Joe Bishop-Henchman was Executive Vice President at the Tax Foundation, where he analyzed state tax trends, constitutional issues, and tax law developments. He has testified or presented to officials in 36 states, testified before Congress six times, has written more than 90 major studies on tax policy. He holds a law degree from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
In 2010, he was identified in State Tax Notes as among four people who “will likely dominate the field in the next 10 years,” and the Tax Foundation’s state policy program was honored as most influential in state tax policy by State Tax Notes for 2011, 2012, and 2013. His expertise has been cited by The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The (Baltimore) Sun, The Orange County Register, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Christian Science Monitor, CNN, NPR, ABC News, Bloomberg, C-SPAN, CNBC, Fox, Forbes, Fortune, Governing, Barron’s, Kiplinger’s, Stateline, Reuters, the Associated Press, and by 75 law review articles.
He is the author of a book on distinguishing taxes from fees and the co-author of books on tax policy in North Carolina, Nebraska, and Nevada. The U.S. Supreme Court in South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018) twice cited the Tax Foundation brief he authored and adopted the analysis it had recommended. In his pre-DC life before joining the Tax Foundation in 2005, he worked in the historic 2003 California recall election as press/policy aide to gubernatorial candidate and former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth, helped organize rallies against wasteful spending and the curfew law in his native San Diego County, and interned with the Office of the DC Attorney General, Citizens Against Government Waste, and University of California outreach in California’s Central Valley. His college activities included the Cal Libertarians and student government, and his law school activities included student government, Lambda Law, and the Federalist Society.
He is admitted to practice law in New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Latest Work
Wisconsin Tax Options: A Guide to Fair, Simple, Pro-Growth Reform
Despite tax cuts in recent years, Wisconsin’s overall tax structure lags behind competitor states in simplicity, tax rates, and business climate for residents and investment. Explore our new comprehensive guide to see how the Badger State can achieve meaningful tax reform.
11 min readUnclear if Warren’s Wealth Tax Proposal is Constitutional
There is a chance that Senator Warren’s proposed wealth tax would be found unconstitutional, but opinions are mixed and the precedents go both ways.
2 min readWireless Taxes and Fees Climb Again in 2018
A typical family with four cell phones paying $100 per month for service can expect to pay about $229 per year in wireless taxes, fees, and surcharges. Nationally, these impositions make up about 19.1 percent of the average customer’s cell phone bill.
35 min readSouth Carolina: A Road Map For Tax Reform
South Carolina is by no means a high tax state, though it can feel that way for certain taxpayers. The problems with South Carolina’s tax code come down to poor tax structure. Explore our new comprehensive guide to see how South Carolina can achieve meaningful tax reform.
16 min readCyber Monday, Post-Wayfair Edition
2 min readResults of 2018 State and Local Tax Ballot Initiatives
Ballot initiatives are often an afterthought on Election Day, but in many states, voters went to the polls to weigh in on significant tax policy questions. Here are the most recent results we’ve compiled for tax-related ballot measures.
5 min readTop State Tax Ballot Initiatives to Watch in 2018
Explore our list of the top state tax ballot measures to watch for throughout the country.
11 min read2019 State Business Tax Climate Index
Our 2019 State Business Tax Climate Index compares each state on over 100 variables including corporate, individual, property, and sales taxes. How does your state rank?
17 min readPost-Wayfair Options for States
What is included in the “Wayfair checklist,” what policy choices do legislators have to make their state compliant, and, ultimately, how prepared is each state to start requiring that online retailers collect sales tax?
42 min readEvaluating the SALT Deduction Constitutional Challenge
Four states have brought a lawsuit against the federal tax bill claiming that its $10,000 cap on the state-local deduction is unconstitutional. Here’s why the lawsuit has little merit.
7 min read