Center for State Tax Policy

Sales Taxes

Sales taxes are a form of excise levied when a good or services is sold to its final consumer. Sales taxes are levied at both the state and local level, and commonly exempt food, utilities and other necessities from taxation. Since state sales taxes only apply to purchases within a state’s borders, they are typically accompanied by a use tax that applies to the use, storage, or other consumption within the state of goods or services purchased out of state.

Explore State and Local Sales Tax Rates

Online Sales Taxes

Online Sales Tax Debate

Paying Sales Tax on Cyber Monday Purchases?

Where Do State and Local Governments Get Their Tax Revenue?

A Review of 2010’s Changes In State Tax Policy

Tax Foundation Report Outlines Significant State Tax Changes in 2010

Major Metropolitan Area Sales Tax Rates

State and Local-Option General Sales Tax Rates

Updated State and Local Sales Tax Data

Broadening the Sales Tax Base in Nebraska is the Right Idea

Massachusetts Gov. Patrick Should Say No to Sales Tax Holidays and Focus Instead on Real Tax Relief

Sales Tax Holidays: Politically Expedient but Poor Tax Policy

Sales Tax Bill Introduced in Congress

South Carolina Tax Study Group: Broaden Sales Tax Base and Lower the Rate

Georgia Passes on Back-To-School Sales Tax Holiday

Testimony of Joseph Henchman Before the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law–Hearing on the Impact of Congressional Legislation on State and Local Government Revenues

There Is No Such Thing As a Complimentary Breakfast

State Sales, Gasoline, Cigarette, and Alcohol Tax Rates by State, 2000-2014

State and Local General and Selective Sales Tax Collections Per Capita, Fiscal Year 2007

State General Sales and Use Tax Rates

Testimony to the Maryland Senate Budget & Taxation Committee on SB 824 – “Amazon Tax” Laws Signal Business Unfriendliness and Will Worsen Short-Term Budget Problems