ITEP's Research Priorities
State Tax & Revenue Information
January 31, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Below is a list of notable resources for information on state taxes and revenues: Alabama Alabama Department of Revenue Alabama Department of Finance – Executive Budget Office Alabama Department of Revenue – Tax Incentives for Industry Alabama Legislative Fiscal Office Alaska Alaska Department of Revenue – Tax Division Alaska Office of Management & Budget Alaska […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: House Bill 67
January 30, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Idaho Legislature is considering a proposal that would cut top income tax and corporate tax rates. The bill will also eliminate the income tax on the first $750 of taxable household income. This proposal would substantially reduce Idaho’s general fund revenue. Estimates of the impact range from $51 million to $56 million. A majority […]
And Then There Were Six: Amazon Expands Its Sales Tax Collection
January 30, 2017 • By Carl Davis
UPDATE: After this post was published, Amazon announced that it will begin collecting sales tax in Oklahoma on March 1. This post has been updated to reflect this development. The nation’s largest Internet retailer has made an about-face on its sales tax policy, making consumers’ ability to evade sales tax on online purchases a little […]
New Mexico Voices for Children: NM’s Working Families Tax Credits
January 30, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
As a group, those who claim the EITC and WFTC pay a large share of their incomes in taxes. In fact, in addition to the federal payroll taxes they pay, New Mexico’s lowest-income households pay a larger share of their income in state and local taxes than the households in every other income group. Those […]
Governing: Coming Soon to 6 States: Online Sales Taxes From Amazon
January 30, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Carl Davis, research director for the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, estimated the state of Missouri could collect between $30 million and $34 million annually from Amazon sales, based on an analysis of revenue generated in other states. “We’re supporters of sales tax being collected on online purchases in the […]
Hartford Courant: Windham Works On Sanctuary City Resolution
January 30, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Hewes pointed to a number of sources of information, including a 2015 report from The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. According to this report, “unauthorized immigrants in Connecticut paid $136.6 million in state and local taxes in tax year 2012, including $67.1 million in sales taxes, $53.9 in property taxes, and $15.5 in personal […]
Lawrence World Journal: Voters, please pay close attention
January 30, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Aligned with conservatives in the Senate, Brownback steadfastly refused to consider a direct reversal of the original tax plan, insisting that the state continue on its path toward replacing the income tax entirely with consumption taxes. The most he would do was freeze the rates, and the result was a plan that will place an […]
The Tennessean: Grocery tax proposal complicated for most Tennesseans
January 30, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Other organizations, like the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regard Tennessee’s tax structure statewide as regressive, meaning it inhibits growth and proportionally taxes the poorest Tennesseans the hardest. The group rates Tennessee as one of the “Terrible Ten” and among the worst tax structures in the country. Read more
Bloomberg BNA: States Plan Uneasily for Spending, Taxing in Trump’s Shadow
January 30, 2017 • By Carl Davis
“Too many states are leaning heavily on regressive sales and excise taxes to balance their budgets, or to fund cuts in progressive income taxes and estate taxes,” Carl Davis, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s research director, told Bloomberg BNA. Raising taxes and cutting spending are the options for states in dire straits. The straightforward […]
Washington State Budget & Policy Center: Creating a Safeguard Rebate Is Key to Equitable Property Tax Reform
January 30, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This is the fourth in a series of schmudget blog posts about property taxes in Washington state and the role they play in funding basic K-12 education. Any reform to the Washington state property tax code to help pay for schools must also take steps to make the tax code more equitable. In conjunction […]
Open Sky Policy Institute: Some facts about LB 337 — the governor’s tax plan
January 30, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Below are some facts regarding, LB 337, the governor’s income tax cut plan: The example middle-class Nebraska taxpayer used to roll out the plan would not receive a tax cut under LB 337. Once the standard deduction is applied, this taxpayer, who earns $29,831, would not pay the top tax rate on any income, and therefore would […]
What to Watch in the States Series: Tax Policy 2017
January 27, 2017 • By Lisa Christensen Gee
Over the next few weeks we will be blogging about what we’re watching in state tax policy during 2017 legislative sessions. In this “What to Watch in the States” series, we will look at the following: State responses to short- and long-term revenue deficits Boosting funding for infrastructure, though sometimes at the expense of other […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Common Sense Reform for Working Ohio
January 27, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Tax modeling from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a national organization with a sophisticated model of the state tax system, shows that Ohio’s current EITC reaches only about 8 percent of the state’s neediest working families and 11 percent of middle income workers. A 20 percent, refundable, non-capped, EITC would extend the […]
A Visual Tour of Who Pays State & Local Taxes
January 26, 2017 • By Carl Davis, Meg Wiehe
While it can be hard to look away from the important federal policy debates occurring right now in Washington D.C., state lawmakers across the country will also be debating consequential fiscal policy changes in 2017 that will deserve close scrutiny. The context of those debates will vary by state: from coping with major revenue shortfalls, […]
An Overview of State Tax Trends in 2017
January 26, 2017 • By Meg Wiehe
Since the 2007-2009 economic crisis, rising income inequality and the role our public policies play in aiding or easing this trend have been an ongoing part of the public discourse. In spite of what we know about the growing gap between the rich and the rest of us, federal and state policymakers continue to sell […]
Tax Justice Digest: A Visual Tour of Who Pays, 2017 State Tax Trends
January 26, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately. New! A Visual Tour of Who Pays State and Local Taxes To help inform 2017 statehouse debates, ITEP […]
Governing: Despite Budget Shortfalls, Some Governors Call for Tax Cuts
January 26, 2017 • By Meg Wiehe
In both Colorado and Kansas, the tax increases would help cover projected budget deficits. That can be a dangerous habit, said Meg Wiehe of the progressive-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, because such tax increases tend to discourage consumption. “Politically speaking they’re low-hanging fruit,” she said. “The problem in relying on this is it […]
Market Exclusive: Losses And Gains For Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Under President Trump Expected
January 26, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) reveals that the likes of Apple and Oracle seem to be some of the biggest winners of Trump’s presidency and especially if the repatriation proposal is put into place. U.S. firms currently have $2.5 trillion in offshore earnings, which translates to $720 billion […]
Chattanooga Times Free-Press: Tennessee House GOP pursues anything-but-gas-tax-increase plans for road funding
January 26, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, five states have not implemented an increase in their gas tax rates since the 1980s or earlier: Alaska, Oklahoma, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. That’s longer than any of the 45 other states. Read more
Fairness Matters: A Chart Book on Who Pays State and Local Taxes
January 26, 2017 • By Carl Davis, Meg Wiehe
When states shy away from personal income taxes in favor of higher sales and excise taxes, high-income taxpayers benefit at the expense of low- and moderate-income families who often face above-average tax rates to pick up the slack. This chart book demonstrates this basic reality by examining the distribution of taxes in states that have pursued these types of policies. Given the detrimental impact that regressive tax policies have on economic opportunity, income inequality, revenue adequacy, and long-run revenue sustainability, tax reform proponents should look to the least regressive, rather than most regressive, states in crafting their proposals.
State Rundown 1/25: Revenue Shortfalls and How to Avoid Them
January 25, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week brings more news of states facing budget crunches, a new state looking to eliminate income taxes, and plans to raise gas taxes to fund transportation projects. Be sure to check out the What We’re Reading section for a look at how repealing federal health reform could add to those crunches and a review […]
47 Years Later, Alaska Considers Playing Catch-Up with its Motor Fuel Tax
January 25, 2017 • By Carl Davis
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker recently proposed tripling the gasoline and diesel tax rates paid by Alaska motorists to generate funding for the state’s infrastructure. In a different state, tripling the motor fuel tax might be a radical policy change. But Alaska’s tax has not been updated since 1970 and because of those 47 years of […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Tax Cuts Help Create Ohio’s Revenue Crunch
January 25, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
In 2015, the General Assembly approved a two-year budget lasting through this June that cuts taxes by nearly $1.9 billion. When legislators approved those cuts, Policy Matters Ohio asked a respected national policy group with a model of Ohio’s tax system to review them. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the top […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Tax Cuts Help Create Ohio’s Revenue Crunch
January 25, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
In 2015, the General Assembly approved a two-year budget lasting through this June that cuts taxes by nearly $1.9 billion. When legislators approved those cuts, Policy Matters Ohio asked a respected national policy group with a model of Ohio’s tax system to review them. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the top […]
Alaska’s Motor Fuel Tax: A National and Historical Outlier
January 25, 2017 • By Carl Davis
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker recently proposed tripling his state's motor fuel tax rates.[1] While a variety of fuel types would be affected by this proposal, three-fourths (or $60 million) of the revenue raised each year would come from higher taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel--sometimes referred to as highway fuels--purchased by Alaska motorists. Absent any national or historical context, tripling Alaska's gasoline and diesel fuel tax rates may sound like a radical policy change. But an adjustment of this size is necessary because Alaska lawmakers have not updated the state's basic highway fuel tax rate since May 1970--almost 47 years…
Institute on Taxation
and Economic Policy
ITEP is a non-profit, non-partisan tax policy organization. We conduct rigorous analyses of tax and economic proposals and provide data-driven recommendations to shape equitable and sustainable tax systems.
Subscribe to ITEP Emails
Tax research and policy news in your inbox.
Promote Fair Tax Policy
Your gift to ITEP promotes tax justice. With your help, we do research that supports taxing millionaires and billionaires, taxing big corporations and raising revenue for the things our people, our communities and our planet need.
Together, we can create a country with more economic justice, more racial justice, more climate justice… and more tax justice.