Katherine Loughead is the Director of State Tax Projects at the Tax Foundation, where she oversees the state tax policy team’s research agenda and serves as a resource to policymakers in their efforts to modernize and improve the structure of their state tax codes.
Katherine has testified before legislators in seven states and has authored or coauthored tax reform options guides on Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Her work has been cited in The New York Times, The Economist, USA TODAY, Forbes, Bloomberg, the Associated Press, and numerous state media outlets across the country.
Prior to joining the Tax Foundation in 2018, Katherine worked for a US senator and a member of the US House of Representatives, where she advised on tax policy during the consideration of the historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. A graduate of the John Wesley Honors College at Indiana Wesleyan University, Katherine holds a degree in English and business administration, as well as a paralegal certificate from Georgetown University.
Originally from Belvidere, Illinois, Katherine now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she enjoys rock climbing and taking flying trapeze classes in her spare time.
As Kansas policymakers consider ways to provide long-term property tax relief, a well-structured, exemption-free levy limit would be a structurally sound and effective reform to consider.
8 min read
As a rule, an individual’s income can be taxed both by the state in which the taxpayer resides and by the state in which the taxpayer’s income is earned.
52 min read
Americans were on the move in 2024, and many chose low-tax states over high-tax ones.
6 min read
The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
115 min read
Taxes are on the ballot this November—not just in the sense that candidates at all levels are offering their visions for tax policy, but also in the literal sense that voters in some states will get to decide important questions about how their states raise revenue.
9 min read
With a robust surplus and plenty saved for a rainy day, Kansas can afford substantial tax relief, but not all tax relief is created equal.
7 min read
One relatively easy but meaningful step policymakers can take to make future tax seasons less burdensome is to modernize their state’s nonresident income tax filing, withholding, and reciprocity laws.
7 min read
Savings and investment are critical activities, both for individuals’ and families’ financial security and for the health of the national economy as a whole. As such, policymakers should consider how they can help mitigate—rather than add to—tax codes’ biases against saving and investment.
5 min read
The “Bring Chicago Home” ballot measure would make Chicago’s tax structure substantially less neutral by raising taxes on some property transfers while decreasing taxes on others.
7 min read
In his FY 2025 budget, Illinois Gov. Pritzker outlined a number of proposed tax changes, including to individual and corporate income taxes, state sales taxes, and sports betting excise taxes.
7 min read
Sales taxes go beyond a few extra bucks at the register. It’s not just about what you pay, but who pays. What are the implications of state sales tax bases across the U.S.?
After years of strong revenue growth, Kansas has substantial cash reserves on hand, and policymakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed a desire to return some of the extra revenue to taxpayers.
5 min read
As policymakers continue efforts to improve Kentucky’s tax structure and competitiveness, they should keep in mind that not all offsets are created equal.
59 min read
Graduated corporate rates are inequitable—that is, the size of a corporation bears no necessary relation to the income levels of the owners.
7 min read
The pandemic has accelerated changes to the way we live and work, making it far easier for people to move—and they have. As states work to maintain their competitive advantage, they should pay attention to where people are moving, and try to understand why.
5 min read
The latest IRS and Census data show that people and businesses favor states with low and structurally sound tax systems, which can impact the state’s economic growth and governmental coffers.
8 min read
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.
111 min read
Indiana’s tax code is structured in a relatively sound and economically efficient manner overall, but additional improvements should be considered to make the state even more economically competitive.
Instead of adopting a highly distortive property tax assessment limit, policymakers should consider how similar goals could be met through other means.
At least 32 notable tax policy changes recently took effect across 18 states, including alterations to income taxes, payroll taxes, sales and use taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes. See if your state tax code changed.
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