IRS Poised to End Widely-Used Tax Migration Analysis Program

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that one of the best metrics available to determine the economic growth or decline of every county and state in the nation will end. Unofficially, the IRS Statistics of Income Division attributes the decision to cancel the program, which dates back to 1991, to coordination issues with the U.S. Census Bureau. There is no official word yet on why the program was cancelled.

Jim Pettit, an independent public policy analyst, who used the tax data to define trends in Maryland’s overall tax base and its 24 jurisdictions and counties, regrets the decision.

“The IRS tax migration data is the best indicator we have of how state and local governments are doing in developing their tax base,” said Pettit. “If there is no effective way to monitor changes in the tax base in the context of macro-economic trends, then state and local governments are at a severe disadvantage in making key legislative, regulatory and fiscal policies that address the challenges of funding government budgets.”
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