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Jared Walczak Tax Foundation
Expert

Jared Walczak

Vice President of State Projects

Jared Walczak is Vice President of State Projects at the Tax Foundation. He is the lead researcher on the annual State Business Tax Climate Index and Location Matters, and has authored or coauthored tax reform guides on Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Nevada, New  York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Jared’s work is regularly cited in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Politico, AP, and many other prominent national and state outlets.

He previously served as legislative director to a member of the Senate of Virginia and as policy director for a statewide campaign, and consulted on research and policy development for a number of candidates and elected officials. In his free time, Jared enjoys hiking and has a goal of visiting all 63 national parks.

Latest Work

The "Big Beautiful Bill" changes pass-through business taxes, including the 199a deduction (QBI deduction) and the SALT deduction cap.

SALT Cap Workarounds for Some Pass-Through Entities Are Threatened by One, Big, Beautiful Bill

For owners of pass-through businesses, the reconciliation package (1) raises the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, (2) denies the benefit of pass-through entity-level taxes that had previously worked around the SALT cap for such pass-through businesses, and (3) increases the Section 199A deduction for qualifying pass-through entities.

4 min read
State Implications of the One Big Beautiful Bill No Tax on Car Loan Interest SNAP Cost Sharing No Tax on Tips and Overtime Medicaid Reductions for States Covering Undocumented Immigrants

State Implications of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill

As the US House hashes out its “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” statehouse lawmakers are watching closely, given the impact of both its tax and spending provisions on state budgets.

12 min read
Oregon Considers Decoupling from the Federal Tax Code Oregon tax conformity

Oregon Considers Decoupling from the Federal Tax Code

The proposed changes to federal tax code conformity in Oregon are a good example of a change that could significantly reshape the state’s tax code in the future, despite being framed as temporary technical adjustments.

4 min read
Oklahoma tax reform options 2025 OK tax reform

Pro-Growth Tax Reform for Oklahoma, 2025

Lawmakers should finish the work they have begun over the past few decades, tackling tax rates and structures to give the state a leg up in an era of enhanced competition.

84 min read
Trump reciprocal tariffs EU VAT The European VAT is Not a Discriminatory Tax Against US Exports

The European VAT is Not a Discriminatory Tax Against US Exports

The Trump administration appears to be moving in a “reciprocal” policy direction despite the significant negative economic consequences for American consumers of across-the-board tariffs on goods coming into the US. However, the EU’s VAT system should not be used as a justification for retaliatory tariffs.

6 min read
2025 sales tax rates by state sales taxes

State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2025

Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for 24 percent of combined state and local tax collections.

15 min read
state flat tax trend and state flat income taxes 2024

The State Flat Tax Revolution: Where Things Stand Today

From 2021-2024, within the span of 3.5 years, more states enacted laws converting graduated-rate individual income tax structures into single-rate income tax structures than did so in the whole 108-year history of state income taxation up until that point.

10 min read
2025 State tax changes taking effect January 1

State Tax Changes Taking Effect January 1, 2025

Thirty-nine states will begin 2025 with notable tax changes, including nine states cutting individual income taxes. Recent years have seen a wave of significant tax reforms, and the changes scheduled for 2025 show that these efforts have not let up.

25 min read
Property Tax Relief and Reforms include Property Tax Levy Limits not Assessment Limits

Confronting the New Property Tax Revolt

Policymakers can and should address taxpayers’ legitimate grievances about out-of-control property tax bills, but they should do so without upending a system of taxation that is more efficient, fair, and pro-growth, and better suited to municipal finance, than any of the alternatives.

39 min read
2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index

2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index

The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.

115 min read