The “Bring Chicago Home” ballot measure would make Chicago’s tax structure substantially less neutral by raising taxes on some property transfers while decreasing taxes on others.
7 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
Only three European countries levy a net wealth tax—Norway, Spain, and Switzerland. France and Italy levy wealth taxes on selected assets.
4 min read
Nebraskans need property tax relief and there are sound ways to provide it. However, increasing the sales tax rate to the highest in the country and dramatically increasing cigarette excises is not sound tax policy.
5 min read
Spain’s central government could learn some valuable lessons from its regional governments about sound tax policy.
7 min read
Thirty-four states will ring in the new year with notable tax changes, including 15 states cutting individual or corporate income taxes (and some cutting both).
17 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
Contrary to initial expectations, the pandemic years were good for state and local tax collections, and while the surges of 2021 and 2022 have not continued into calendar year 2023, revenues remain robust in most states and well above pre-pandemic levels even after accounting for inflation.
4 min read
The 2023 version of the International Tax Competitiveness Index is the 10th edition of the report. Let’s take a look back and see how country ranks have changed over time.
5 min read
The variety of approaches to taxation among European countries creates a need to evaluate these systems relative to each other. For that purpose, we have developed the European Tax Policy Scorecard—a relative comparison of European countries’ tax systems.
52 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
While there are many factors that affect a country’s economic performance, taxes play an important role. A well-structured tax code is easy for taxpayers to comply with and can promote economic development while raising sufficient revenue for a government’s priorities.
88 min read
High property taxes levied not only on land but also on buildings and structures can discourage investment in infrastructure, which businesses would have to pay additional tax on.
2 min read
In recent years, European countries have undertaken a series of tax reforms designed to maintain tax revenue levels while protecting households and businesses from high inflation.
8 min read
Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments and generate a significant share of state and local revenues.
6 min read
Recharacterizing a rather simple repayment transaction as a tax rebate is concerning, not just for sound tax policy, but also for the future of public-private financing partnerships.
4 min read
Discover why there are better and worse ways for governments to raise a dollar of revenue. That’s because no two taxes impact the economy the same.
Montana Policymakers should pursue principled property tax reform that benefits all property owners without creating market distortions or unfairly shifting the tax burden.
5 min read