This week, the Tax Foundation released its 2010 State Business Tax Climate Index, which measures how "business-friendly" a state's tax system is. Equally important to the question of how much states tax, which we answer in our annual State and Local Tax Burdens study, is the question of how those taxes are raised.

In this week's Tax Policy Podcast, Staff Economist Kail Padgitt...

After a several-month budget standoff between the Connecticut legislature and Governor Jodi Rell, the state budget became law two months after the new fiscal year began - without the governor's signature. In this week's Tax Policy Podcast, Fergus Cullen, Executive Director of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy in Connecticut, discusses the some of the new provisions....

With the majority of the debate on Capitol Hill focused on health care, cap and trade has seemingly slipped to the back burner -- for now. The Senate is expected to pick up cap-and-trade legislation this month.

A new analysis from the Heritage Foundation takes a look at the economic impact of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill that passed the House of Representatives in June. This week's podcast features...

Many state recently wrapped up back-to-school sales tax holidays, periods of time during which certain goods are exempted from the state (and sometimes local) sales tax. Sales tax holidays are politically popular not just for back to school items, but others such as energy-efficient products and hurricane-preparedness materials. However, they're also problematic for a number of reasons.

To explain why on this week's podcast is Tax Foundation Staff Economist...

Even during Congress's August recess, the debate on health care reform continues to make headlines. The focus seemingly has shifted from a proposed surtax on the wealthy to fund an expansion in coverage to whether a public option insurance plan is "essential" to reform. But one issue has not received as much attention: the tax treatment of employer-provided health insurance.

In this week's podcast, Tax Foundation Manager of Media Relations ...

This year, several states enacted "sin taxes" -- those targeting perceived negative behavior such as smoking or drinking - to help close budget deficits. The Tax Foundation has long argued against sin taxes as ineffective revenue sources; they're simply a way for government to micromanage the economy by punishing certain industries. Nonetheless, sin taxes have remained popular as politicians tout them as ways to discourage certain activities. A July paper from the National Bureau...

California's Commission on the 21st Century Economy has until next month to finalize its recommendation for reforming the state's finances. This week's Tax Policy Podcast features Dr. Steven Sheffrin, a Professor of Economics at the University California Davis, Director of the Center for State and Local Taxation, and former dean of social sciences. Dr. Sheffrin is the author of many books and articles on state taxation and has served on the Board of Directors of the National Tax...

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court Tuesday after a sometimes contentious confirmation hearing that covered a lot of ground. One area, however, that has not received as much attention is her judicial philosophy on tax issues. In this week's podcast, Tax Foundation Manager of Media Relations Natasha Altamirano interviews Travis Greaves, a law clerk with the Tax Foundation's Center for...

Pennsylvania is among several states that began the new fiscal year without a budget in place. As Matt Brouillette, President and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation in Pennsylvania explains in this week's Tax Policy Podcast, it's been seven years since the state legislature has passed an on-time budget. Interviewed by Tax Foundation Manager of Media Relations Natasha Altamirano, Brouillette...

Maine recently passed the most sweeping changes to the state's tax code since the establishment of its income tax in 1969—in part due to the efforts of State Representative John Piotti, who introduced LD 1088, a bill that included a single flat rate individual income tax of 6.5 percent and an expansion of the sales tax. The legislation passed both the state House of Representatives and Senate in June, but at the urging of Governor Baldacci, the reforms were altered and reintroduced...