Since 2021, 25 states have cut individual income tax rates (including 23 reductions to top marginal rates), 13 states have cut corporate income tax rates, two have cut sales tax rates, and many more have made structural improvements like repealing capital stock taxes, adopting permanent full expensing, raising nonresident filing and withholding thresholds, improving treatment of business tangible property, eliminating throwback and throwout rules, and more.
The pace of tax reform will ebb and flow, and lawmakers’ ability to implement rate reductions will depend on future revenue and expenditure levels, but there will always be room for structural reforms. In an era characterized by remote work and greater workplace flexibility, more states should prioritize policies that attract investment, like permanent full expensing, and which reduce burdens for nonresidents, like higher filing and withholding thresholds.
At least 32 notable tax policy changes recently took effect across 18 states, including alterations to income taxes, payroll taxes, sales and use taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes. See if your state tax code changed.
15 min read
As fiscal year 2023 draws to a close, North Carolina’s House and Senate have each passed their own versions of the biennial budget for fiscal years 2024-25. While legislative leaders have generally agreed to overall spending levels, negotiations remain ongoing to resolve different approaches to tax policy.
7 min read
The Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee recently advanced two bills, SB 345 and SB 346, that would build on last year’s historic corporate net income tax (CNIT) reform.
7 min read
As Minnesota lawmakers consider making theirs the first state to mandate worldwide combined reporting, they are relying on a revenue estimate that is—this may not be the technical term—completely bogus.
7 min read
Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections:
22 min read
Local income taxes in Maryland constitute about 35 percent of local tax collections and more than 17 percent of local revenue, giving Maryland’s localities the highest dependence on income taxes in the nation.
5 min read
After years of strong revenue growth, Kansas has substantial cash reserves on hand, and policymakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed a desire to return some of the extra revenue to taxpayers.
5 min read
The pandemic has accelerated changes to the way we live and work, making it far easier for people to move—and they have. As states work to maintain their competitive advantage, they should pay attention to where people are moving, and try to understand why.
5 min read
Thirty-four states will ring in the new year with notable tax changes, including 15 states cutting individual or corporate income taxes (and some cutting both).
17 min read
Indiana’s tax code is structured in a relatively sound and economically efficient manner overall, but additional improvements should be considered to make the state even more economically competitive.
27 min read
Responsible pro-growth reforms to Arkansas’s tax code can help ensure that the Natural State is indeed a Land of Opportunity.
9 min read
Given enough time, everything old is new again—including tax ideas best consigned to history. But worldwide combined reporting, which a few states flirted with in the 1980s, is rearing its head again.
6 min read
At least 32 notable tax policy changes recently took effect across 18 states, including alterations to income taxes, payroll taxes, sales and use taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes. See if your state tax code changed.
15 min read
As fiscal year 2023 draws to a close, North Carolina’s House and Senate have each passed their own versions of the biennial budget for fiscal years 2024-25. While legislative leaders have generally agreed to overall spending levels, negotiations remain ongoing to resolve different approaches to tax policy.
7 min read
In the closing days of the 2023 legislative session, Oklahoma lawmakers repealed the state’s corporate franchise tax and eliminated the marriage penalty in its individual income tax. Both tax changes represent a positive step forward for the state.
4 min read
The Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee recently advanced two bills, SB 345 and SB 346, that would build on last year’s historic corporate net income tax (CNIT) reform.
7 min read
The tax base around the world is shrinking for traditional excise taxes, including taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and motor fuel. But newer excise taxes on things like carbon, cannabis, and ride-sharing are on the rise. What makes a good design for these taxes and where may excise taxes go in the future as the traditional “sin tax” base continues to shrink?
If Wisconsin policymakers return some of the projected continued revenue growth to taxpayers in a structurally sound and pro-growth manner, those tax cuts will benefit businesses and individuals throughout the state, leading to more innovation, more job and wage growth, more economic opportunities, and more vibrant communities.
30 min read
As Minnesota lawmakers consider making theirs the first state to mandate worldwide combined reporting, they are relying on a revenue estimate that is—this may not be the technical term—completely bogus.
7 min read
By letting the corporate surtax expire, eliminating taxes on GILTI, and embracing full expensing, New Jersey would take important steps toward creating a more welcoming and competitive tax environment.
6 min read
Accelerating its current individual income tax triggers and setting up the corporate income tax for eventual elimination would increase Missouri’s attractiveness among states at a time when businesses are increasingly mobile and tax competition matters more than ever.
4 min read
Crafting a hybrid bill for a low, flat rate on a broad base—with well-designed revenue triggers to responsibly reduce rates in the future—could be an ideal way forward for the North Dakota Senate.
7 min read
In a day and age when businesses and individuals alike are increasingly mobile, West Virginians can be relieved that their state is getting off the sideline and into the action.
4 min read
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.
7 min read