporate income tax. Rates range from 2.5 percent in North Carolina to 12 percent in Iowa. Over the past year, several states, including Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and New Jersey, implemented notable corporate income tax changes.

7 min read
Trump Tariffs Are Raising Prices for Consumers including on apparel, coffee and tea, cameras, and furiture, Latest Evidence Shows
Data

State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2020

While many factors influence business location and investment decisions, sales taxes are something within lawmakers’ control that can have immediate impacts.

12 min read