Going Beyond Per Capita Rankings

State tax rankings are a perennial hot topic in debates over the size of government. Such rankings are most commonly based on taxes per capita; however, rankings based on per capita taxes—or even the broader category of per capita own-source revenue—are inadequate as...

Before Hyperventilating About Tax Rankings…

Based on the most recent government finance data from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2013, combined state and local government taxes per capita in Minnesota are the tenth highest in the nation*—and this does not include tax increases enacted during the 2013 session....

County Expenditures Follow Revenues, Downward

Total Minnesota county expenditures, adjusted for inflation and population growth, have followed county revenues downward over the last ten years. Using data from the 2014 Minnesota County Finances report, published by the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) earlier...

County Revenues Have Declined Since 2005

Total revenue of all Minnesota counties is down modestly over the last decade, after adjusting for inflation and growth in the state’s population. The largest portion of this decline is the result of a steep reduction in state aid to counties, which had the...

Income Inequality Continues to Escalate

Last summer, two separate North Star articles (published on July 18 and August 29) explored the growth in U.S. and Minnesota income inequality since the 1970s and 1980s. While recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed significant income growth in 2015, income...