Our Studies

This report presents the findings of an MCFE survey of Minnesota tax practitioners regarding the condition of Minnesota’s state tax administration and current procedural protections for taxpayers.  Click here for an executive summary.

We have published the payable 2015 edition of our popular 50-State Property Tax Comparison Study in conjunction with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.  This Issue Brief highlights Minnesota's rankings, our burdens compared to other areas across the nation, and some Minnesota-related implications.

Where in Minnesota is local government’s claim on the economy and the income of local citizens the greatest? How does local government’s fiscal footprint differ across the state? And how does the ability to export local tax burden to non-residents affect this footprint? In this Issue Brief we examine these questions and more by replicating Minnesota’s statewide Price of Government report for local governments on a county-by-county basis.

A look at the implications school district labor cost trends have for state education finance.  Click here for an executive summary.

A detailed look at the Minnesota-specific findings from our income tax comparison study.  Also includes analysis and commentary on the implications the findings have for issues of ongoing policy interest to Minnesota.  Click here for an executive summary. 

Compares individual income tax burdens and effective tax rates for various filer types at different income levels in 41 states and the District of Columbia.  Published October 2015.

We have published the payable 2014 edition of our popular 50-State Property Tax Comparison Study in conjunction with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.  This Issue Brief highlights Minnesota's rankings, our burdens compared to other areas across the nation, and some Minnesota-related implications.

As states struggle with highly stressed transportation finance systems, transportation agencies and think tanks around the country are generating considerable new attention to a very old idea: real estate "value capture" to fund transportation infrastructure.  In this Issue Brief we explore the current practice of value capture and assess this idea's potential to make a substantive and sustainable contribution to Minnesota transportation funding.

Where in Minnesota is local government’s claim on the economy and the income of local citizens the greatest? How does local government’s fiscal footprint differ across the state? And how does the ability to export local tax burden to non-residents affect this footprint? In this Issue Brief we examine these questions and more by replicating Minnesota’s statewide Price of Government report for local governments on a county-by-county basis.

We published the payable 2013 edition of our popular 50-State Property Tax Comparison Study earlier in 2014 in conjunction with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.  This Issue Brief highlights Minnesota's rankings, our burdens compared to other areas across the nation, and some Minnesota-related implications.