Episode 71

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Published on:

15th Sep 2023

Advancing Sound Tax Policy with Katherine Loughead

This week on the SALTovation podcast, Katherine Loughead, Senior Policy Analyst at the Tax Foundation, discusses the importance of sound tax policy and how the Tax Foundation is conducting tax policy research to inform policy deliberations at the state, federal, and international levels. She talks about the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and the Wayfair decision on state tax policy. Katherine also emphasizes the need for states to adjust to the new normal, including the rise of remote work and the need to attract businesses and taxpayers. 

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • The role of the Tax Foundation
  • Trends in tax policy over the past five years
  • States' unexpected revenue surplus post-pandemic
  • How income tax complexity makes it hard to predict liabilities
  • Challenges of property assessments and the public perception of taxes
  • Helping the public understand tax systems 



Quotables:

  • "The Tax Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501 tax policy research organization and we've actually been around for over 85 years now and we work to advance sound tax policy at the state, federal, and international levels.” -Katherine Loughead [00:50]


  • "Switching from federal to state has been interesting because so much happens every single year at the state level. So there are many ways you can help move the needle in the right direction. Instead of being a very small part of a big wheel, you're able to be one of a few players that are really having an impact, and that's been highly rewarding.” -Katherine Loughead [05:35]


  • "We've had, of course, the pandemic and all of the state responses to that, everything that's happened at the federal level since then with federal aid and then now coming out of the pandemic, we've seen states have a lot more revenue on hand than they initially expected.” -Katherine Loughead [12:13]



  • “People remember exactly what they paid in property taxes in a certain year, but don't add up all their receipts or have a strong sense of how much they're paying in sales taxes. It's a little bit here and a little bit there, but over time that adds up quite a bit. With income taxes, there's so much complexity to the income tax system where you get exemptions here and deductions there and then clawbacks here.” -Katherine Loughead [16:01]




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Mentioned in this episode:

Sales Tax Nerd

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About the Podcast

SALTovation: Making Sense of State and Local Tax
Welcome to SALTovation. The SALTovation show is a podcast series featuring the leading voices in state and local tax (SALT). Here we talk about issues, strategies, and planning tools to help you make sense of SALT. Because, in SALT, there is no “one and done.” SALT is a puzzle of ever-changing pieces. Solving that puzzle is our business at SALTovation. Tens of thousands of listeners know they won't get tax talk as usual with the SALTovation team. Our team is known for straight-talk with a flair for fun, providing clarity and opinions that move businesses forward with confidence.

Attorney, CPA, speaker, and writer Judy Vorndran leads the SALTovation team as they go inside business to help deal with the daily operations and long-term strategies of making SALT less “taxing.” Judy has spent more than 25 years advocating for businesses with innovative strategies, renowned knowledge and experience. She has helped guide thousands of taxpayers across the nation and globally through the morass of SALT, freeing them to concentrate on growth. Joining Judy are the wickedly smart members of the SALTovation team, who have seen, worked with and tamed some of the most prickly issues in SALT. They enjoy sharing their stories and knowledge with listeners.

Solving the SALT puzzle doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it takes a community. So, we invite leaders in business and state and local tax to share their stories, challenges and successes on this show. Drop us a line at SALTovation.com if you'd like to join the conversation and tune into our regular series at TaxOps.com.