1. Improving Tax Transparency
The Taxation Disclosure Act
An ALEC Model
Intent Section
The intent of the legislature is to make citizen access to state and local tax rates as open transparent, and
publicly accessible as is feasible. Increasing the ease of public access to state and local tax rates,
particularly where the rates are currently available from disparate internal government sources but are
difficult for the public to collect and efficiently aggregate, significantly contributes to governmental
accountability, public participation, and the understanding of the cost of government services. Therefore,
the legislature directs the state budget office to create and maintain a searchable database of each tax rate
for all taxing districts in the state.
Short Title
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the “Taxation Disclosure Act.”
Searchable Tax Rate Database
By January 1, 2010, the state budget office shall make publicly available an online searchable database of
all tax rates in the state for each taxing district. The information shall be aggregated by type of tax and
accessible by entering a zip code and/or physical address for each residency or business. Individual tax
levies shall be further broken down within each tax rate.
Geographical Tax Rate Map
Along with searching for tax rates by zip code and/or physical address for each residency or business,
searches should be accommodated by clicking through a map of the state as a whole and down to the level
of each taxing district.
Individual Tax Rate Calculator
Tax rate calculators shall be provided on the searchable database to allow citizens and businesses to
calculate their potential taxes. Calculators shall be provided at a minimum for property, sales/use, income,
vehicle, and business taxes and shall be specific to the rate for the taxing districts in which the citizen
resides.
Updating Database
To facilitate the state budget office’s efforts in creating and maintaining a searchable database of each tax
rate for all taxing districts in the state, every taxing district shall report its tax rates annually to the state
budget office and shall report any changes to its tax rates within 30 days of enactment of rate changes.
Please contact Jonathan Williams, ALEC’s Tax & Fiscal Policy Task Force Director, at
jwilliams@alec.org or (202) 742-8533 if you have any questions or concerns.
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