State Tax

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

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law on March 27, is providing critical relief to individuals and businesses that have been economically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to providing financial assistance to individuals and loans to businesses, the CARES Act made several structural adjustments to the tax code

Seattle’s city council—or at least a few of its members—are again gearing up for an effort to increase taxes on the city’s largest employers. The targets of the proposed taxes have been constant; the nature of the tax and what it is intended to fund has been a moving target. The latest proposal would place

Thursday, Colorado Representatives Yadira Caraveo (D) and Julie McCluskie (D) as well as Senators Rhonda Fields (D) and Dominick Moreno (D) introduced HB1427 which, if approved by voters in November, would increase tobacco taxes in Colorado in three stages beginning January 2021. The tax on cigarettes would increase to $1.94 in 2021, to $2.24 in

The coronavirus pandemic has left states and localities in dire straits financially and lawmakers are getting creative in their pursuit of new revenue sources. Sports betting is one such source. However, it is very unlikely that revenue from sports betting will have any meaningful impact on budget shortfalls. States legalizing sports betting in the hopes

Key Points: Legal recreational marijuana sales are ongoing in nine states, covering 27 percent of the U.S. population. In 2018, 10.5 percent of adult Americans had used marijuana products in the last 30 days. States have designed different excise tax systems for recreational marijuana. While most tax based on price, states also tax marijuana based

If enacted, California Senate bill SB 972 would require the public posting of an annual list of corporate taxpayers whose gross receipts met or surpassed $5 billion in the previous year, starting in 2021. The list would “include the name and tax liability of each taxpayer, the taxable year for which the return is filed,

Vapor products have been growing in popularity since they entered the market in 2007, and taxation on such items has been following suit. Many states may also be looking toward vapor and other excise taxes to fill budget holes caused by the coronavirus crisis. While those areas may represent untapped revenue sources for many states,

Ronald Reagan once quipped that the government’s view of the economy could be summed up in three short phrases: if it moves, tax it; if it keeps moving, regulate it; and if it stops moving, subsidize it. As an actual explanation of governmental philosophy, it is perhaps too cynical, but especially as states see traditional

With California’s unemployment rate approaching 25 percent, it is somewhat surprising to find policymakers contemplating a literal tax on jobs. That is, however, precisely what some California lawmakers have proposed under the COVID-19 Local Government and School Recovery and Relief Act, which would impose a $275 per employee tax on all businesses with at least

When it comes to tax deadline extensions that have occurred in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, deadlines for filing and paying 2019 income taxes have received much of the public attention. However, self-employed individuals, investors, and others who receive income from sources other than an employer must also pay attention to changes in quarterly estimated

In California, where state officials are projecting a stunning $54 billion deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)’s budget proposes a range of new revenue options, including an important change to how business income is calculated for tax purposes, eliminating net operating loss carryovers for most businesses for three years. Net operating loss provisions in corporate net

The State Municipal Assistance for Response and Transition (SMART) Act, sponsored by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) in the Senate and by Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) in the House, would provide $500 billion in flexible funding to state, local, and tribal governments to backfill lost revenues and otherwise provide fiscal relief during

Across the country, unemployment insurance (UI) benefits are playing an important role in helping individuals who have lost work due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic fallout. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law on March 27, provided a temporary, federally-funded increase in UI benefits and expanded benefits eligibility.