Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
Federal Tax Debate 2025

Federal Tax Debate 2025

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State Rundown 6/20: Federal tax policy heats up, states wrap sessions and weigh impacts

June 18, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

As state legislative sessions come to a close, decisions on tax policy are being made. Several southern states have cut taxes, while the northeast is making some more measured reforms.

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Alabama Sunsets its Expensive ‘No Tax on Overtime’ Policy

June 18, 2025 • By Neva Butkus

Exempting overtime pay from income tax has become a hot topic at both the state and federal levels. Alabama became the first state to pass the exemption – albeit temporarily – in 2023. Numerous states and the federal government are considering following their lead, touting it as a way to…

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House Bill’s Deduction for Car Loan Interest Would Not Offset Tariff-Related Auto Price Increases for Most Buyers

June 12, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Sarah Austin

The auto loan interest deduction that recently passed the House is designed, at least in part, to mitigate the impact of tariff-induced price increases on vehicles assembled in America. But the deduction is incapable of offsetting even small-scale price increases, especially for working-class families and others with moderate incomes.

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State Rundown 6/11: States in The Eye of a Fiscal Hurricane?

June 11, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

State legislatures are enjoying a relatively quiet period right now, though it is merely a temporary calm before the storm of the federal tax and budget debate begins raging again.

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North Carolina Tax Proposal Prioritizes Millionaires Over Everyone Else

June 11, 2025 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill, Miles Trinidad

North Carolina Senators are proposing to yet again ignore the core needs of the majority of North Carolinians in favor of more income tax cuts for the wealthy few. The Senate's budget would take the personal income tax rate to 1.99 percent as soon as 2031 if certain revenue triggers…

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Across the States

Tax Watch

State Tax Watch 2025

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.

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Learn more about state taxes across the country, read Who Pays?

State Rundown & On the Map

State Rundown 6/20: Federal tax policy heats up, states wrap sessions and weigh impacts

As state legislative sessions come to a close, decisions on tax policy are being made. Several southern states have cut taxes, while the northeast is…

Taxes on Adult-Use Cannabis in Each State

Twenty-three states have legalized the sale of cannabis for general adult use, and sales are already underway in 21 of those states. Every state allowing…

State & Local Tax Policy

Alabama Sunsets its Expensive ‘No Tax on Overtime’ Policy

June 18, 2025 • By Neva Butkus

North Carolina Tax Proposal Prioritizes Millionaires Over Everyone Else

June 11, 2025 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill, Miles Trinidad

D.C.'s Budget Crisis Demands Fairer Business Tax System

June 9, 2025 • By Nick Johnson

Expert's View

Carl Davis

Carl Davis
Research Director

The Geographic Distribution of Extreme Wealth in the U.S.

Excessive concentration of wealth runs counter to our national aspiration for genuine equality of opportunity, and it saps the vitality of our democracy through the consolidation of power and influence. Tax policy offers a powerful means of beginning to address our nation’s stark level of inequality, but current law is clearly falling short of its potential.

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