In this mid-year check-in episode of the GeTtin' SALTy podcast, host Nikki Dobay is joined by Morgan Scarboro, vice president of tax and policy at MultiState Associates, for a wide-ranging conversation on state and local tax legislation heading into the second half of 2026.
Morgan and Nikki discuss why this has been an unexpectedly quiet yet surprising legislative year, including the reemergence of digital advertising taxes, the influence of midterm election dynamics on enacted legislation, and the trend of NOL caps and bonus depreciation decoupling as budget tools.
The conversation covers key developments state by state, including Illinois' lightning-fast budget process and its new social media and targeted advertising taxes, Virginia's heated intra-party battle over data center tax incentives, New Jersey's moderated revenue package featuring a novel Medicaid employer fee and a data broker registration requirement, and Pennsylvania's decision to walk away from both combined reporting and a digital advertising tax this session. The episode also looks ahead to notable ballot measures in Florida and Missouri that could have implications for property taxes and sales tax expansion, respectively.
Nikki and Morgan close with a broader reflection on whether the wave of proposed large-scale tax restructuring represents genuine momentum and what the remainder of 2026 and the 2027 session may hold for state tax policy.