The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
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State Rundown 4/1: No Fooling Around Anymore in Washington, But Cruel Pranks in South Carolina
April 1, 2026 • By ITEP Staff
In Washington, Gov. Bob Ferguson and lawmakers decided to stop fooling around with one of the nation’s most upside-down tax codes and finally brought to life a new millionaires’ tax, the first new income tax created in a state since 1991.
Low Tax for Whom? California vs Texas
April 1, 2026 • By Cassidy Sheppard
California Gov. Gavin Newsom went to Texas recently and claimed: “Texas taxes poor folks more than we tax our richest." He’s right.
South Carolina’s Expensive, Regressive Tax Law Will Eliminate State’s Income Tax
March 31, 2026 • By Neva Butkus, Dylan Grundman O'Neill
South Carolina signed into law a regressive tax cut that will disproportionately benefit the state’s highest-income residents while simultaneously jeopardizing the state’s ability to pay for basic public services in the years to come.
Travelers’ Checks: How to Tax Tourists in States and Localities
March 30, 2026 • By Rita Jefferson
Taxing tourists is a relatively efficient way to ensure that visitors are paying a share of essential government services. Places with a modest number of tourists should limit general sales tax rates to minimize the effect on the full-time population. Places with higher proportions of tourists may have higher sales…
The Progress of Tax Policy: Q&A With Vanessa Williamson, Author of ‘The Price of Democracy’
March 30, 2026 • By Brakeyshia Samms
Williamson speaks about why tax politics has long been tied to questions of democratic inclusion, what history can teach us about today’s tax debates, and how tax policy shapes the future of American democracy.
ITEP in the News
The Guardian: Washington State’s ‘Historic’ Millionaire Tax Takes Aim at Super-Rich – Will It Succeed?
Video: ITEP's Amy Hanauer Discusses How to Make the Federal Tax Code Fairer on WHYY
Politico: Governors Forgo Past Response to High Gasoline Prices
Stateline: Gas Prices Rise Again As Some States Consider Tax Holidays
USA Today: Californians Want To Tax Billionaires. They’re Threatening To Leave.
ITEP Work in Action
Brookings: The Caregiving Crisis and the 2026 Vote
Gov. Evers Vetoes Bill Requiring Wisconsin to Opt Into Nationwide Expansion of Private Voucher Schools
Oxfam: The Case for Fairly Taxing the Rich in New York
Economic Policy Institute: How ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Helped Ensure a Swift Post-COVID Recovery
Maine Center for Economic Policy: Nurses and Plumbers Shouldn’t Pay the Same Tax Rate As Multi-Millionaires. LD 229 and LD 1089 Change That.
ITEP Videos
Video: ITEP's Amy Hanauer Discusses How to Make the Federal Tax Code Fairer on WHYY
Webinar: The Trump Tax Law’s Effect on State Tax Codes
Video: ITEP's Amy Hanauer Discusses Megabill on BreakThrough News
Across the States
Tax Watch
State Tax Watch 2026
ITEP tracks tax discussions in legislatures across the country and uses our unique data capacity to analyze the revenue, distributional, and racial and ethnic impacts of many of these proposals. State Tax Watch offers the latest news and movement from each state.
Get weekly updates by signing up for our State Rundown newsletter.
Learn more about state taxes across the country, read Who Pays?
State Rundown & On the Map
On the Map
State Rundown 4/1: No Fooling Around Anymore in Washington, But Cruel Pranks in South Carolina
In Washington, Gov. Bob Ferguson and lawmakers decided to stop fooling around with one of the nation’s most upside-down tax codes and finally brought to…
Taxes on Adult-Use Cannabis in Each State
Twenty-three states have legalized the sale of cannabis for general adult use. Every state allowing legal sales applies an excise tax to cannabis based on…
State & Local Tax Policy
Low Tax for Whom? California vs Texas
April 1, 2026 • By Cassidy Sheppard
South Carolina’s Expensive, Regressive Tax Law Will Eliminate State’s Income Tax
March 31, 2026 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill, Neva Butkus
Travelers’ Checks: How to Tax Tourists in States and Localities
March 30, 2026 • By Rita Jefferson
States Like Missouri Are Seeking to Raise Taxes on the Working Class to Cut Taxes for the Rich
March 25, 2026 • By Eli Byerly-Duke
