The 2002 Downturn in State Revenues: A Comparative Review and Analysis

We analyze the behavior of state revenues since the early 1950s to determine the severity of the revenue declines experienced by states after the 2001 recession. Both total state revenues for the nation and state–level data for each state are studied. We conclude that the states were indeed hit with an unprecedented downturn in revenues—unlike anything that had been experienced in the preceding half–century. Further and contrary to general perceptions, revenue increases in the years preceding the downturn were not particularly strong compared to revenue increases in the years leading up to previous recessions. We further conclude that most proposed budget rules dealing with either taxes, spending, or savings would have been insufficient to address the states’ problems and that states will need major discretionary structural changes in state revenues and expenditures to return to fiscal balance.State Revenues; Business Cycle; State Budget;

Illinois Government Research no. 54 1981: Tax Incidence: Property Taxes, Income Taxes, and Equity

Property tax has been the major source of revenue for local governments in the United States from the beginning, and it remains so today in both the nation and in Illinois Despite its longevity, it is still a controversial tax. It is controversial in regard to its relative importance among the array of various state and local taxes, its administration, its effect on business activity and industrial location, and especially, in regard to the distribution of the ultimate burden of the tax. Despite its use over the course of several decades ??? even centuries, there is still substantial controversy among economists and confusion among the public about who bears the burden of the property tax. The purpose of this report is to clarify the issue of the incidence of the property tax as compared with alternative revenue sources, especially the state income tax. An understanding of the distribution of the burden of the existing property tax and the effects of changing the level of taxation is vital in evaluating possible policy alternatives, such as the full or partial replacement of local property taxes which finance schools with an increase in the state income tax. Obviously such choices involve many other considerations in addition to the incidence of the various taxes, yet incidence questions are of crucial importance and the focus of much public debate.published or submitted for publicatio

Impact of business climate factors on value-added activities in Illinois agriculture : a first analysis

Title from cover.Includes bibliographical references (p. 18)

The 2002 Downturn in State Revenues: A Comparative Review and Analysis

We analyze the behavior of state revenues since the early 1950s to determine the severity of the revenue declines experienced by states after the 2001 recession. Both total state revenues for the nation and state–level data for each state are studied. We conclude that the states were indeed hit with an unprecedented downturn in revenues—unlike anything that had been experienced in the preceding half–century. Further and contrary to general perceptions, revenue increases in the years preceding the downturn were not particularly strong compared to revenue increases in the years leading up to previous recessions. We further conclude that most proposed budget rules dealing with either taxes, spending, or savings would have been insufficient to address the states’ problems and that states will need major discretionary structural changes in state revenues and expenditures to return to fiscal balance

Limits on State Taxation and Spending: Implications for the Illinois Constitutional Convention Referendum

This Article considers the use of constitutional restraints on the state's power to tax and spend. The Article examines the effects of both traditional and specific limitations, and analyzes government growth rates, concluding that the traditional measures already in place in Illinois are adequate to control the size of state government without unduly restricting the state's ability to perform necessary governmental functions