Our new study provides a 360-degree assessment of New York’s budget crisis, analyzes proposed revenue options, and offers solutions to raise revenue without driving more taxpayers out of the state or undoing recent positive reforms
106 min read
Today marked the release of second-quarter GDP data and provides a new glimpse into early changes in state and local revenues and spending. All told, second-quarter state and local tax receipts came in about 3.8 percent lower than they did in the same quarter a year ago. Income and sales taxes fell considerably while property and excise tax collections remained stable.
3 min read
Reviewing the sources of personal income shows that the personal income tax is largely a tax on labor, primarily because our personal income is mostly derived from labor. However, varied sources of capital income also play a role in American incomes.
9 min read
Revised state revenue forecasts show a significant decline in projected revenues for both the recently concluded FY 2020 and current FY 2021, though the picture they paint is considerably less dire than many feared a few months ago.
13 min read
Have you ever wondered where the money comes from to build roads, maintain a national defense, or pay for programs like Social Security? Taxes.
We examine whether excise taxes are a solution to budget deficits, and while the short answer to that question is no, there are of course nuances. Excise taxes can play a role in state revenues even as policymakers appreciate that excise taxes are not viable long-term revenue tools for general spending priorities.
21 min read
Compared to other tax revenue sources, consumption tax revenue as a share of GDP tends to be relatively stable over time, even during economic downturns.
2 min read
OECD countries have on average become more reliant on consumption taxes and less reliant on individual income taxes. These policy changes matter, considering that consumption-based taxes raise revenue with less economic damage and distortionary effects than taxes on income.
13 min read
OECD countries have on average become more reliant on consumption taxes and less reliant on individual income taxes. These policy changes matter, considering that consumption-based taxes raise revenue with less economic damage and distortionary effects than taxes on income.
10 min read
Tax Freedom Day represents how long Americans as a whole have to work in order to pay the nation’s tax burden. In 2019, Americans will pay $3.4 trillion in federal taxes and $1.8 trillion in state and local taxes, for a total bill of over $5.2 trillion, or 29 percent of the nation’s income.
5 min read
Tax Freedom Day is the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year. In 2018, Tax Freedom Day falls on April 19th, 109 days into the year.
5 min read
Taxpayers reported $10.4 trillion of total income on their 2015 tax returns. This report breaks down the sources of this income: wages and salaries, business income, investment income, and retirement income.
9 min read
There are a number of sources of state and local tax collections each with important implications for revenue stability and economic growth. Which taxes does your state and/or locality rely on most?
22 min read