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State & Local Tax Research Guide

Introduction

In many ways state and local taxation closely resembles the federal taxation scheme. As with the federal system, the state legislature is charged with passing its taxing statutes, similar to the Internal Revenue Code. Analogous to the Internal Revenue Service on the federal level, each state has a corresponding regulatory tax agency that passes state administrative regulations and rulings. Similarly, state courts generate judicial opinions, however for most state courts there is no official tax court.

This research guide takes a bibliographic approach to state and local tax research and explains how and where to find tax documentation.  Indicated call numbers are specific to locations within the Edward Bennett Williams Library at Georgetown University Law Center.

Locating State Tax Statutes

State tax statutes are found with the state code compilation for its respective state. All state codes are located on the fourth floor of the library, grouped alphabetically along with other materials for that jurisdiction. Because each state code compilation has a different name, the easiest way to determine the name of a state code compilation is to use Jurisdiction Table 1 in the Blue Book. Once you have determined the proper title of the code then perform a title search in GULLiver to obtain its call number. In addition to the official state statutes, the following loose-leaf services also compile state tax laws.

  1. CCH Intelliconnect [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
    CCH's state tax reporters offer the full text of state and local tax laws, regulations, rulings, releases, court decisions and attorney general opinions. The Library does not receive these reporters in print, but you can access them on CCH Intelliconnect by selecting browse (on the left menu), then selecting "Laws, Regulations, and other Primary Sources", then browsing for "State Tax Law - by State", then selecting the state tax reporter.
  2. Checkpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
    Consolidates the full text of primary and secondary materials in the areas of federal, state, and international taxation. For state taxation, choose "State & Local" in the "Practice Area" drop down menu on the left of the screen.
  3. State and Local Tax Service, RIA. [KF6750.A6 S7]
    Provides coverage of state and local taxes for all fifty-one jurisdictions. Contains state and local laws, regulations, cases, rulings, selected forms, editorial explanations, court annotations and agency decisions. Print subscription was cancelled in 2007. Contains the full-text of all state supreme and appellate court tax cases 1950-2007; attorney general opinions; primary and secondary rulings 1988-2007; state administrative cases 1980-2007; and federal court cases dealing with state issues 1860-2007. Also available electronically through Checkpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  4. Multistate Corporate Income Tax Guide, CCH.
    This service, which is available electronically through CCH Intelliconnect, features corporate income-based research for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Includes case annotations and the full text of laws, regulations, court decisions and other administrative decisions. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  5. Multistate Property Tax Guide, CCH.
    This service, which is available electronically through CCH Intelliconnect, features property tax materials for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Includes case annotations and the full text of laws, regulations, court decisions and other administrative decisions. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  6. Multistate Corporate Tax Guide, Panel. [KF6755.A15 M85]

Administrative Regulations

Each state has its own tax agency that creates regulations and other pronouncements. All state agency regulations are located on the fourth floor of the library, grouped along with other materials for that jurisdiction. Remember, each state's regulatory compilation has a different name. The easiest way to determine the name of the compilation is to use Jurisdiction Table 1 in the Blue Book. Once you have determined the proper title of your regulation, perform a title search in GULLiver to obtain its call number. In addition to the official state regulatory compilation, the following loose-leaf services also compile state tax regulations.

  1. CCH Intelliconnect [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
    CCH's state tax reporters offer the full text of state and local tax laws, regulations, rulings, releases, court decisions and attorney general opinions. The Library does not receive these reporters in print, but you can access them on CCH Intelliconnect by selecting browse (on the left menu), then selecting "Laws, Regulations, and other Primary Sources", then browsing for "State Tax Law - by State", then selecting the state tax reporter.
  2. Checkpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
    Consolidates the full text of primary and secondary materials in the areas of federal, state, and international taxation.
  3. State and Local Tax Service, RIA. [KF6750.A6 S7]
    Provides coverage of state and local taxes for all fifty-one jurisdictions. Contains state and local laws, regulations, cases, rulings, selected forms, editorial explanations, court annotations and agency decisions. Print subscription was cancelled in 2007. Contains the full-text of all state supreme and appellate court tax cases 1950-2007; attorney general opinions; primary and secondary rulings 1988-2007; state administrative cases 1980-2007; and federal court cases dealing with state issues 1860-2007. Also available electronically through Checkpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  4. Multistate Corporate Income Tax Guide, CCH.
    This service, which is available electronically through CCH Intelliconnect, features corporate income-based research for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Includes case annotations and the full text of laws, regulations, court decisions and other administrative decisions. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  5. Multistate Property Tax Guide, CCH.
    This service, which is available electronically through CCH Intelliconnect, features property tax materials for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Includes case annotations and the full text of laws, regulations, court decisions and other administrative decisions. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  6. Multistate Corporate Tax Guide, Panel. [KF6755.A15 M85]

Tax Decisions

On the state level, there is no analogous court to the United States Tax Court. However some states have special tax tribunals that hear tax disputes before they enter the court system. At the state level, there are no state tax case reporters such as American Federal Tax Reporter or United States Tax Cases. To locate state tax case law, state tax researchers must use the designated state digest and reporter system for their jurisdiction.

  1. CCH Intelliconnect [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
    CCH's state tax reporters offer the full text of state and local tax laws, regulations, rulings, releases, court decisions and attorney general opinions. The Library does not receive these reporters in print, but you can access them on CCH Intelliconnect by selecting browse (on the left menu), then selecting "Laws, Regulations, and other Primary Sources", then browsing for "State Tax Law - by State", then selecting the state tax reporter.
  2. Checkpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
    Consolidates the full text of primary and secondary materials in the areas of federal, state, and international taxation.
  3. State Tax Cases Reporter: All States, CCH. [KF6750.A6 C6 1959]
    Provides analysis of trends in state tax law as developed by the U.S. Supreme Court and high state courts. Reprints full text of selected cases; Cancelled subscription in December 2008 (so, only current through 2008).
  4. State and Local Tax Service, RIA. [KF6750.A6 S7]
    Provides coverage of state and local taxes for all fifty-one jurisdictions. Contains state and local laws, regulations, cases, rulings, selected forms, editorial explanations, court annotations and agency decisions. Print subscription was cancelled in 2007. Contains the full-text of all state supreme and appellate court tax cases 1950-2007; attorney general opinions; primary and secondary rulings 1988-2007; state administrative cases 1980-2007; and federal court cases dealing with state issues 1860-2007. Also available electronically through Checkpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  5. Multistate Corporate Income Tax Guide, CCH.
    This service, which is available electronically through CCH Intelliconnect, features corporate income-based research for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Includes case annotations and the full text of laws, regulations, court decisions and other administrative decisions. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  6. Multistate Property Tax Guide, CCH.
    This service, which is available electronically through CCH Intelliconnect, features property tax materials for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Includes case annotations and the full text of laws, regulations, court decisions and other administrative decisions. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  7. Multistate Corporate Tax Guide, Panel. [KF6755.A15 M85]

Secondary Sources

  1. State Tax Guide: All States, CCH. [KF6750.A6 C66 1980]
    This title was cancelled in print in December 2008, so no longer current for new statutes. This handy reference provides charts for easy determination of the taxes levied in every state. Summarizes state statutes. Also available electronically through CCH Intelliconnect. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  2. All States Tax Guide, RIA. [KF6750.A6 A4 1960]
    This service contains summaries of all taxes levied in each state, and includes citations to primary resources. Also available electronically through Checkpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)].
  3. State Tax Handbook, CCH. [KF6750 .C65]
    This quick reference guide provides overviews of the taxation schemes of each state and the District of Columbia.
  4. Tax Management Multistate Tax Portfolios, BNA. [KF6750.A6 T272]
  5. Checkpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
    Offers the full text of RIA periodicals and treatises such as State Tax Today, State and Local Taxes Weekly, All States Tax Guide, WG&L Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives and many others.
  6. CCH Intelliconnect. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
    Provides commentary, summaries of state tax cases and statutes, and multistate charts.
  7. Tax Cite: A Federal Tax Citation and Reference Manual, American Bar Association Section of Taxation. [KF245 .T39 1995]
  8. West's Tax Law Dictionary. [KF6287 .S65 1993]

Periodicals Indexes

Researching periodical literature is a good way to find commentary and scholarly discussions on tax issues. Because of their currency, newsletters and journals are often the first to print primary tax documentation such as tax legislation, regulations, reports and various other pronouncements. A list of tax related periodical indexes follows:

  1. A. Accounting and Tax Index
    Indexes key industry publications and newspapers.
  2. B. The WGL Tax Journal Digest, Warren Gorham Lamont. [KF6271 .J68] 1993 - .
    Continues Journal of Taxation Digest. Also available onCheckpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  3. Index to Legal Periodicals and Books, H.W. Wilson Co. [Reading Room Index & electronic version (GULC only)]. Also available on Lexis, and Westlaw.
  4. Legal Resources Index (also known as LegalTrac). Available electronically through the Library's webpage (GULL only) and on Lexis and Westlaw.

Periodicals

  1. A. State Tax Notes, Tax Analysts. [KF6750.A15 S75]
  2. State Tax Today, Tax Analysts. [Lexis only, Legal > Secondary Legal > Tax Analysts > Tax Analysts State Tax Today]
  3. State Tax Review, CCH. [KF6750.A15 S77]
  4. The Journal of Multistate Taxation, Warren, Gorham & Lamont. [K10 .O5925] 1991-1998.
    Continued by The Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives, also available on Checkpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  5. The Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives, RIA. [K10 .O5925] 1999-.
    Continues The Journal of Multistate Taxation, also available electronically through Checkpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
  6. Checkpoint, RIA. [Subscription Database (GULC only)]
    Offers full text of Warren Gorham & Lamont (WG&L) journals.
  7. Lexis: Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Taxation > Law Reviews & Journals > Tax Law Review Articles Combined
  8. Westlaw: TX-TP

Internet Sources

  1. ABA Tax Section -
    Extensive meta-index with links to Internet sources for primary tax materials, state and international tax sites and more.
  2. Federation of Tax Administrators -
    Provides links to state tax forms, state tax rates, state surveys.
  3. Multistate Tax Commission -
    The Multistate Tax Commission is a joint agency of state governments established to improve the fairness, efficiency and effectiveness of state tax systems as they apply to interstate and international commerce, and preserve state tax sovereignty.
  4. Tax and Accounting Sites Directory -
    Provides links to state tax agencies and forms.
  5. TaxCut -
    Glossary of Tax Terms.
  6. United States Census Bureau-
    Provides statistics for state government tax collections and summaries of state and local government tax revenue.

Revised 10/8/2009 (LS)

Page last saved 23-Nov-2009