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Sales Tax Holidays: Bad Policy Any Year, But Especially in Response to High Inflation
However well-intended they may be, sales tax holidays remain the same as they always have been—ineffective and inefficient.
43 min read
Indiana Should Use Surplus to Expedite Rate Cuts, Index Exemptions for Inflation
Expediting income tax rate reductions and indexing major income tax provisions for inflation are two of the most important tax policy changes policymakers could make to provide meaningful tax relief to Hoosiers both now and in the years to come.
4 min read
New Jersey’s Proposed Menthol Ban Is All Pain and No Gain
New Jersey lawmakers should be weary of flavor bans after seeing the results in Massachusetts.
3 min read
State and Local Sales Tax Rates, Midyear 2022
While many factors influence business location and investment decisions, sales taxes are something within policymakers’ control that can have immediate impacts.
12 min read
State Tax Reform and Relief Enacted in 2022
Among the 46 states that held legislative sessions this year, structural state tax reform and temporary tax relief measures were recurring themes.
13 min read
Tax Reform Options to Improve Wisconsin’s Competitiveness
Given the state’s strong budget surplus and projected continued revenue growth, Wisconsin is in a prime position to enact pro-growth reforms to improve the state’s competitive standing for decades to come.
54 min read
State Tax Changes Taking Effect July 1, 2022
Although the majority of state tax changes take effect at the start of the calendar year, some are implemented at the beginning of the fiscal year. Fourteen states have notable tax changes taking effect on July 1.
7 min read
Clean Up on the Grocery Tax Aisle
Amidst soaring inflation, policymakers across the political spectrum proposed many ideas to soften the blow of higher prices–especially for low-income workers and families. One idea that caught on quickly: sales tax relief on groceries. The idea had its merits, but Tax Foundation research shows that it may have missed the mark.

Wisconsin Losing Ground to Tax-Friendly Peers
While Wisconsin has long been one of the highest-tax states in the nation, that distinction is increasingly detrimental as businesses and individuals enjoy increased economic and geographic mobility.
6 min read
Ranking Sales Taxes on the 2022 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.
3 min read
Evaluating Wyoming’s Business Tax Competitiveness
Wyoming’s low taxes are highly attractive, but policymakers are still hard at work helping the state achieve broader economic development goals.
13 min read
State Sales Tax Breadth and Reliance, Fiscal Year 2021
The sales tax is too important a part of states’ revenue toolkits to be permitted further erosion, making sales tax modernization a vital project of the 2020s.
17 min read
The Three Basic Tax Types
The better you understand taxes, the better equipped you are to make decisions about them. All taxes can be divided into three basic types: taxes on what you buy, taxes on what you earn, and taxes on what you own.

Kansas Policymakers Should Improve Food Credit, Not Exempt Groceries
This legislative session, the sales tax on food has garnered a great deal of attention in Kansas, with policymakers on both sides of the aisle proposing the removal of groceries from the sales tax base.
7 min read
The Surprising Regressivity of Grocery Tax Exemptions
Exempting groceries from the sales tax base reduces economic efficiency without achieving its objective of enhancing tax progressivity.
19 min read
Kentucky Legislature Sends Pro-Growth Tax Changes to Governor
Kentucky is making commendable progress toward a more modern and competitive tax code, but more work on comprehensive tax reform should be prioritized next session.
7 min read
State Legislatures Take Up Tax Reform and Relief in 2022
After a whirlwind of cuts and reforms in 2021, it looks like 2022 might be an even bigger year for state tax codes. Republican and Democratic governors alike used their annual State of the State addresses to call for tax reform, and there is already serious momentum from state lawmakers nationwide to get the job done.
3 min read
Facts & Figures 2022: 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.
2 min read
Will Kentucky Build Upon Its 2018 Reforms This Year?
As Kentucky policymakers make final decisions on tax relief this year, they should make the most of this opportunity to return excess tax collections in a manner that would also enhance the Bluegrass State’s prospects for long-term economic growth.
5 min read