Taxation of Business by US State and Local Governments

The US federal system is undergoing significant change in numerous respects, one of which is the tax treatment of business. Taxes with an initial impact on business have traditionally provided a large amount of revenue to state and local governments, and they still do. But the business share of state and local taxes has decreased significantly compared with what it was several decades ago. Moreover, since interstate tax competition has intensified, the business share of taxes may continue to decline. The intensification of interstate tax competition is related to the increased priority of economic development as a goal of state policy. The severe unemployment of the early 1980s is probably the single most important factor in heightened concern about job creation. The increased openness of the US economy—implying especially acute problems for state economies dependent on heavy industry and farming—has also contributed. The decrease in federal corporation tax rates has made state taxes loom larger, and corporations have become more sophisticated about playing states against each other. In this paper, recent trends in business taxation are described and analyzed. The concern is not with evaluating these trends or suggesting how future policies might be changed. The paper may, however, contribute to the formulation of future policies by bringing together in one place a brief discussion of the disparate trends that have been affecting how state and local governments tax business.