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...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act included a new federal incentive—Opportunity Zones—to spur investment in poor and undercapitalized communities. Governors (and the mayor of the District of Columbia) have now selected which among the roughly 56 percent of eligible census tracts in the US should be...
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) will reduce individual income taxes on average for all income groups and in all states. Unlike prior Tax Policy Center reports, this analysis focuses on the distribution of the individual income tax changes, and does not include changes in the corporate income tax...
To respond effectively to state and federal policy changes, city leaders, non-profit service providers, advocates, and researchers all need accurate data on how federal funds flow to local governments. Unfortunately, those data are spread across multiple sources that are often indecipherable or...
Although most states produce a budget annually, 20 states produce a budget every other year for the upcoming two fiscal years, or biennially. This fact sheet describes the budget process and reviews the evidence on how annual and biennial budgeting, as well as the line item veto, affect fiscal...
Supermajority budget rules require a state to obtain more than a majority vote of the legislature, typically two-thirds or three-fifths of the votes, to pass a budget bill. This fact sheet reviews evidence on how supermajority budget rules affect fiscal outcomes, such as late budgets and...
Fluctuations in state revenue, especially unexpected ones, can compromise state services and contribute to overall fiscal instability. This fact sheet discusses the causes of state revenue volatility and how state tax and budget policy can either contribute to, or mitigate, it.
States use different methods to estimate how much revenue they will have available to spend in future years. This fact sheet describes different approaches to revenue forecasting and presents recommendations on how to improve forecasting accuracy and transparency.
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...
Did States Maximize Their Opportunity Zone Selections?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act included a new federal incentive—Opportunity Zones—to spur investment in poor and undercapitalized communities. Governors (and the mayor of the District of Columbia) have now selected which among the roughly 56 percent of eligible census tracts in the US should be...
The Effect of The TCJA Individual Income Tax Provisions Across Income Groups and Across the States
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) will reduce individual income taxes on average for all income groups and in all states. Unlike prior Tax Policy Center reports, this analysis focuses on the distribution of the individual income tax changes, and does not include changes in the corporate income tax...
Follow the Money: How to Track Federal Funding to Local Governments
To respond effectively to state and federal policy changes, city leaders, non-profit service providers, advocates, and researchers all need accurate data on how federal funds flow to local governments. Unfortunately, those data are spread across multiple sources that are often indecipherable or...
The Budget Cycle and Line-Item Veto
Although most states produce a budget annually, 20 states produce a budget every other year for the upcoming two fiscal years, or biennially. This fact sheet describes the budget process and reviews the evidence on how annual and biennial budgeting, as well as the line item veto, affect fiscal...
Supermajority Budget and Tax Rules
Supermajority budget rules require a state to obtain more than a majority vote of the legislature, typically two-thirds or three-fifths of the votes, to pass a budget bill. This fact sheet reviews evidence on how supermajority budget rules affect fiscal outcomes, such as late budgets and...
Revenue Volatility
Fluctuations in state revenue, especially unexpected ones, can compromise state services and contribute to overall fiscal instability. This fact sheet discusses the causes of state revenue volatility and how state tax and budget policy can either contribute to, or mitigate, it.
Revenue Forecasting Practices
States use different methods to estimate how much revenue they will have available to spend in future years. This fact sheet describes different approaches to revenue forecasting and presents recommendations on how to improve forecasting accuracy and transparency.