Tax Foundation Releases Mid-Year Update, Comparing States
July 29, 2009

Washington, DC - The number and significance of state tax changes that have occurred in the first half of 2009 has necessitated the first mid-year update of the Tax Foundation’s Facts & Figures handbook in the annual publication’s history.

The Tax Foundation has re-released its 2009 version of Facts and Figures, a pocket-sized booklet comparing the 50 states on 37 different measures of taxing and spending, including individual and corporate income tax rates, business tax climates, excise taxes, tax burdens and state spending. The booklet is edited by Mark Robyn, staff economist for the Tax Foundation.

The pamphlet’s mid-year update includes changes to nine tables: State Individual Income Tax Rates (Table 11), State Corporate Income Tax Rates (Table 13), State General Sales and Use Tax Rates (Table 15), State Gasoline Tax Rates (17), State Cigarette Excise Tax Rates (Table 18), State Spirits Excise Tax Rates (Table 19), State Table Wine Excise Tax Rates (Table 20), State Beer Excise Tax Rates (Table 21) and the removal of a table on State Surplus or Deficit Per Capita. Ten states that passed budgets before the end of the 2009 fiscal year on June 30 made major changes to personal income taxes – including three rate cuts – most of which are retroactive to January 1 of this year. Another four increased sales taxes, and several more looked to “sin taxes” for budget solutions.

“Many states have started the new fiscal year with tax codes that are vastly different compared to just a few months ago,” Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge said. “Accurate and timely information on state fiscal issues is more important now than ever – especially as lawmakers in many states continue to struggle with budget shortfalls. As legislators look to the tax code for solutions, our Facts & Figures handbook provides a yardstick against which they can measure their state’s fiscal competitiveness compared to others.”

Facts & Figures: How Does Your State Compare? can be found online at http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/2181.html. For a free copy of the booklet call (202) 464-6200 or email publications@taxfoundation.org.

The Tax Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has monitored fiscal policy at the federal, state and local levels since 1937.