Sales Taxes

State Tax Reform and Relief Trend Continues in 2023

Ranking Sales Taxes on the 2023 State Business Tax Climate Index

An ideal sales tax applies to a broad base of final consumer goods and services, with few exemptions, and is levied at a low rate.

The FairTax?

The FairTax, on paper, sounds simple. But when you pull back the curtains, this proposal leads to more questions than answers.

Do Consumption Taxes Do a Better Job of Taxing Criminals?

One of the arguments in favor of the FairTax is that it would do a better job of taxing the underground economy than the income tax it is intended to replace.

Insights into the Tax Systems of Scandinavian Countries

Scandinavian countries are well known for their broad social safety net and their public funding of services such as universal health care, higher education, parental leave, and child and elderly care. So how do Scandinavian countries raise their tax revenues?

America’s Progressive Tax and Transfer System: Federal, State, and Local Tax and Transfer Distributions

The overall U.S. tax and transfer system is overwhelmingly progressive, and understanding the extent—and source—of that progressivity is essential for lawmakers considering the trade-offs associated with each tax policy decision.

Facts & Figures 2023: How Does Your State Compare?

Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.

New Mexico’s Omnibus Tax Bill

Adopting the sound tax reforms still pending in Santa Fe is an opportunity for New Mexico to keep up with the pack or risk falling further behind.

Kentucky Should Refrain from Expanding Its Taxation of Business Inputs

As final negotiations occur between the House and Senate, legislators should avoid adopting new policies that would jeopardize Kentucky’s business tax competitiveness.

Oklahoma Lawmakers’ Tax Reform Plan Would Put State in Top 10

The changes put forth in a new package of bills would represent significant pro-growth change for Oklahoma that would set the state up for success in an increasingly competitive tax landscape.

Analyzing the Kansas Senate’s Proposed Tax Changes

As Kansas legislators consider additional tax policy changes this legislative session, they should prioritize economic growth and a structurally sound tax code.

Sources of U.S. Tax Revenue by Tax Type, 2023 Update

Different taxes have different economic effects, so policymakers should always consider how tax revenue is raised and not just how much is raised.

Cities Want to Tax Streaming Video Services, but They’re Not Sure Why

A growing number of cities, in red states like Arkansas and Texas, blue states like California and New Jersey, and purple states like Georgia and Nevada, have pursued streaming taxes in recent years.

Sources of Government Revenue in the OECD, 2023 Update

Designing tax policy in a way that sustainably finances government activities while minimizing distortions is important for supporting a productive economy.

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 and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2023

While many factors influence business location and investment decisions, sales taxes are something within policymakers’ control that can have immediate impacts.

State Tax Policy as an Inflation Response

At the end of 2022, prices were 14.6 percent higher than they were two years prior. That’s the fastest inflation rate over any two calendar years since the stagflation era of the late 1970s. State policymakers are understandably interested in bringing any tools at their disposal to bear on the problem. And many of them are reaching for tax policy solutions.

Fair Tax FAQ

The FairTax is a proposal to replace all major sources of the federal government’s revenue—the individual income tax, corporate income tax, estate and gift taxes, and payroll tax—with a national sales tax and rebate, abolishing the IRS in the process.

West Virginia Is Being Left Behind on Tax Relief

West Virginia is one of only seven states that hasn’t offered any significant tax relief since 2021—and five of the other six forgo an individual income tax.

State Tax Changes Taking Effect January 1, 2023

Most of the 2023 state tax changes represent net tax reductions, the result of an unprecedented wave of rate reductions and other tax cuts in the past two years as states respond to burgeoning revenues, greater tax competition in an era of enhanced mobility, and the impact of high inflation on residents.