Salt trends, a PwC state and local tax publication

At the dawn of a new decade, the economy, while still shaky, appears to be recovering from the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. However, serious budget challenges remain in at least 48 of the 50 states.

The 2010 mid-term election saw a great influx of new state legislators and governors who ran on a platform of no tax increases. Just how, then, will states address their burgeoning fiscal needs to cover costs in areas such as Medicaid and K-12 education? The federal government, which had provided billions of dollars in aid to the states, is unlikely to continue to provide assistance. Further budgetary cuts will be particularly difficult after three years of significant cuts.

While no one can say for sure what state tax regimes will look like at the dusk of this decade, one thing is for sure: businesses must be prepared to address changes to the state tax systems and the complexities that result as each state confronts its distinct fiscal needs. Our intention as we wrote this journal was not to prophesy as to what the specific changes will be, but to provide a context for you to analyze changes and what they may mean for your business.