Jared Walczak

New York and New Jersey Consider Financial Transaction Taxes

Seeking new sources of funding, New York and New Jersey—two states at the heart of global financial markets—are considering financial transaction taxes.

(Webinar) Figuring Out Phase Four: Next Steps on Federal and State Coronavirus Response

As U.S. businesses struggle to recover from the economic downturn, Congress and the White House continue to debate a phase four relief package, which could include anything from incentives for domestic travel and a payroll tax cut to more fundamental reforms like enacting permanent full cost recovery.

State Forecasts Indicate $121 Billion 2-Year Tax Revenue Losses Compared to FY 2019

Revised state revenue forecasts show a significant decline in projected revenues for both the recently concluded FY 2020 and current FY 2021, though the picture they paint is considerably less dire than many feared a few months ago.

What Can Connecticut Learn from its Neighbors About Property Tax Limitations?

Property tax burdens in Connecticut continue to increase even as property values decline, whereas other states—including neighboring Massachusetts and New York—have managed to keep the growth of property tax burdens in check.

D.C. Proposal to Include Advertising in Sales Tax Won’t Work as Advertised

Seattle Officials Return with New Proposal for Taxing Employment

Seattle’s city council are again gearing up for an effort to increase taxes on the city’s largest employers, intended to generate revenue for cash assistance to low-income households impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, among other reasons.

D.C. Council to Consider Tax Hike Despite Balanced Budget

Despite a balanced budget and and revenue shortfalls arising from the coronavirus crisis, the D.C. Council will consider proposals to raise income taxes to fund newly proposed spending projects.

New York Lawmakers Float New Data Tax Proposal

Taxes on digital services, digital advertising, and the sale or utilization of consumer data, which were already emerging before the #coronavirus crisis, look increasingly attractive to cash-strapped states and localities.

California Considers Business Head Tax Plan that Seattle Repealed

With California’s unemployment rate approaching 25 percent, it is somewhat surprising to find policymakers contemplating a literal tax on jobs.

Tax Changes in California Governor’s Budget Could Stand in the Way of Economic Recovery

While other states are starting to think about the recovery, California is contemplating tax policies that would stand in the way of economic expansion once the health crisis abates. California’s shortfall is all too real, but tax policies which impede recovery are a hindrance, not a help.

Breaking Down State and Local Aid under the SMART Act

The SMART Act, sponsored by Senators Bob Menendez and Bill Cassidy and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, would provide $500 billion in flexible funding to state and local governments.

Under the HEROES Act, State Budgets Could Soar as the Economy Suffers

The HEROES Act, proposed by House Democrats as a next round of fiscal relief during the coronavirus outbreak, contains about $1.08 trillion in aid to states and localities. That would bring the pandemic total to $1.63 trillion—an amount so large that it might overwhelm their ability to spend it and could reward fiscal irresponsibility.

How the HEROES Act Would Allocate State and Local Aid for Coronavirus Relief

The HEROES Act would provide more than $1 trillion to state and local governments. Here’s how funding would be distributed and provisional estimates of how much aid each state would receive.

Designing a State and Local Government Relief Package

The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying economic downturn will wreak havoc on state and local tax revenues, with projections of a 15-20 percent decline in state revenues. Our new report provides a framework for how to design an effective state and local relief package.

Gov. Hogan Vetoes Maryland Digital Advertising Tax Legislation

Gov. Hogan vetoed a proposed first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax that would have imposed rates of up to 10 percent on digital advertising served to Marylanders.

Watch: State Tax Policy and COVID-19

What could the next phase of relief look like and what role does tax policy play in ensuring the U.S. and countries around the world make a strong economic recovery?

New Guidance on State Aid Under the CARES Act

The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently issued new guidance on allowable expenses using the $150 billion in state aid provided under the CARES Act, a point on which there has been considerable confusion.

Tax Policy After Coronavirus: Clearing a Path to Economic Recovery

Governments at all levels must work to remove the tax policy barriers that stand in the way of economic recovery and long-term prosperity following the COVID-19 crisis. Our new guide outlines several comprehensive options that policymakers can take at the federal and state levels.

Will States Tax the Federal Government’s COVID-19 Lifeline to Small Businesses?

If states fail to update their income tax conformity, they will wind up taxing the federal lifeline to small businesses in the CARES Act: the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

States’ Unemployment Compensation Trust Funds Could Run Out in Mere Weeks

Six states, which collectively account for over one-third of the U.S. population, are currently in a position to pay out fewer than 10 weeks of the unemployment compensation claims that have already come in since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.