Taxes and Interstate Migration: 2024 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
Featured Articles
Taxes and Migration: New Evidence from Academic Research
Do taxes affect individuals’ decisions regarding where to live and work? Can high taxes cause the outmigration of wealthy individuals?
5 min read
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 readAll Related Articles
Taxes Still Affect Economic Growth, Contrary to Findings of Flawed IPS Study
The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) only succeeds in demonstrating that America has more millionaires than it used to, not that high-tax states are doing well in attracting or retaining them.
7 min read
Pro-Growth Tax Reform for Oklahoma, 2025
Lawmakers should finish the work they have begun over the past few decades, tackling tax rates and structures to give the state a leg up in an era of enhanced competition.
84 min read
Proposed Estate Tax Changes in Oregon: A Long-Overdue Reform?
While evaluating new estate tax bills this legislative session, Oregon legislators should consider the state’s competitive tax landscape and interstate migration patterns.
4 min read
Governor Moore Proposes Major Tax Changes in Maryland to Address Chronic Budget Deficits
Facing a projected $3 billion budget deficit in fiscal year 2026, with forecasts of a growing gap over the next five years, Governor Wes Moore (D) has included about $1 billion in proposed tax increases in his budget proposal.
7 min read
Americans Moved to Low-Tax States in 2024
Americans were on the move in 2024, and many chose low-tax states over high-tax ones.
6 min read
Tax Competitiveness and Interstate Migration
Recent data suggest that tax competitiveness plays a significant role in residents’ relocation decisions.
3 min read
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
Taxes and Interstate Migration: 2024 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
Taxes and Migration: New Evidence from Academic Research
Do taxes affect individuals’ decisions regarding where to live and work? Can high taxes cause the outmigration of wealthy individuals?
5 min read
Vermont Lawmakers Consider Harmful Taxes on the Wealthy
Vermont lawmakers are considering the adoption of two new taxes on high earners, which proponents have branded “wealth taxes.”
4 min read
A Lower, Flat Income Tax Would Promote Long-Term Economic Growth in Kansas
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
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
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
Jeff Bezos’s Move Undercuts Proposed Washington State Wealth Tax
Whether tax savings motivated his move or not, the implications for Washington are very real, and serve to illustrate just how dangerous it can be to design tax systems that rely so overwhelmingly on a very small number of taxpayers choosing to stay put.
3 min read
Blog
Short FormDo People Really Move Because of Taxes?
What do The Rolling Stones, NFL star Tyreek Hill, and Maryland millionaires have in common? They all moved because of taxes.
4 min read
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
Americans Moved to Low-Tax States in 2022
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
What to Expect in a Post-Flat Tax Massachusetts
On Election Day, a narrow majority of Massachusetts voters approved Question 1, also known as the Fair Share Amendment, which will transition the Commonwealth from a flat rate individual income tax to a graduated rate system.
7 min read
Taxes and Interstate Migration: 2022 Update
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.
12 min read
Tyreek Hill’s Tax Liability with Every NFL Franchise
When NFL star wide receiver Tyreek Hill weighed offers from the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins, no doubt there was a lot on his mind. But one consideration towered over the rest, at least according to Hill himself: signing with the Jets “was very close to happening,” but “those state taxes man. I had to make a grown-up decision.”
7 min read