The mission of our state program is to promote tax and fiscal policy that leads to higher economic growth and improved quality of life for taxpayers throughout the US states.
Our state tax policy experts are routinely relied upon for presentations, testimony, and media appearances on state tax and fiscal policy, and our website is a comprehensive resource for information on tax and spending policy in each US state.
We produce the annual State Tax Competitiveness Index, Facts & Figures: How Does Your State Compare, and Location Matters: The State Tax Costs of Doing Business, among other resources. Explore our five reforms for an increasingly mobile economy.
2026 State Tax Resource Center
Property Taxes | State Tax Trends | State Tax Maps | State Reform Guides | State & Local Tax Collections | Excise taxes | Taxes & Inflation | Cost Recovery
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.
122 min read
Lawmakers can constrain the growth of property taxes without creating new problems. But the details matter.
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
For Congress, work on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is done. But in state capitols, the work has not yet begun. Many of the tax changes in the federal reconciliation act flow through to state tax codes—automatically in some states, and subject to an update in states’ Internal Revenue Code conformity date in others.
39 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
The current patchwork of state laws taxing marketplace facilitators is complex, burdensome, and inefficient. States should work to resolve these issues and standardize the otherwise disparate requirements—with or without an inducement from Congress or the courts.
29 min read
States are unprepared for the ongoing shift to remote and flexible work arrangements, or for the industries and activities of today, to say nothing of tomorrow. In some states, moreover, existing tax provisions exacerbate the impact of high inflation and contribute to the supply chain crisis.
40 min read
The sales tax is the second-largest source of state tax revenue and an important source of local tax revenue, but decades of base erosion threaten the tax’s share of overall revenue and have prompted years of countervailing rate increases.
72 min read
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.
23 min read
If all 50 states established legal, open, statewide sports gaming markets, a 10 percent GGR tax would generate an additional $1.6 billion per year in tax revenue.
21 min read
Michigan’s proposed 5 percent income surtax on high earners, yielding a top marginal rate of 9.25 percent, is also a tax on the small businesses that employ nearly 2 million Michiganders.
25 min read
As a result of state-level reforms, the expansion of the sales tax base, and rising property valuations, North Carolina’s local governments have seen remarkable revenue growth in recent years.
13 min read
The 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, a California ballot initiative, would ostensibly impose a one-time tax of 5 percent on the net worth of the state’s billionaires. Due, however, to aggressive design choices and possible drafting errors, the actual rate on taxpayers’ net worth could be dramatically higher.
18 min read
Data centers face high tax burdens and are particularly substantial contributors to local coffers, but poor tax structure can drive these operations to other locations and deprive local governments of a major revenue stream.
22 min read
Forty-three states will ring in 2026 with notable tax changes. Eight states will see reduced individual income tax rates in the new year while four states will see reduced corporate income tax rates.
30 min read