Public Law 86-272’s vague language, limited scope, and failure to evolve with modern commerce has rendered it increasingly ineffective, burdening businesses with heightened litigation and compliance challenges.
26 min read
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.
122 min read
In 2025, the Texas legislature sought to make the state more competitive for small businesses by exempting a greater amount of business personal property from taxation, reducing compliance burdens at the cost of a trivial amount of revenue.
3 min read
Kansas policymakers’ proposal to expand the sales tax base is well-intentioned but could be designed more prudently.
Alabama’s 2025 legislative session mostly demonstrates a commitment to pro-growth tax policies that enhance competitiveness and reduce compliance burdens.
4 min read
Does your state have a small business exemption for machinery and equipment?
4 min read
This legislative session, local taxes are a major topic of debate in Indiana. Although the state’s property tax system is already nationally competitive, dramatic increases in assessed values have created discontent in recent years.
8 min read
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
Thirty-nine states will begin 2025 with notable tax changes, including nine states cutting individual income taxes. Recent years have seen a wave of significant tax reforms, and the changes scheduled for 2025 show that these efforts have not let up.
25 min read
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
Next year, West Virginians will see an income tax cut thanks to revenue triggers in a 2023 law. The Mountain State joins 14 other states that have cut income taxes this year.
4 min read
Gov. Pillen is searching for tax burden relief. But his plan, which reportedly involves a two-tiered sales tax and the state’s assumption of most school funding responsibility, would have profound implications that even those most convinced of the urgency of property tax relief may find unworkable and unpalatable.
12 min read
Two bills in Georgia will lower the flat individual income tax rate and align the corporate income tax rate with the individual income tax rate.
4 min read
Portugal’s turnover tax on real property transfers places a serious drag on economic growth by making it harder for people to relocate for better jobs and living conditions while constraining investment into the development of housing and buildings.
5 min read
Does your state have a small business exemption for machinery and equipment?
3 min read
While some recommendations follow the principles of sound tax policy and may improve the District’s tax climate, some proposals make the tax code more complex and less neutral, potentially disincentivizing investment and business activity.
6 min read
All policy choices involve trade-offs—but occasionally, the ratio of costs and benefits is shockingly lopsided. Adopting a de minimis exemption for tangible personal property (TPP) taxes is just such a policy: one which massively reduces compliance and administrative burdens at trivial cost.
18 min read
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
At least 32 notable tax policy changes recently took effect across 18 states, including alterations to income taxes, payroll taxes, sales and use taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes. See if your state tax code changed.
16 min read