State tax revenues saw large swings since the onset of the pandemic, in part because of government actions and behavioral responses to mitigate virus exposure.
States reported strong revenue growth in the second quarter of 2021, but that is largely because of the lower base in 2020. Still...
In this brief, we consider both personal and business income tax expenditures at the state level. We use California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia as examples. We separate tax expenditures into those that occur because of conformity with federal tax provisions and those...
“Sin taxes” are often viewed as budget saviors, though they play a rather small role in state budgets. Although states raise revenue from sin taxes, policymakers should be mindful of these taxes’ limitations. Absent policy changes (such as increased tax rates), long-term growth for sin tax...
State government tax revenues rebounded in the first quarter of 2019 after declines in the fourth quarter of 2018. However, year-over-year growth was substantially weaker in the first quarter of 2019 than in the final quarter of 2017 and the first three quarters of 2018. Most of the recent...
This report was updated on August 29, 2019, to correct a citation in box 7. Proposition 111, approved in California in 1990, was incorrectly cited as Proposition 11 with a year of 1991.
Governors, lawmakers, and journalists often decry constitutional and statutory formulas,...
Fiscal Democracy in the States: How Much Spending is on Autopilot? analyzes how much spending was restricted or partially restricted in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Virginia from 2000 to 2015.
In this appendix, we document our data sources and methods,...
In this brief we consider the largest nonbusiness tax expenditures in the individual income tax. We provide a description of these provisions, estimates of their cost and the distribution of their tax benefits across income groups, and briefly summarize their effects. We consider tax...
State government tax revenues from major sources declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared with the same quarter in 2017, mostly because of declines in state income tax revenues. The declines in income tax collection are partially attributable to the disappearing impact of incentives...
One year after the Supreme Court overturned the federal restriction on state authorization of legal sports gambling, seven states allow and tax sports wagers and several others are close to joining them. But despite sports betting’s ostensible popularity, the resulting state tax revenue is and...
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...
State Tax and Economic Review, 2021 Quarter 2
State tax revenues saw large swings since the onset of the pandemic, in part because of government actions and behavioral responses to mitigate virus exposure.
States reported strong revenue growth in the second quarter of 2021, but that is largely because of the lower base in 2020. Still...
State Income Tax Expenditures
In this brief, we consider both personal and business income tax expenditures at the state level. We use California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia as examples. We separate tax expenditures into those that occur because of conformity with federal tax provisions and those...
Are States Betting on Sin? The Murky Future of State Taxation
“Sin taxes” are often viewed as budget saviors, though they play a rather small role in state budgets. Although states raise revenue from sin taxes, policymakers should be mindful of these taxes’ limitations. Absent policy changes (such as increased tax rates), long-term growth for sin tax...
State Tax and Economic Review, 2019 Quarter 1
State government tax revenues rebounded in the first quarter of 2019 after declines in the fourth quarter of 2018. However, year-over-year growth was substantially weaker in the first quarter of 2019 than in the final quarter of 2017 and the first three quarters of 2018. Most of the recent...
Fiscal Democracy in the States: How Much Spending is on Autopilot?
This report was updated on August 29, 2019, to correct a citation in box 7. Proposition 111, approved in California in 1990, was incorrectly cited as Proposition 11 with a year of 1991.
Governors, lawmakers, and journalists often decry constitutional and statutory formulas,...
Fiscal Democracy in the States: Data Appendix
Fiscal Democracy in the States: How Much Spending is on Autopilot? analyzes how much spending was restricted or partially restricted in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Virginia from 2000 to 2015.
In this appendix, we document our data sources and methods,...
What are the Largest Nonbusiness Tax Expenditures?
In this brief we consider the largest nonbusiness tax expenditures in the individual income tax. We provide a description of these provisions, estimates of their cost and the distribution of their tax benefits across income groups, and briefly summarize their effects. We consider tax...
State Tax and Economic Review, 2018 Quarter 4
State government tax revenues from major sources declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared with the same quarter in 2017, mostly because of declines in state income tax revenues. The declines in income tax collection are partially attributable to the disappearing impact of incentives...
States Learn to Bet on Sports: The Prospects and Limitations of Taxing Legal Sports Gambling
One year after the Supreme Court overturned the federal restriction on state authorization of legal sports gambling, seven states allow and tax sports wagers and several others are close to joining them. But despite sports betting’s ostensible popularity, the resulting state tax revenue is and...
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...