State and Local Tax Law: Other States

1. Start Here
   • Guide Outline
   • Quick Links
   • How to Use This Guide
   • Get Help
2. Secondary Sources
   • Guide Outline
   • Recommended Texts
   • ​Tax Periodicals
   • Selected Websites and Databases
   • Selected Other Books from the Catalog
3. Massachusetts Law
   • Guide Outline
   • Statutes
   • Regulations
   • Constitution
   • Public Written Statements
   • Pending Legislation 
4. Other States
   • Guide Outline
   • Research Tips
   • Comparing States
   • Primary Sources
   • Tax Forms
5. Local Tax
   • What is Local Tax?
   • Selected Resources
6. Sales and Use Tax
   • Guide Outline
   • Primary Sources
   • Secondary Sources

The Federation of Tax Administrators, a private research, policy and advocacy organization for state tax administration, provides links to tax forms and filing options for all states.

A state's tax administrator may go by various names, from Department of Revenue to Tax Commission, but they're the best place to find information on a state's budget and tax rate, and gather tax forms.  See the Federation of Tax Administrators for a list, plus links to their websites.

Use a secondary source -- like a legal encyclopedia, treatise, ALR or periodical -- to find articles on your tax topic that cite to various states' laws. Secondary sources may be general or state-specific. Check out ScholarOneSearch for a research guide for your state; that will contain lists of recommended state-specific resources.

Where does each state get its revenue?

In addition to the state's tax administrator website, these provide some guidance:

• U.S. Census Bureau, State and Local Government Finances:  According to the site, there are "[s]tatistics on revenue, expenditure, debt, and assets (cash and security holdings) for ... the 50 state areas and the District of Columbia, as well as a national summary."
• As Certain As Death: A Fifty-State Survey of State and Local Tax Laws by Susan Pace Hamill -- Call Number: KF6750 .H36 2007 (Law Stacks) for descriptions of each states' revenue sources.

To compare states' tax laws, try the following:

50 State Surveys: Tax Statutes - available on WestlawNext

• Get a compilation of the applicable statutes in each state in various categories, from Sales and Use Tax to Personal Income Tax.

Bloomberg BNA Tax and Accounting Center

• Select the states you would like to compare, and build your own comparison charts

CASES

Search your selected state(s) under the topic "Taxation" in West's KeyNumber System to find cases.   

STATUTES

Get a list of tax statutes for each state using West's 50 State Surveys: Tax Statutes

REGULATIONS

For regulations, try RIA's State & Local Taxes - Regulations (available on WestlawNext) -- Select your state and search by keyword

For administrative decisions, try Westlaw's Tax Administrative Decisions and Guidance or Lexis' Tax Administrative Materials