Jared Walczak

Kentucky Sales Tax Modernization: Keeping the Sales Tax on Sales, Not Production

As policymakers continue efforts to improve Kentucky’s tax structure and competitiveness, they should keep in mind that not all offsets are created equal.

Governor Youngkin Unveils a New Tax Plan for Virginia

Virginia Governor Youngkin unveiled the contours of a tax reform plan incorporated into his forthcoming budget, which includes three major structural elements: a reduction in the individual income tax rate, a 0.9 percentage point increase in the sales tax rate, and the broadening of the sales tax base to include some “new economy” digital services.

Personal Property De Minimis Exemptions Slash Compliance Burdens at Trivial Cost

All policy choices involve trade-offs—but occasionally, the ratio of costs and benefits is shockingly lopsided. Adopting a de minimis exemption for tangible personal property (TPP) taxes is just such a policy: one which massively reduces compliance and administrative burdens at trivial cost.

State and Local Tax Collections by State, 2023

Contrary to initial expectations, the pandemic years were good for state and local tax collections, and while the surges of 2021 and 2022 have not continued into calendar year 2023, revenues remain robust in most states and well above pre-pandemic levels even after accounting for inflation.

Jeff Bezos’s Move Undercuts Proposed Washington State Wealth Tax

Whether tax savings motivated his move or not, the implications for Washington are very real, and serve to illustrate just how dangerous it can be to design tax systems that rely so overwhelmingly on a very small number of taxpayers choosing to stay put.

The State Business Tax Climate Index Is Your Guide to Economic “Wins Above Replacement”

2024 State Business Tax Climate Index

In recognition of the fact that there are better and worse ways to raise revenue, our Index focuses on how state tax revenue is raised, not how much. The rankings, therefore, reflect how well states structure their tax systems.

The Future of Arkansas Tax Reform: Next Steps on the Road Map to Competitiveness

Responsible pro-growth reforms to Arkansas’s tax code can help ensure that the Natural State is indeed a Land of Opportunity.

Leave Worldwide Combined Reporting in the ‘80s, Where It Belongs

Given enough time, everything old is new again—including tax ideas best consigned to history. But worldwide combined reporting, which a few states flirted with in the 1980s, is rearing its head again.

The Wayfair Sales Tax Ruling, Five Years Later

It’s the 5th anniversary of the groundbreaking Wayfair Supreme Court decision–a ruling that marked a new era of sales tax collection and changed how we think about taxation in the digital age.

The Faulty Revenue Estimate Behind Minnesota’s Consideration of Worldwide Combined Reporting

As Minnesota lawmakers consider making theirs the first state to mandate worldwide combined reporting, they are relying on a revenue estimate that is—this may not be the technical term—completely bogus.

America’s Progressive Tax and Transfer System: Federal, State, and Local Tax and Transfer Distributions

The overall U.S. tax and transfer system is overwhelmingly progressive, and understanding the extent—and source—of that progressivity is essential for lawmakers considering the trade-offs associated with each tax policy decision.

Washington Supreme Court Affirms Capital Gains Tax and Invites Challenge to Broader Income Tax Restrictions

The Washington Supreme Court not only gave its blessing to a capital gains tax that runs afoul of the state constitution, but it also set out a welcome mat for legislators eager to implement a broader income tax.

West Virginia Lawmakers Reach Deal on Tax Relief

In a day and age when businesses and individuals alike are increasingly mobile, West Virginians can be relieved that their state is getting off the sideline and into the action.

Cities Want to Tax Streaming Video Services, but They’re Not Sure Why

A growing number of cities, in red states like Arkansas and Texas, blue states like California and New Jersey, and purple states like Georgia and Nevada, have pursued streaming taxes in recent years.

Local Income Taxes: A Primer

Most states avoid municipal income taxes for good reason. These taxes are more volatile and less economically competitive than other forms of taxation available to local governments, and add substantial complexity for governments and taxpayers alike.

New York, Oregon, and Other States Eye Much Higher Taxes on High Earners

Despite robust revenues, some state lawmakers are champing at the bit to raise taxes on higher-income households, sometimes to extraordinary levels.

Will the Federal Government Tax Your State Tax Rebate?

If your state issued tax rebates last year, you might have to pay federal income tax on the rebate you received. Maybe. Who knows? Unfortunately, not the IRS—at least not yet.

There’s Still Room for Responsible State Income Tax Relief in 2023

Forty-three states adopted tax relief in 2021 or 2022—often in both years—and of those, 21 cut state income tax rates. It’s been a remarkable trend, driven by robust state revenues and an increasingly competitive tax environment.

State Tax Policy as an Inflation Response

At the end of 2022, prices were 14.6 percent higher than they were two years prior. That’s the fastest inflation rate over any two calendar years since the stagflation era of the late 1970s. State policymakers are understandably interested in bringing any tools at their disposal to bear on the problem. And many of them are reaching for tax policy solutions.