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Headwaters Economics

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Tax Policy

Tax policy creates incentives and disincentives that affect how communities experience population change, resource extraction, and natural disasters. Our research helps local leaders and state and federal policymakers understand the long-term impacts of tax policy decisions.

Fiscal policy is failing rural America

State and federal fiscal policies hurt rural communities by limiting how local governments can grow, diversify, and invest revenue.

Hikers visit Arches National Park in Utah.

The health and fiscal vulnerability of rural recreation counties

Where rural recreation counties rely on public funding for health care, fiscal solutions should diversify the ways local governments can save and spend.

Commercial receipts earned from management of public lands.

Building a Federal Land Endowment

The bipartisan Forest Health for Rural Stability Act would establish a federal land endowment and resolve key challenges of federal land payments to counties.

Commercial Activities on National Forests

Updated: Headwaters Economics produced two interactive maps to show the range of commercial activities on National Forests at the Forest, state and forest region levels.

Logging Truck, County Payments, endowing federal public land counties

County Payments Research

County governments are compensated for the tax-exempt status of federal public lands within their boundaries. These payments often constitute a significant portion of county and school budgets, particularly in rural counties with extensive public land ownership.

Recent Tax Policy Research

Fiscal policy is failing rural America

State and federal fiscal policies hurt rural communities by limiting how local governments can grow, diversify, and invest revenue.

Hikers visit Arches National Park in Utah.

The health and fiscal vulnerability of rural recreation counties

Where rural recreation counties rely on public funding for health care, fiscal solutions should diversify the ways local governments can save and spend.

Commercial receipts earned from management of public lands.

Building a Federal Land Endowment

The bipartisan Forest Health for Rural Stability Act would establish a federal land endowment and resolve key challenges of federal land payments to counties.

Headwaters-staff-Mark-Haggerty

PILT Proposal Would Help Small-Population Counties

Analysis shows raising Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) population limits for small-population counties would have increased total payments by $2 million in 2019.

Logging Truck, County Payments, endowing federal public land counties

Endowing Federal Public Land Counties

Reforming county payments by establishing a permanent Trust to fund Secure Rural Schools (SRS).

coal fiscal policies

Comparing Coal Fiscal Policies for Western States

Coal fiscal policies vary widely across the West in terms of how revenue is generated, set aside in permanent savings, or spent by state and local governments.

President’s Budget Proposal Cuts County Payments

New analysis and interactive map show how the President’s budget proposal cuts county payments and the impact for every county in the nation.

Time to Create a Natural Resources Trust

Unlike most countries and state governments, the U.S. has not created a natural resources trust which could help meet volatility and spending challenges facing local and county governments.

Federal Coal Program in Context

Explore the Socioeconomic Context of the Federal Coal Leasing Program

Logging Truck, County Payments, endowing federal public land counties

County Payments Research

County governments are compensated for the tax-exempt status of federal public lands within their boundaries. These payments often constitute a significant portion of county and school budgets, particularly in rural counties with extensive public land ownership.

See all research under Tax Policy

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