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Katherine Loughead Tax Foundation
Expert

Katherine Loughead

Senior Policy Analyst & Research Manager

Katherine Loughead is a Senior Policy Analyst & Research Manager with the Center for State Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation, where she serves as a resource to policymakers in their efforts to modernize and improve the structure of their state tax codes.

Ms. Loughead was one of the lead authors of Wisconsin Tax Options: A Guide to Fair, Simple, Pro-Growth Reform and Kansas Tax Modernization: A Framework for Stable, Fair, Pro-Growth Reform. Her work has been cited in The New York Times, USA TODAY, Forbes, the Associated Press, and numerous state media outlets across the country.

Prior to joining the Tax Foundation in April 2018, Ms. Loughead worked for a U.S. senator and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, where she advised on tax policy during the consideration and enactment of the historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. A graduate of the John Wesley Honors College at Indiana Wesleyan University, Ms. Loughead 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 Washington, D.C., where in her spare time she can be found taking flying trapeze classes or reliving her gymnastics days at the local YMCA.

Latest Work

2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index

2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index

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
2024 state and local tax ballot measures details analysis and tax ballot measure results

State Tax Ballot Measures to Watch in 2024

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
2024 state capital gains tax rates on long term capital gains

State Tax Rates on Long-Term Capital Gains, 2024

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
state flat tax trend and state flat income taxes 2024

The State Flat Tax Revolution: Where Things Stand Today

In 2021 and 2022 alone, more states enacted laws converting graduated-rate individual income tax structures into single-rate income tax structures than did so in the whole 108-year history of state income taxation up until that point.

10 min read
State population changes in 2023 low-tax states and high-tax states United Van Lines U-Haul and Census data

Americans Moved to Low-Tax States in 2023

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
Do taxes affect where people move? Do taxes affect interstate migration?

Taxes and Interstate Migration: 2023 Update

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
2024 State Business Tax Climate Index

2024 State Business Tax Climate Index

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
2023 state tax changes taking effect july 1

State Tax Changes Taking Effect July 1, 2023

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.

16 min read
NC budget North Carolina tax reform proposals in the NC budget taxes 2023

North Carolina’s Budget Should Prioritize Pro-Growth Structural Reforms

As fiscal year 2023 draws to a close, North Carolina’s House and Senate have each passed their own versions of the biennial budget for fiscal years 2024-25. While legislative leaders have generally agreed to overall spending levels, negotiations remain ongoing to resolve different approaches to tax policy.

7 min read