No Tax on Tips and Overtime Proposals Gain Steam Across States, but Remain a Bad Idea
The trend of tax exemptions on tips, overtime, and bonuses may sound like a win for workers, but it is a shortsighted fix with long-term drawbacks.
11 min read
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North Dakota’s Property Tax Reform Proposals: A Three-Part Approach
North Dakota’s financial position provides it with a rare capacity to deliver meaningful property tax relief. However, policymakers must balance immediate relief with fiscal sustainability and ensure that local governments remain adequately funded in the years ahead.
5 min read
Kansans May Finally Get a Low, Flat Income Tax
If adopted, these reforms would make Kansas’ tax code substantially more competitive while returning revenue growth to taxpayers in a fiscally responsible manner.
4 min read
South Carolina Lawmakers Have Other Options for Achieving a Flat Income Tax
Lawmakers are right to enact a single-rate individual income tax. However, lawmakers should consider the full effects of the reform, ensuring that relief is not financed by shifting the tax burden to lower-income individuals and families.
4 min read
Maryland Shouldn’t Mandate Worldwide Combined Reporting Through the Backdoor
Maryland’s proposed budget has garnered headlines for many reasons, but another momentous change is flying under the radar: backdoor adoption of potentially mandatory worldwide combined reporting.
6 min read
Montana Lawmakers Should Prioritize Transparency, Neutrality, and Competitiveness When Reforming the Property Tax
Montana’s 2025 legislative session has seen a flurry of property tax reform proposals, a response to the surge in property valuations in the state. Unfortunately, hasty decision-making can result in suboptimal policy outcomes.
6 min read
North Carolina Tries Mimicking Trump’s Tips and Overtime Proposal, But Should Be Cautious
A North Carolina House bill titled “No Tax on Tips, Overtime, Bonus Pay,” is gaining bipartisan traction in the General Assembly, mirroring similar proposals nationwide, including those championed by President Trump.
4 min read
Securing Property Tax Relief in Iowa
With such an important change to Iowa’s property tax system, it’s important that lawmakers get the details right.
33 min read
Kansas Policymakers Consider Variations of a Property Tax Levy Limit
As the property tax debate continues in Kansas, two new proposals have emerged that are much better structured, and would be more effective, than the assessment limits. However, policymakers should consider additional modifications.
7 min read
New B2B and Digital Taxes Are on the Table in Maryland
While Governor Moore’s tax plan is still being fiercely debated in Maryland, legislators have introduced several additional proposals—mostly aimed at increasing taxes on businesses—to generate revenue and address the state’s chronic budget deficit.
6 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
State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2025
Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
12 min read
Kansas Policymakers Should Consider a Levy Limit to Ease Property Tax Burdens
As Kansas policymakers consider ways to provide long-term property tax relief, a well-structured, exemption-free levy limit would be a structurally sound and effective reform to consider.
8 min read
New Jersey and Utah Are Latest States to Consider Reforming Economic Nexus
Despite stark competitiveness differences, both New Jersey and Utah share a common goal this legislative session: reforming economic nexus rules that require out-of-state sellers and marketplace facilitators to collect and remit state sales taxes.
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
Nebraska Property Tax Relief After LB 34
Nebraska has an opportunity to revise the property tax package enacted in 2024 to ensure that Nebraskans enjoy meaningful property tax relief.
32 min read
FDA’s Proposed Cigarette Prohibition Would Cost $33 Billion in Annual Tax Revenue
The US already has massive problems with cigarette smuggling. A cigarette prohibition would be devastating to tax coffers while pushing smokers toward what could become the world’s largest illicit market.
4 min read
Cigarette Smuggling Cost States Nearly $5 Billion in Forgone Excise Tax Revenue Each Year
Tax avoidance is a natural consequence of tax policy. Policymakers should consider the unintended consequences, both to public health and public coffers, of the excise taxes and regulatory regimes for cigarettes and other nicotine products.
5 min read
Louisiana Now Boasts a More Competitive and Pro-Growth Tax Code
Lawmakers will enter the 2025 fiscal legislative session with an opportunity to build on the successes of the November special session. Efforts should include addressing the outstanding issues within the corporate and sales tax codes that currently hold the state back.
7 min read