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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

2019 Election Day 2019, state and local tax ballot measure results, 2019 tax ballot measures, 2019 ballot results

Results of 2019 State and Local Tax Ballot Initiatives

Election Day 2019 will feature notable tax-related ballot measures in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. Once the polls close tonight, beginning with Pennsylvania and Texas at 8 PM EST, we will begin tracking the results as they come in.

4 min read
2020 State Business Tax Climate Index, Business Tax by State, Best states to grow a business, Best states to start a business, Best states for business, worst states to start a business, worst states for business

2020 State Business Tax Climate Index

Connecticut, California, New York, and New Jersey rank lowest in our 2020 State Business Tax Climate Index, which compares states on more than 120 tax policy variables to show how well they structure their tax systems and to provide a road map for improvement.

20 min read
Chicago budget shortfall, Chicago Budget deficit, Chicago higher taxes in Chicago

No Good Options as Chicago Seeks Revenue

Facing an $838 million budget shortfall, a looming pension crisis, and an aggressive spending wish list, some Chicago policymakers and activists are expressing interest in a laundry list of new and higher taxes that could, collectively, raise as much as an additional $4.5 billion a year.

6 min read
Sales tax rates in major cities, local sales tax rates, local sales taxes, sales tax rates cities

Sales Tax Rates in Major Cities, Midyear 2019

Sales taxes are levied in over 11,000 jurisdictions across the United States. In many cases, these local sales taxes can have a profound impact on the total rate that consumers pay.

12 min read
Utah sales tax proposal, UT sales tax Utah tax reform

Modernizing Utah’s Sales Tax: A Guide for Policymakers

By almost any measure, Utah is, and deserves to be, the envy of its peers. Utah leads the country in job growth, and the state’s economy has grown at twice the rate of the nation at large. Utah’s income tax reforms adopted in 2007 established a model for other states to follow. But today, some of these gains are being undone—not by conscious policy choices, but by their absence.

6 min read