Solid economic growth and a rising stock market drove state tax revenues higher in 2018, with 36 states collecting more taxes than they did before the Great Recession, according to an analysis released Tuesday by Pew Trusts.
The tax overhaul signed into law just over a year ago also boosted state finances, though the effects are expected to be short-lived as state governments adjust policies in response to the new federal rules.
State tax revenue growth had been sluggish in the wake of the recession, Pew’s Barb Rosewicz, Justin Theal and Daniel Newman said, but a surge that began in late 2017 pushed receipts 12.2 percent above the previous peak recorded in 2008.
North Dakota fared the best, thanks largely to an increase in the price of oil, with receipts nearly 50 percent higher than its previous peak. Alaska did the worst, with receipts coming in at 86 percent below the 2008 peak.
Read the full analysis here.
