Conformity

The results are a mixed bag, with some states enacting promising policies that will improve tax equity and others going in the opposite direction.

Federal lawmakers passed a bill along party lines that would force the District of Columbia to override the decision of local elected officials and implement all of the costly and inequitable federal tax cuts passed under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA).

Despite wintry conditions across much of the country, that hasn’t stopped state lawmakers from debating major tax policy changes.

As state legislative sessions ramp up across the country, property taxes are one of many issues dominating tax policy conversations in statehouses.

Most states are adopting a very cautious approach so far this year as legislators begin their sessions and governors make their annual addresses, thanks to ongoing economic uncertainty and federal retrenchment.

They should take steps to protect and boost their own revenues. And they should take a second look at their own tax cuts.

This provision in last summer’s tax law could actually make budget-balancing a little bit easier for states if they follow suit.

Many states already recognize the potential of these credits to boost low- and moderate-income households. Other states should follow suit.

It’s wildly inappropriate for a U.S. Treasury Secretary to lean on states to adopt or not adopt specific federal provisions in their own state tax codes.

State deductions for tips and overtime are not only ineffective at supporting working-class people, it will come at a substantial cost to state budgets.

An unknown number of workers who previously were assumed to be ineligible for the tax break may nonetheless claim it.

The 2025 federal tax law risks making 529 plans more costly for states by increasing tax avoidance and allowing wealthy families to use these funds for private and religious K-12 schools.

The Opportunity Zones program benefits wealthy investors more than it benefits disadvantaged communities.

A costly tax break for wealthy venture capitalists is drawing some critical attention from state policymakers.

States should immediately decouple from four costly corporate tax provisions in the new federal tax law.

This webinar focused on the ways the new tax law could impact state revenues by changing policies that state lawmakers will soon consider mirroring in their own income tax codes.

States should decouple from the federal Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exemption.

The new tax law enacted last month found a temporary compromise on the level of the cap, boosting it to $40,000 through 2029, but failed to fix a loophole that allows some rich taxpayers with good accountants to completely avoid the cap

While a federal SALT cap is hotly debated, capping deductibility at $10,000 was an unambiguously good idea at the state level. States would be smart to stick with the current cap or, better yet, go even farther and repeal SALT deductions outright. Going along with a higher federal SALT cap would double down on a regressive tax cut that will mostly benefit a small number of relatively wealthy state residents and cost states significant revenue.

The auto loan interest deduction that recently passed the House is designed, at least in part, to mitigate the impact of tariff-induced price increases on vehicles assembled in America. But the deduction is incapable of offsetting even small-scale price increases, especially for working-class families and others with moderate incomes.

Creating a special tax break for tipped income – as at least 20 states are considering this spring – would harm state budgets, encourage tax avoidance, and fail to reach the vast majority of low- and middle-income workers.