State Tax

Key Findings: California has one of the nation’s least business-friendly tax environments, ranking 48th on the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, which measures tax structure. However, the state’s property tax code is a relative bright spot, with the state ranking 14th on that component of the Index. If approved by California voters on

Today, the House Republican Study Committee released a proposal to address education, labor, and welfare policy with the aim of expanding opportunity, liberty, and free enterprise for all Americans. Among the 118 policy recommendations by the task force in the “Reclaiming the American Dream” white paper are several tax policy changes across the education, labor,

This week’s map shows the five states that have an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) in their individual income tax codes: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, and Minnesota. Under an individual AMT, many taxpayers are required to calculate their income tax liability under two different systems and pay the higher amount. The federal AMT was created in 1963, after Congress discovered

Today’s map takes another look at property taxes, this time focusing on states’ effective tax rates on owner-occupied housing. This is the average amount of residential property taxes actually paid, expressed as a percentage of home value. Because property taxes are tied to housing values, it makes sense that the actual dollar amounts of property

Key Findings The future of funding for America’s highways has been the topic of much political discussion for decades. While many states have increased motor fuel tax rates over the last decade, the federal government has not updated the gas tax since 1993. The motor fuel tax is a relatively well-designed tax which acts as

Property taxes are an important tool to help finance state and local governments. In fiscal year 2017, property taxes comprised 31.9 percent of total state and local tax collections in the United States, more than any other source of tax revenue. In that same year, property taxes accounted for a whopping 72 percent of local

On the last day of Nebraska’s recently reconvened 2020 legislative session, legislators today granted final approval to LB1107, a bill to provide state income tax relief to help offset local property taxes paid, as well as to make adjustments to Nebraska’s business incentives program. This compromise is the result of many months of negotiations in

In its search for revenue to fill in budget gaps, Nevada is considering a mining tax increase through a constitutional amendment. Two resolutions with competing tax plans (AJR1 and AJR2) passed both chambers without amendments on August 2nd, within three days of when they were initially introduced. The legislature adjourned on August 6 without scheduling

According to news reports, the Vermont legislature is ready to advance S54 this month or next, to legalize cultivation and sales of marijuana in the state beginning in 2022. Versions of the bill have been approved by both chambers. The current regulatory situation in Vermont is unique, as marijuana possession has been legal since January

Today marked the release of both second-quarter GDP and national accounts data and provides a new glimpse into early changes in state and local revenues and spending. All told, second-quarter (Q2) state and local tax receipts came in about 3.8 percent lower than they did in the same quarter a year ago. Income and sales

Key Findings Connecticut’s property tax burdens are rising rapidly, with the state’s effective property tax rates on owner-occupied housing now among the highest in the country at 1.7 percent of housing value. Property tax burdens in Connecticut continue to increase even as property values decline, whereas other states—including neighboring Massachusetts and New York—have managed to

Pass-through businesses, such as sole proprietorships, S corporations, and partnerships, make up a majority of businesses in the United States. The owners of these firms pay individual income tax on income derived from these businesses. The marginal tax rates vary for pass-through firms depending on the state where they operate, as states tax individual income

Last Friday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down several of Gov. Tony Evers’ (D) partial vetoes to the state’s biennial budget for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Of the 78 partial vetoes issued by the governor in July 2019, four were challenged and the court struck down three. In Wisconsin, per the constitution, the governor

On July 2, a Columbus-based non-profit, the Buckeye Institute, filed a lawsuit against the city of Columbus and state of Ohio claiming that a recently passed bill, HB197, is unconstitutional. In Ohio, municipalities levy income taxes on non-residents’ income earned within their jurisdiction. It is not uncommon for localities to levy income taxes on non-residents

Key Findings Nineteen states had notable tax changes take effect on July 1, 2020. Indiana had the lone corporate income tax change, with the rate decreasing from 5.5 to 5.25 percent. Two states, Louisiana and Mississippi, began requiring marketplace facilitators to collect sales and use taxes. Illinois now requires remote sellers to collect state and

Key Findings Forty-five states and the District of Columbia collect statewide sales taxes. Local sales taxes are collected in 38 states. In some cases, they can rival or even exceed state rates. The five states with the highest average combined state and local sales tax rates are Tennessee (9.55 percent), Arkansas (9.53 percent), Louisiana (9.52

While some jurisdictions are exploring standalone—and legally dubious—taxes on digital advertising, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D) has a more down-to-earth proposal: why not just include advertising in the sales tax base? The obvious upside is that it doesn’t immediately raise any legal red flags and it takes advantage of a tax that already exists

The holiday weekend is almost upon us and many are getting ready for a weekend of family and celebration. Independence Day means firing up the barbecue, setting off fireworks, enjoying cold drinks, and wearing flag paraphernalia. It also means spending big: last year, Americans spent $6.7 billion for the Fourth of July. This year, due

Some Nebraska senators have recently proposed decoupling from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act’s tax relief provisions in order to use that revenue for property tax cuts. Because Nebraska conforms with the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) on a rolling basis, the state automatically incorporates federal tax changes into its own tax code

Of all alcoholic beverages subject to taxation, stiff drinks—and all distilled spirits—face the stiffest tax rates. Ostensibly, this is because spirits have higher alcohol content than the other categories, like wine and beer. This round of information is on us, so help yourself to the map below to see whether you’re shaken or stirred by how your state’s