Illinois

As many legislative sessions end, lawmakers are revealing their priorities.

State lawmakers are debating whether to subsidize a new Chicago Bears stadium in Arlington Heights, but this bill creates a new statewide property tax cut program for large development projects.

This week Hawaiʻi lawmakers reached a compromise to balance the state budget and maintain tax cuts for most residents by, in part, raising rates on the richest Hawaiians. Other states are working to generate revenue from their wealthiest residents, too.

Missouri lawmakers passed legislation that will have residents vote on a proposal at the ballot box. The ask: for them to pay more in sales taxes to offset cuts – and the possible elimination – of the state's individual income tax, which makes up nearly two-thirds of Missouri’s general fund.

Yesterday was Tax Day, and with many state legislative sessions wrapping, some tax changes are gearing up or crossing over the finish line.

As states lawmakers continue to weigh their linkages to the federal tax code in light of the recent federal tax law, New Mexico provides a blueprint for limiting multinational corporate tax avoidance.

State lawmakers are grappling with a range of challenges as their fiscal outlooks deteriorate, federal tax enforcement wanes (after the Trump administration cut the IRS workforce by 25 percent), and a rewritten federal tax code sends states scrambling to decide what changes they might want to make in their own codes.

While some may be excited for a romantic Valentine’s Day this weekend, many state lawmakers are breaking up and decoupling from recent federal tax changes that are poised to leave states with revenue shortfalls – much like a bad date who forgets their wallet and asks you to pick up the tab.

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