State Tax Policy: A Primer

by David Brunori

Overview

In the updated fifth edition of State Tax Policy, David Brunori analyzes critical challenges facing state governments. He identifies the important issues and examines possible solutions in formulating and implementing state tax policy. This is the only book that provides students and professionals with a concise, approachable, and up-to-date introduction to the intricacies of state tax policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538173329
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/13/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	796,439
File size:	552 KB

About the Author

David Brunori is a journalist, author, educator, and lawyer who specializes in state and local tax policy. He is a senior director at RSM US LLP where he advises clients on a wide range of state tax issues. He is also a Visiting Professor of Public Policy at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He currently writes a weekly column for Law360 on state and local taxation. He has published numerous books and articles on state and local tax policy. Previously, he was a partner with a national law firm, served as an executive with an international publishing company, and was an appellate trial attorney with the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice. He is a fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration and a fellow at the American College of Tax Counsel. He has a BA and MA from The George Washington University and a JD and MPPM from the University of Pittsburgh.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: The Importance of State Taxation

Chapter 2: Principles of Sound Tax Policy

Chapter 3: Tax Policy and Interstate Competition for Economic Development

Chapter 4: The Politics of State Taxation

Chapter 5: Sales and Use Taxes

Chapter 6: State Personal Income Taxes

Chapter 7: Corporate Income Taxes

Chapter 8: Other State Taxes

Chapter 9: Other Sources of State Revenue

Chapter 10: Policy Recommendations for State Policymakers

References

Index

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Brunori’s rare combination of wit, insight, and conciseness make state tax policy approachable for politicians, professionals, and dabblers alike. A must read.

Brian Kirkell

Professor Brunori is a master at the difficult task of explaining a complex topic in an accessible way. Whether you are a student with a budding interest in state and local tax, or a state legislator newly assigned to a tax committee, this book offers a great roadmap understanding state and local tax policy.

Courtney Kay-Decker

Whether you study state taxes, fight taxes, or just pay taxes, this book is an essential read. I give a copy to all my employees and make them read it.

Joseph Bishop-Henchman

States can manage the unprecedented fiscal challenges they face only if they have sound revenue systems. Many have systems more appropriate for economies of the past, not that of the 21st century. In this fourth edition of his classic work, Brunori examines state tax policy by postulating the basic principles for evaluating taxes (yield, economic neutrality, equity, ease of administration and compliance, and accountability), discussing the questionable (but popular) effort to use tax incentives to stimulate economic development, and exploring how politics complicates adoption of sound tax policy. He then devotes a chapter each to the special challenges confronting the major state taxes (sales and use, personal income, and corporate income taxes), plus chapters that overview other state taxes (mostly excises and property) and other state revenue. He manages to make technical and tedious problems of tax structure less arcane for non-specialists and those interested in creating productive and sound revenue systems. His concluding chapter is essentially a plea for states to pay more attention to the evidence as they restructure their taxes, and to keep their revenue systems in tune with changing economies.

Summing Up:Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.

Choice Reviews

States can manage the unprecedented fiscal challenges they face only if they have sound revenue systems. Many have systems more appropriate for economies of the past, not that of the 21st century. In this fourth edition of his classic work, Brunori examines state tax policy by postulating the basic principles for evaluating taxes (yield, economic neutrality, equity, ease of administration and compliance, and accountability), discussing the questionable (but popular) effort to use tax incentives to stimulate economic development, and exploring how politics complicates adoption of sound tax policy. He then devotes a chapter each to the special challenges confronting the major state taxes (sales and use, personal income, and corporate income taxes), plus chapters that overview other state taxes (mostly excises and property) and other state revenue. He manages to make technical and tedious problems of tax structure less arcane for non-specialists and those interested in creating productive and sound revenue systems. His concluding chapter is essentially a plea for states to pay more attention to the evidence as they restructure their taxes, and to keep their revenue systems in tune with changing economies. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.

Choice

States can manage the unprecedented fiscal challenges they face only if they have sound revenue systems. Many have systems more appropriate for economies of the past, not that of the 21st century. In this fourth edition of his classic work, Brunori examines state tax policy by postulating the basic principles for evaluating taxes (yield, economic neutrality, equity, ease of administration and compliance, and accountability), discussing the questionable (but popular) effort to use tax incentives to stimulate economic development, and exploring how politics complicates adoption of sound tax policy. He then devotes a chapter each to the special challenges confronting the major state taxes (sales and use, personal income, and corporate income taxes), plus chapters that overview other state taxes (mostly excises and property) and other state revenue. He manages to make technical and tedious problems of tax structure less arcane for non-specialists and those interested in creating productive and sound revenue systems. His concluding chapter is essentially a plea for states to pay more attention to the evidence as they restructure their taxes, and to keep their revenue systems in tune with changing economies.

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.

CHOICE