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Fiscal Focus

Fiscal Focus is our bimonthly publication providing news, analysis, and commentary on tax and spending topics in the headlines.


August 30, 2018

July / August 2018

A New World for State and Local Sales Taxation

As if the 2019 tax committees didn’t have enough on their plate already, the recent transformation of the landscape for taxing e-commerce gives policy makers a few other things to think about.

The Prevailing Theory

A closer look at whether the state’s prevailing wage law actually delivers on its stated legislative purpose.

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Tax World

Join us on October 10th at the St. Paul River Centre as distinguished experts and political veterans help us unravel the policy, political and administrative implications from one of the most eventful years in Minnesota tax policy history.

June 19, 2018

May / June 2018

Reaping the Whirlwind of a Misguided Tax Debate

A shanghaied conformity debate, a veto based on the presumptive ability to lay claim to income earned around the globe, and the lost art of compromise combine to create a tax filing season in 2019 ranging from annoying to exasperating.

Pensions: We're Not Done Yet

The celebration over this session’s primary political achievement shouldn’t distract from the fact it’s not a solution to our biggest fiscal challenge.

From The Director: Experiencing "Tax Rules for Realists"

There’s textbook principles of good tax policy, and then there’s the rules that dictate how tax policy really works.

April 30, 2018

March / April 2018

The Enormity of Conformity

All eyes are on the tax committees and the Governor as the headline issue of the 2018 session heads to its climax.

The State of the Minnesota Property Tax

New data and reports offer perspective on Minnesota property tax trends and competitiveness.

From The Director: Constitutional Dedication vs. Competition

A transportation finance hearing offers a lesson on how government is supposed to work.