State Conformity

Estate and Inheritance Taxes by State, 2024

In addition to the federal estate tax, with a top rate of 40 percent, 12 states and DC impose additional estate taxes, while six states levy inheritance taxes.

Tennessee Looking Toward Pro-Growth Change in 2023

With other states upping their game to attract ever-more-mobile people and businesses, lawmakers and the governor are not content to leave Tennessee’s business taxes in their current, uncompetitive form.

State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2023

Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections:

States That Might Tax Student Loan Debt Cancellation

Will states consider student loan forgiveness a taxable event? In some states, the answer could be yes.

Oklahoma Becomes First State in Nation to Make Full Expensing Permanent

Gov. Stitt signed into law a pro-growth bill that will set the state apart from its peers. Other states should look to follow Oklahoma’s example and make full expensing permanent to maintain their competitiveness in an increasingly mobile economy.

Net Operating Loss Provisions: State Treatment and the Economic Benefits

Well-designed Net Operating Loss (NOL) provisions benefit the economy by smoothing business income, which mitigates entrepreneurial risk and helps firms survive economic downturns.

Kansas Lawmakers to Consider Veto Override on Tax Reform Bill

Kansas has the revenue cushion it needs to provide tax relief to individuals and businesses and improve the structure of its tax code in the process. These pro-growth reforms would not only help taxpayers amid the pandemic but would also promote economic recovery and growth in a state that is lagging behind its competitors.

State Conformity to Federal Pandemic-Related Tax Provisions in CARES and ARPA

With so many federal changes occurring in such a short amount of time—including some federal provisions changing more than once and a major change to the treatment of UC income occurring in the middle of tax filing season—state legislators have faced the challenge of responding to these changes quickly in order to provide certainty to taxpayers.

Which States Are Taxing Forgiven PPP Loans?

Congress chose to exempt forgiven Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from federal income taxation. Many states, however, remain on track to tax them by either treating forgiven loans as taxable income, denying the deduction for expenses paid for using forgiven loans, or both.

Alabama Passes Tax Reform Aimed at Throwback, GILTI, and More

Learn more about the recent Alabama tax reform measures (House Bill 170), which combines pandemic-era tax policy responses with broader tax policy reforms.

Tax-A-Rama in Maryland

The potential override of Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) veto of a digital advertising tax (HB732) looms large over the current legislative session in Maryland, though it is only one of many tax proposals under consideration in the state.

Tax Options to Promote Short-Term Recovery and Long-Term Economic Growth in Wisconsin

From a revenue standpoint, Wisconsin was better off than many states going into this crisis, but the policy decisions—including tax policy decisions—state policymakers make in the months ahead will have far-reaching implications for how quickly jobs and wages are restored in Wisconsin.

Iowa Decouples from 163(j) and GILTI, Clarifies Non-Taxation of PPP Loans

Iowa’s HF 2614, which passed both chambers of the legislature and now waits for the governor’s signature, makes several changes to the state’s tax code, which, although they will affect revenue, will encourage economic growth and make the state’s tax code more competitive.

CARES Act Conformity Would Promote Economic Recovery in Nebraska

Nebraska lawmakers may ultimately opt for a package that includes both property tax relief and the renewal of business incentives, but they should avoid doing so at the expense of decoupling from the CARES Act’s liquidity-enhancing provisions.

Louisiana Can Look to Tax Reform for Aid in a Post-Coronavirus Recovery

As states look for a path out of these fiscally troubling times, Louisiana has several options for aspects of its tax code to promote economic recovery and growth. The Pelican State’s federal deductibility, Corporation Franchise Tax, and sales tax structure present opportunities for beneficial tax reform in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Kansas, Nebraska, and Utah Lawmakers Pursue “Not GILTI” Verdicts

Taxing GILTI puts states at a competitive disadvantage compared to their peers—all for a tax that makes very little sense at the state level, and which legislators never sought in the first place.

Wisconsin Should Consider Using Some of its Surplus Revenue for Expensing Reform

Minnesota Policymakers Strike Tax Conformity Deal

Arizona Delivers Rate Cuts and Tax Conformity

GILTI Minds: Why Some States Want to Tax International Income—And Why They Shouldn’t

The new federal tax on Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) is something of a misnomer: it’s certainly global and it’s definitely income, but the rest of it is, at best, an approximation. It’s not exclusively levied on low-taxed income, nor just on the economic returns from intangible property. So what is GILTI, why might states tax it, and what’s the problem with that?