In this report, we explore how and why local governments have turned to cooperation to boost economic development. We synthesize highlights from the literature, explore program features from two regional case studies, and share findings from interviews with local practitioners. Although research...
Total state tax revenue from all sources showed strong growth in the last three quarters of 2018. States collected slightly over $1 trillion in tax revenues in fiscal year 2018, a gain of 7.8 percent over 2017. But the revenue growth was uneven among the states and across revenue sources. Much...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act modestly decreased federal individual income taxes for most low- and middle-income families. However, the federal tax changes interacted with state laws in ways that meant some of these same families could see state tax increases. This brief discusses how implementing...
Firm migration is seen as a barometer of business climate and economic health. State and local governments feel the pressure to retain and attract jobs, often by competing using economic development packages. To better understand local employment changes, and the prevalence of job migration, we...
The first edition of Urban’s new State Tax and Economic Review finds total state tax revenue from all sources showed strong growth in the final quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018. The largest increases were in individual income tax revenues. State government tax revenue grew mostly in...
In this study, we explore how strict balanced budget requirements (BBRs) and tax or expenditure limits (TELs) influence states’ decisions to either cut spending or raise revenues in response to surprise deficits and whether this relationship changed following the onset of the Great Recession. We...
American places are pulling apart from one another—economically, socially, and politically. Declining regional income convergence, increasing geographic concentration of joblessness, and an increasing awareness of the social costs of long-term joblessness and economic isolation have led many...
Cities are where people come together to work, live, and thrive. Cities also face a host of fiscal challenges, many of which were laid bare in the Great Recession. Given these challenges, stakeholders of many kinds have sought more and better indicators of city fiscal health. This paper provides...
In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled in National Bellas Hess v. Department of Revenue of Illinois, that a business must have a physical presence within a state’s borders for the state to collect sales taxes from that business. In 1992, the court reaffirmed the physical presence requirement in Quill...
On February 15, 2018, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) requested specific information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on its oversight activities of nonprofit hospitals. In this brief, to provide evidence well beyond what the IRS considers, I present a new tool...
Partners or Pirates? Collaboration and Competition in Local Economic Development
In this report, we explore how and why local governments have turned to cooperation to boost economic development. We synthesize highlights from the literature, explore program features from two regional case studies, and share findings from interviews with local practitioners. Although research...
Another Stellar Quarter of State Revenue Growth, But the Pace Is Slowing Down
Total state tax revenue from all sources showed strong growth in the last three quarters of 2018. States collected slightly over $1 trillion in tax revenues in fiscal year 2018, a gain of 7.8 percent over 2017. But the revenue growth was uneven among the states and across revenue sources. Much...
Addressing the Family-Sized Hole Federal Tax Reform Left for States
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act modestly decreased federal individual income taxes for most low- and middle-income families. However, the federal tax changes interacted with state laws in ways that meant some of these same families could see state tax increases. This brief discusses how implementing...
Footloose or Stuck in Place? Firm Mobility across Six Metropolitan Areas
Firm migration is seen as a barometer of business climate and economic health. State and local governments feel the pressure to retain and attract jobs, often by competing using economic development packages. To better understand local employment changes, and the prevalence of job migration, we...
State Tax Revenues Soar in the First Quarter of 2018
The first edition of Urban’s new State Tax and Economic Review finds total state tax revenue from all sources showed strong growth in the final quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018. The largest increases were in individual income tax revenues. State government tax revenue grew mostly in...
Budget Processes and the Great Recession
In this study, we explore how strict balanced budget requirements (BBRs) and tax or expenditure limits (TELs) influence states’ decisions to either cut spending or raise revenues in response to surprise deficits and whether this relationship changed following the onset of the Great Recession. We...
Harnessing The U.S. Intergovernmental Grant System for Place-Based Assistance In Recession and Recovery
American places are pulling apart from one another—economically, socially, and politically. Declining regional income convergence, increasing geographic concentration of joblessness, and an increasing awareness of the social costs of long-term joblessness and economic isolation have led many...
Predicting Municipal Fiscal Distress: Aspiration or Reality
Cities are where people come together to work, live, and thrive. Cities also face a host of fiscal challenges, many of which were laid bare in the Great Recession. Given these challenges, stakeholders of many kinds have sought more and better indicators of city fiscal health. This paper provides...
The Evolution of Online Sales Taxes and What's Next For States
In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled in National Bellas Hess v. Department of Revenue of Illinois, that a business must have a physical presence within a state’s borders for the state to collect sales taxes from that business. In 1992, the court reaffirmed the physical presence requirement in Quill...
Measuring the “Charitability” of Hospitals: Putting Meat on the Bones of the Grassley-Hatch Request
On February 15, 2018, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) requested specific information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on its oversight activities of nonprofit hospitals. In this brief, to provide evidence well beyond what the IRS considers, I present a new tool...