Publications
Sales & Use Taxes
Sales taxes are a form of excise levied when a good or services is sold to its final consumer. Sales taxes are levied at both the state and local level, and commonly exempt food, utilities and other necessities from taxation. Since state sales taxes only apply to purchases within a state's borders, they are typically accompanied by a use tax that applies to the use, storage, or other consumption within the state of goods or services purchased out of state.
Additional questions about sales and use taxes? Contact Bill Ahern at (202) 464-5101.
Publications from The Tax Foundation
- Testimony on H.R. 5267, the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2008, by Joseph Henchman, June 24, 2008
- States Should Avoid Sales Taxes on Nonprofit Hospital Purchases, by Joseph Henchman, April 11, 2008
- Maryland Flouts Regional Tax Competition with Historic Tax Hike, by William Ahern, April 9, 2008
- Santa Fe Should Not Fatten Budget with Soda Taxes, by Gerald Prante, August 23, 2007
- The Hidden Tax for Sm(all) Business in Governor Blagojevich's Gross Receipts Tax, by Chris Atkins, March 29, 2007
- Gross Receipts Taxes in State Government Finances: A Review of Their History and Performance, by John L. Mikesell, January 31, 2007
- Tax Pyramiding: The Economic Consequences of Gross Receipts Taxes, by Patrick Fleenor and Andrew Chamberlain, December 4, 2006
- Sales Tax Holidays: Politically Expedient but Poor Tax Policy, by Jonathan Williams, Curtis S. Dubay and Johanna Mausolf, August 3, 2006
- Temporary Gasoline Tax Holidays: Relief for Motorists or Poor Tax Policy?, by Jonathan Williams and Andrew Chamberlain, July 10, 2006
- How Excise Tax Differentials Affect the Cross-Border Sales of Beer in the United States, by Patrick Fleenor, May 1, 1999
- Analysis and Summary of the National Retail Sales Tax Act of 1996, by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D., March 1, 1996
- State and Local Sales Taxes, by TF Staff, August 1, 1970
- Federal Non-Income Taxes: An Examination of Selected Revenue Sources, by TF Staff, April 1, 1965
- Retail Sales and Individual Income Taxes in State Tax Structures, by TF Staff, January 1, 1962