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States and localities should carefully evaluate the effectiveness of the incentives they offer to attract or retain businesses.

When considering bond financing, state and local policymakers should:

Due to their regressiveIn taxation, a situation in which people with low

States and localities should include services in the taxable base to reduce regressivity

Exemptions from state retail sales taxes should be narrowly designed to reduce their regressive

To ensure equity in property taxation, assessors should use fair-market value as the starting point for determining property values.

Property tax relief should be equitable, cost-effective, and targeted to homeowners with low and moderate incomes burdened by their property tax bill.

Prior to finalizing annual budget decisions, localities should inform taxpayers of the property tax rate required to maintain revenues at the same level as the

Policymakers should enact and update public financing systems for elections. This includes increasing matching funds, particularly for small donations.

Federal, state, and local governments should maintain substantial penalties for violations of campaign finance laws.