Taxes and the French Revolution
The French Revolution provides insight into the relationship between a government and its citizens and serves as a reminder that tax policy can have impacts (big and small) that last for centuries.
All Related Articles
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
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
The Unsustainable US Debt Course and Impacts of Potential Tax Changes
Given the poor state of the budget process and worsening debt trajectory, lawmakers should move boldly and quickly to address the issue, including via a fiscal commission process. Issues to consider should include reforms to both spending and taxes.
42 min read
State Tax Changes Taking Effect January 1, 2025
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
Confronting the New Property Tax Revolt
Policymakers can and should address taxpayers’ legitimate grievances about out-of-control property tax bills, but they should do so without upending a system of taxation that is more efficient, fair, and pro-growth, and better suited to municipal finance, than any of the alternatives.
39 min read
2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index
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
What Sets the US and China Apart on Tax?
Broad, pro-investment tax policy matters for growth, and the US has plenty of opportunities to make improvements, particularly given the advantages our cross-Pacific rival confers on its firms.
5 min read
International Tax Competitiveness Index 2024
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.
92 min read
The French Budget: Moving from Public Debate to Principled Solutions
Focusing on competitiveness, neutrality, and efficient policies to raise revenue would go a long way in increasing economic growth and stabilizing public finances over the long term.
7 min read
Georgia Amendment 1 Threatens the State’s Housing Market
Georgia should focus on policies that restrict the overall growth of property taxes, not policies that functionally freeze property taxes for current owners by shifting costs onto new owners and into the sales tax.
6 min read
Testimony: Pro-Growth Tax Reforms to Boost Competitiveness in Louisiana
Louisiana’s tax code currently features a number of inefficient and uncompetitive policies that are leaving the state further and further behind.
Before Repealing the Property Tax, Look Under the Hood
If voters are being asked to charge state legislators with raising the equivalent of a doubling of the current income and sales tax, shouldn’t they get to know what the plan is first?
Wyoming Voters to Consider Property Tax Changes, but Sound Property Tax Relief Is Not on the Ballot
Nationwide, property owners have experienced surges in valuations and are demanding tax relief. Lawmakers are right to find ways to provide it, but should do so with sound tax principles in mind.
5 min read
State Tax Ballot Measures to Watch in 2024
Taxes are on the ballot this November—not just in the sense that candidates at all levels are offering their visions for tax policy, but also in the literal sense that voters in some states will get to decide important questions about how their states raise revenue.
9 min read
North Dakota Considers Eliminating Property Taxes
Eliminating the property tax will unfortunately set North Dakota back in significant ways, making the state a national outlier and eroding regional competitiveness.
6 min read
Property Taxes by State and County, 2024
Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments and generate a significant share of state and local revenues.
6 min read
How Do Governments Raise Revenue?
The government provides various services at the federal, state, and local levels. How are they paid for? Taxes.
Good Policy Leads to More Tax Cuts for West Virginia
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
Real Estate Transaction Tax Rates in German States
The real estate transaction tax is levied on the gross sales value of a property when it changes ownership, without deductions for investment or purchasing costs. This makes the tax particularly harmful to investment in buildings and structures.
3 min read