State and Local Issues

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Data Subscription Series

Data Subscription Service

State and Local Finance Initiative

State and Local Finance Initiative

The State and Local Finance Initiative (SLFI) is an Urban Institute project in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. The initiative equips policymakers, citizens, and the media with tools to understand and address the fiscal challenges and opportunities facing state and local governments. SLFI provides current, reliable, and unbiased research, data, and analysis. The initiative integrates knowledge across policy domains and government levels to give decision-makers the best possible information to navigate among competing options and understand tradeoffs. 

Tax Policy and Charities initiative

Tax Policy and Charities initiative

The Tax Policy and Charities initiative analyzes interactions between the tax system and the charitable sector, with special emphasis on federal and state fiscal debates. Researchers study income and estate tax deductions for charitable giving, income- and property-tax exemptions for nonprofits, and private foundation excise taxes, among other issues. We inform the debate as it evolves, unpacking the controversy over donor-advised funds and analyzing the IRS scandal regarding social welfare 501(c)(4) organizations. We show how some proposals can strengthen the charitable sector at little or no cost to the government and how revenues can be raised without harming charitable giving.