Jared Walczak

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

No, We Don’t Need a Federal Work-From-Home Tax

A recent Deutsche Bank analysis proposes a federal work-from-home tax (“privilege tax”), which is designed to strip away the financial benefit of remote work.

IRS Signals Approval of Entity-Level SALT Cap Workaround, But States Should Still Think Twice

Election Analysis: Why Voters Split the Difference on Income Tax Measures

Illinois voters rejected a high graduated rate income tax (“Fair Tax”) while Arizonans embraced a large income tax rate increase for high earners, among the many attention-grabbing results from Tuesday’s elections.