Provides an overview of state and local taxation, the current and future outlook across the nation, the role of taxes in economic development, and tax administration. Analyzes and compares all types of state and local taxes—income (individual and corporate) sales (retail and wholesale taxes on food, medicine, gas, and electricity), excise and consumption (on motor fuel, tobacco, and alcoholic beverages and on food, lodging, amusements, parimutuels, and lotteries), property (on different types of property), and severance taxes (on timber and minerals). Examines the philosophy behind the different taxes, recent trends, and current and future policy options. Appendices describing policy analysis and evaluation and listing key sources of information about state and local taxes, many statistical exhibits, and selective bibliography further enhance this reference for undergraduate and graduate students, the general public, and for public administrators, economists, and political scientists.