State Tax Trends to Watch in 2026
State lawmakers around the country have begun their legislative sessions, and many are considering tax reform. This piece highlights some of the areas on which they are likely to focus.
4 min read
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The State Income Tax Divergence
Lawmakers in many states continue to pursue additional income tax relief, while their counterparts elsewhere pursue the opposite goal.
3 min read
Two Virginia Income Tax Proposals Would Make the State Less Affordable
Should both HB 979 and HB 378 pass, Virginia would have the nation’s highest top marginal rate on investment income.
8 min read
A 9.25 Percent Top Income Tax Rate Would Drive Jobs, Investment, and Economic Opportunity Out of Michigan
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
The Proposed California Wealth Tax Is Far Higher than 5 Percent
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
Proposed Washington Income Tax Would Yield a Top Rate of More Than 18 Percent
A proposed “millionaire’s tax” in Washington State would yield the highest combined state and local top rate in the country.
6 min read
Testimony: Taxation of Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals
Instead of implementing new wealth taxes, European policymakers should focus on making the current tax system more efficient and transparent.
Spain’s Tax Missteps Undermine Competitiveness
Spain’s central government could learn some valuable lessons from its regional governments and other European countries about sound tax policy.
7 min read
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Short FormThe Progressivity of the US Tax Code
Since the inception of the modern federal individual income tax in 1913, the US tax code has generally become more progressive, not less. Will the recent tax changes made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) alter this?
4 min read
US Effective Tax Rates Remain Highly Progressive, Despite Some Economists’ Claims
Targeting wealth at the top through higher taxes has a certain appeal, but it also comes with a lot of drawbacks, including increased avoidance and reduced incentives to invest.
6 min read
Chiefs Players Will Save $287,000 in Income Tax by Playing in Brazil Rather Than California
When the Kansas City and Los Angeles squads face off in São Paulo, the players will owe Brazil’s nonresident income tax on the share of income they earned there, while California will lose out on the nonresident income taxes that Chiefs players ordinarily would have remitted in what is nominally a Chargers home game.
5 min read
Rhode Island Should Not Imitate Massachusetts’ Tax Mistakes
Rhode Island lawmakers are debating raising the state’s top income tax rate. Though billed as a tax hike on high earners, the consequences would manifest across the state’s entire economy—creating a risk that Rhode Island will tax its way into uncompetitiveness.
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
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
Caitlin Clark Pays Income Taxes on NIL. It’s Time to Tax the NCAA, too.
If student athletes are taxed on their earnings, it’s time the NCAA should be taxed on theirs.
Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2020 Update
The latest IRS data shows that the U.S. individual income tax continues to be very progressive, borne primarily by the highest income earners. The top 1 percent of taxpayers pay a 26.8 percent average individual income tax rate, which is more than six times higher than taxpayers in the bottom 50 percent (4.0 percent).
6 min read
Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2018 Update
The top 50 percent of all taxpayers pay 97 percent of all individual income taxes, while the bottom 50 percent paid the remaining 3 percent.
21 min read
