This report is based on information collected from state revenue departments, budget offices, and legislative staff on tax revenue during the 3-month period from October to December 2000 compared with the same period in 1999. Comparing tax revenue between the two periods produced the following results: the slowest growth in 7 years (4 percent), a moderate growth in personal income tax revenue (5.7 percent), and the slowest growth in sales tax revenue in over 9 years (4.1 percent); state tax revenues were not the same among regions of the country; e.g., the Great Lakes had a fourth-quarter change of tax revenue, 1999-2000, of only 0.6 percent, whereas tax revenue in the Far West grew 9.0 percent; other regions experiencing slower growth (2.0-2.7 percent) were New England, Mid-Atlantic, Plains, and the Southeast; and the Southwest and Rocky Mountain regions showed tax revenue growth of 8.0 and 7.4 percent, respectively. The report suggests three major reasons for the regional variations in tax revenue: state difference in the rate of economic growth; the differential impact of the growth rate on a state's tax system; and recent legislative changes in state tax laws. The report predicts that if state tax revenue continues to slow, legislatures will likely be forced to trim state budgets. (Contains numerous statistical tables, graphs, and charts.) (PKP)