State and Local Tax Burdens, Calendar Year 2019
New Yorkers faced the highest burden, with 14.1 percent of income in the state going to state and local taxes. Connecticut (12.8 percent) and Hawaii (12.7 percent) followed.
19 min read
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
Four Questions Treasury Must Answer About the State Tax Cut Prohibition in the American Rescue Plan Act
The American Rescue Plan Act’s restriction on states’ Fiscal Recovery Funds being used to directly or indirectly offset a net tax cut is vague and raises difficult questions of interpretation and application. A broad interpretation of this prohibition may be unconstitutional.
19 min read
Does the American Rescue Plan Ban State Tax Cuts?
Senate amendments to the American Rescue Plan Act prohibit using any of the $350 billion in State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to cut taxes, but many are concerned that states which accept the funds could be prohibited from implementing tax cuts between now and 2024—an astonishing level of federal interference in states’ fiscal affairs.
8 min read
State Aid in American Rescue Plan Act Is 116 Times States’ Revenue Losses
Here’s each state’s estimated revenue gains or losses in 2020, alongside the state and local aid that would be allocated to each under the American Rescue Plan Act.
8 min read
Evaluating Mississippi’s Plan to Phase Out the Individual Income Tax
Mississippi has an opportunity to become the 10th state without an individual income tax and to do so with sales tax rates which, while certainly high, are in line with regional competitors. For such a momentous undertaking, however, policymakers should be equipped with reliable revenue projections and a detailed accounting of how much revenue is projected to come from each offsetting change. A change worth doing is worth doing right.
15 min read
A $6 Billion Tax Increase Proposal in Pennsylvania Would Yield the Nation’s Highest Combined Flat-Rate Income Taxes
Under the budget introduced by Gov. Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania’s flat personal income tax rate would increase by 46 percent, partially offset by an outsized increase in the poverty credit, which would see a family of four eligible for partial relief due to poverty until they reached $100,000 in taxable income—four times the poverty line.
6 min read
Pandemic-Era Unemployment Compensations Could Generate $78 Billion in Income Tax Collections
Approximately $78 billion might be owed in federal and state income taxes on the unemployment compensation payments made since the pandemic began.
3 min read
Join Us for a Free “State Tax Policy Boot Camp”
The Tax Foundation’s “State Tax Policy Boot Camp,” is ideal for anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of state taxation.
2 min read
Maryland’s Digital Advertising Tax Is Unworkably Vague
In addition to its economic impact on Maryland businesses and the likelihood of serious legal challenges, Maryland’s proposed digital advertising tax is incredibly vague on vital definitions, creating uncertainty about where revenue is sourced and when it is subject to the tax.
17 min read
State Sales Tax Breadth and Reliance, Fiscal Year 2020
By failing to keep pace with modern consumption patterns, sales taxes have become less neutral, less equitable, and less economically efficient over time.
16 min read
For Meaningful Federal Aid to States, Why Not Reimburse Unemployment Compensation Payments?
Improving trust fund solvency and staving off costly business tax increases is a win-win proposition for federal and state governments alike.
4 min read
What the GameStop Saga Can Teach Us About Mark-to-Market Taxation of Capital Gains
Whether you see the GameStop saga as a Robin Hood-style victory for the little guys or as a case of disruptive investor hysteria, it provides an interesting case study in just how badly the mark-to-market treatment of capital gains income could go awry.
6 min read
Washington State Floats a Wealth Tax Which Relies Almost Exclusively on Four People
What happens if you create a tax and its base is, for all intents and purposes, four people? If some Washington lawmakers had their way, we might find out.
5 min read
The COVID-19 Relief Bill Contains Over $100 Billion in State Aid After All
The $900 billion coronavirus relief package provides nearly $82 billion for the Education Stabilization Fund, $14 billion for mass transit, and $10 billion for state highways,
3 min read
Where State Unemployment Compensation Trust Funds Stand in December
With 2020 nearing its close, state unemployment compensation trust funds continue to struggle under the weight of so many pandemic-created beneficiaries, though some funds are beginning to stabilize as people increasingly return to work.
3 min read
State Tax Collections Down 4.4 Percent Through September, While Local Tax Collections Rise
Combined state and local tax collections were down only $7.6 billion across the period, representing a total state and local tax revenue decline of 0.7 percent compared to the first nine months of 2019.
6 min read
Details and Analysis of State and Local Aid Under the Bipartisan State and Local Support and Small Business Protection Act of 2020
On Monday, members of the bipartisan Gang of Eight negotiating an end-of-year pandemic relief package announced that they had settled on language and had divided the package into two bills: a pandemic aid package and a $160 billion state and local support package.
6 min read
New York Lawmaker Floats a Scrooge Tax on Online Shopping
Just in time for the holidays, one lawmaker wants to tax New York City residents $3 for every package they order online, excluding food and medicine
3 min read
Taxes and New York’s Fiscal Crisis: Evaluating Revenue Proposals to Close the State’s Budget Gap
Our new study provides a 360-degree assessment of New York’s budget crisis, analyzes proposed revenue options, and offers solutions to raise revenue without driving more taxpayers out of the state or undoing recent positive reforms
106 min read
How Would the Proposed $160 Billion in State and Local Aid Be Allocated?
A bipartisan coalition of Senators unveiled a $908 billion COVID-19 relief bill on Tuesday, which includes, among other provisions, $160 billion in additional aid to state and local governments. It is worth briefly exploring what this would mean, and the amounts of aid your state might expect.
5 min read