State Tax Policy: A Political Perspective [Paperback]

David Brunori (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2001 | ISBN-10: 0877667039 | ISBN-13: 978-0877667032

State tax systems are in trouble. Revenue collecting methods developed more than a half century ago are facing the strain of dealing with 21st century economies. Globalization and e-commerce are changing the way people work and purchase goods; devolution has steadily shifted responsibility from the federal government to the states; tax incentives have become the weapon of choice in the battle to attract business investment. All of this, in an environment where anti-tax messages have become a staple of political campaigns, have made creating tax policy more challenging than ever before. In this book, David Brunori analyzes these and other critical challenges facing state governments. He identifies the important issues, and examines possible solutions in formulating and implementing state tax policy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...a timely guide to the tax policy issues that challenge state government finances. -- John Mikesell, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University

...an invaluable tool for analysts interested in state tax and budget issues. -- J. Fred Giertz, Professor of Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

...should be required reading for anyone concerned with state tax policy. -- Walter Hellerstein, Francis Shackelford Professor of Taxation, University of Georgia School of Law

About the Author

David Brunori is a journalist, author, educator, and lawyer who specializes in tax and government issues. Brunori is Contributing Editor for State Tax Notes magazine and the author of The Politics of State Taxation, a weekly column focusing on state tax and budget politics. He also teaches state and local taxation at The George Washington University Law School and George Mason University School of Law. Previously, he served as a trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice and practiced law with a Washington DC law firm. He edited The Future of State Taxation (Urban Institute Press), and has published articles in the National Tax Journal and the State and Local Government Review.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Urban Institute Press (July 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877667039
• ISBN-13: 978-0877667032
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,016,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complex State Tax Topics Explained and Analyzed, June 28, 2002

By 

LEON L CZIKOWSKY (Harrisburg, Pa USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: State Tax Policy: A Political Perspective (Paperback)

This is an excellent book that takes complex topics of state government taxation and makes them understandable. We learn the abilities and limitations of tax systems that were basically designed in the 19th century and how they respond to 21st century challenges. These are tax systems designed upon a manufacturing economy that has diminished. Along with the devolution of Federal government programs to the states over the past two decades, state governments need to find secure revenue bases to keep state government services operational.
The shifting of public services responsibility to states has awakened the corporate world. 1981 marked the first year that corporations paid more in state taxes than in Federal taxes. Thus, corporations have increased lobbying pressures on state governments. Numerous tax breaks have been afforded to businesses by states.
States find themselves pitted against each other in near-death spirals of competing against each other in offering tax breaks to attract businesses away from other states. Unfortunately, the differences in state taxes have been found to matter little in business location decisions.
State governments have become dependant more upon personal income tax revenues. 1998 marked the first year since the 1930s that revenues from personal sales taxes were greater than revenues from sales taxes. This reflects our changing world, as tax exempt services are an increasing part of our purchases.
The growth in personal income tax share of state tax revenues has been dramatic: it was 9% in 1950 and 19% in 1970 before reaching 34% in 1998. Sales and use taxes account for almost one third and corporate income taxes account for 6% of all state tax revenues. All state tax collections account for about 40% of what states need for their budgets. The rest is gained through federal funds, lotteries, litigation (including the tobacco settlement), license fees, and selling unclaimed properties.
This book shows would state government leaders should do to examine their taxes, reevaluate their policies, and realize where tax burdens falls. This is an excellent book for people wishing to learn the structure of what keep state governments functional.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid on operation, less so on theory, March 4, 2011

By 

James W. Clark - See all my reviews
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This review is from: State Tax Policy: A Political Perspective (Paperback)

I obtained the book as part of a research and writing project and I found it an excellent source for explaining the various state tax regimes and most issues. It tended, however, to use relatively limited references primarily to the author's prior work and a few persons who wrote critiques published with the book. It also seemed less than universal in approaching underlying causation and theory, i.e., seemed selective in what parts of economic theory to apply (production but not demand), and its critique and recommendations failed to take into account deficiencies highlighted earlier by the author or to analyze some alleged standards against which it purported to weigh the recommendations. For instance, it applied a modified standard of horizontal tax neutrality, i.e., that similarly situated taxpayers should be treated similarly, by applying an over-broad definition of what "similarly situated" means (service and manufacturing businesses are similarly situated per some analysis, i.e., some taxes apply more heavily to a capital intensive business than to a labor intensive business--but these are distinctions that make the two types of businesses dissimilar). The author recommended an extension of some policies more broadly than underlying economic theory would seem to provide, and in at least one case applied a standard in recommending tax law changes that was not enunciated as a part of the standards against which tax regimes should be measured (the so called transparency theory). Often factual assertions in support of recommendations were supported only by broad interpretations of the author of supposed population traits where neither the trait nor the possible relationship are supported by more than anecdotal observations of the author. Thus I would take the author's recommendations with a grain of salt and would acquire the book primarily for its explanation of how various state tax regimes (income, sales, property, etc.) operate and potential issues with how they impact taxpayer groups.

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as boring as it sounds, June 23, 2011

By 

Ines Rodriguez - See all my reviews

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This review is from: State Tax Policy: A Political Perspective (Paperback)

I had to read this for my Tax Policy class, but actually found the book very well written. I think it covers the state tax policy issues very well.