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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
2024 State Tax Resource Center
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.
115 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
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
Remote and flexible work opportunities are here to stay, whether states like it or not. With enhanced opportunities to take their job with them wherever they please, more workers can factor tax burdens into their decision of where to live.
15 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
All policy choices involve trade-offs—but occasionally, the ratio of costs and benefits is shockingly lopsided. Adopting a de minimis exemption for tangible personal property (TPP) taxes is just such a policy: one which massively reduces compliance and administrative burdens at trivial cost.
18 min readWhat 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 read
Virginia has an opportunity to improve its tax competitiveness following the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Inaction will result in higher taxes.
14 min read
Wisconsin’s tax system needs to be more competitive. New revenue from online sales taxes will make it easier to accomplish comprehensive reforms that benefit all Wisconsinites.
13 min read
Connecticut has failed to live up to the expectations of 1991. Changes intended to make tax collections more stable, combined with constraints intended to promote fiscal prudence, have strayed far wide of the mark. To turn things around, Connecticut needs a more competitive tax code.
32 min read
Soda taxes are proposed with the promise to improve public health outcomes, but they come with equity concerns because of their regressive nature.
23 min read