Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

The Express Star: Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

February 22, 2017

That same paper showed that the ANNUAL lost state revenue because of cuts to the top personal income tax rate enacted since 2005 is $1.022 billion PER YEAR, according to an analysis conducted for Oklahoma Policy Institute by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a non-partisan national research organization. So it seems like […]

Alaska Dispatch News: Income tax debate heats up as Alaska faces do-or-die moment

February 22, 2017

The proposed bill would cut the dividend to about $1,100 next year and institute an income tax equivalent to 15 percent of a taxpayer’s federal tax bill. A married couple with no kids and gross income of $100,000 would pay about $1,705 in state taxes while collecting about $2,200 in dividends, the sponsors estimate. A […]

Planet Jackson Hole: American Dreams, Undocumented Fears

February 22, 2017

A report published by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) in 2016 found that undocumented immigrants contribute around $11.6 billion to the economy annually. Undocumented immigrants in Wyoming contributed $12.7 million in state in federal taxes last year, according to a report from the New American Economy (NAE). And a University of Wyoming […]

The News Wheel: What If We Raised the Gas Tax

February 22, 2017

Now, obviously, raising the gas tax would mean a lot more money going to the government for transportation. As the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) pointed out in a 2013 report, the gas tax is the most important funding source for the government’s transportation budget. Read more

Reuters: U.S. States See Favorable Conditions for Gas Tax Hikes

February 22, 2017

Low gas prices, a desperate need for revenue to fix crumbling roads, and a post-election period that gives politicians the space to tackle controversial issues have breathed life into efforts to raise the taxes, said Carl Davis, research director at the non-partisan Washington D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. In all, 21 state legislatures […]

Digital Journal: States to Raise Gas Taxes

February 22, 2017

According to Reuters, Carl Davis, a research director at the non-partisan Washington D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says three factors, including low gas prices, a crumbling transportation infrastructure, and a “post-election period” that allows politicians a little breathing space to take on controversial issues, have given a breath of life to the effort […]

Salt Lake Tribune: Rush to reform taxes has lawmakers hurtling toward bad policy

February 22, 2017

According to figures from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, about a quarter of the estimated $200 million that would be generated by restoring the full sales tax on food would be paid by households making less than $43,000 a year. Read more

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Regressive and Loophole-Ridden: Issues with the House GOP Border Adjustment Tax Proposal

February 22, 2017 • By Matthew Gardner, Richard Phillips

In the summer of 2016, House Republicans released a blueprint for tax reform that is likely to be used as the starting point for major tax legislation in 2017.[1] One of the most radical provisions is a proposal to shift the corporate tax code from a residence-based to a destination-based system through applying a border adjustment on exports and imports. This proposal has major flaws that would make it a challenge to implement. Further, it is inherently regressive, rife with loopholes and would violate international agreements.

North Carolina Budget and Tax Center: The Road to Nowhere Good for North Carolina

February 22, 2017

Tax changes passed in the 2016 legislative session reduced the income tax rate and increased reliance on the sales tax. This continued flawed approach to taxation that policymakers have followed since 2013 has proven disastrous to other states’ fiscal and economic outlook. Such an approach delivers the greatest reduction in the tax load to the […]

Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Income Tax Bill Offers Earned Income Tax Credit Upside, Flat Tax Downside

February 22, 2017

Members of the Georgia House are set to consider a large income tax proposal that contains a mix of positive reforms and measures that raise significant concerns. Some aspects of the bill offer benefits to working class Georgia families, while others could harm similar taxpayers or unduly jeopardize state revenues. While the bill provides a […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: The Math Behind Ed Choice Tax Credit Fails Many Tests

February 21, 2017

Today in the House Education Committee legislators are hearing discussion of House Bill 162, a proposal to create a so-called Education Choice tax credit in Kentucky. This proposal does not target low- and moderate-income students as suggested; is expensive, taking resources away from public schools and other investments; and provides an excessively large credit under […]

Evidence Count: Governor Justice’s Tax Plan: Who Pays?

February 21, 2017

Governor Jim Justice has not introduced any tax measures yet, but in his State of the State Address and his executive budget  there are plans to enact several tax increases to close the Fiscal Year 2018 budget gap of $500 million and address the state’s declining road fund that pays for highway construction, maintenance, and road […]

West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: Income Tax Elimination is a Poor Growth Strategy

February 20, 2017

Unfazed by a $600 million looming budget deficit, plans by some lawmakers to reduce or eliminate West Virginia’s state income tax  — which would mostly benefit the wealthiest residents — and replace it with a sales tax hike are unlikely to produce the economic growth supporter’s claim.  Instead it would dramatically shift tax responsibilities from […]

Evidence Counts: Replacing Income Taxes with a General Consumption Tax is Radical and Regressive (SB 335)

February 20, 2017

Senate leadership introduced SB 335 which would abolish the personal income tax and sales and use tax, phase out the corporate income tax, lower the severance tax, and replace these taxes with an 8 percent broad-based general consumption or sales tax. While it is unclear whether this tax shift would be revenue neutral, it would dramatically […]

West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: What Would Eliminating the Income Tax Mean for West Virginia?

February 17, 2017

Eliminating the income tax is a strategy that has been tried over and over in other states with little or nothing to show, other than revenue erosion that brings cuts in support for schools, transportation and other true building blocks of broad prosperity. A better course for West Virginia would be to reform the tax […]

Maine Center for Economic Policy: Testimony in Opposition to Governor’s Proposed Budget, Parts D, E, and F

February 17, 2017

These proposed tax changes would stand in the way of building thriving communities and a strong Maine economy. There is a direct correlation between state resources and the ability to be proactive in making the kind of investments that lay the foundations for a strong economy. Cutting taxes for the rich at the expense of everyone […]

Open Sky Policy Institute: Income tax bills good for wealthy and non-residents

February 16, 2017

Forty percent of Nebraskans would see tax increases under LB 452 Low- and middle-income earners pay more of their incomes in sales taxes than income taxes. This is reflected in Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) data that show LB 452 – which includes a sales tax expansion — would raise taxes on average […]

West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: Replacing Income Tax with Sales Tax is a Boon for the Wealthy

February 15, 2017

Scale back income tax exemptions – Every taxpayer regardless of income receives a $2,000 exemption for each dependent. Phase it out between $150,000-$200,000, and eliminate it for those over $200,000, and it would increase revenue by an estimated $10 million. PowerPoint presentation available here

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What to Watch in the States: Modernizing Sales Taxes for a 21st Century Economy

February 15, 2017 • By Misha Hill

This is the fourth installment of our six-part series on 2017 state tax trends. The introduction to this series is available here.   State lawmakers often find themselves looking for ways to raise revenue to fund vital public services, fill budget gaps, or pay for the elimination or weakening of progressive taxes. Lately, that search has […]

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State Rundown 2/15: Tax Overhauls Debated Around the Country

February 15, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

This week we are following a number of significant proposals being debated or introduced including reinstating the income tax in Alaska and eliminating the tax in West Virginia, establishing a regressive tax-cut trigger in Nebraska, restructuring the Illinois sales tax, moving New Mexico to a flat income tax and broader gross receipts tax, and updating […]

Kansas Action for Children: KAC Testimony to the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee in Support of Senate Concurrent Resolution 1604

February 15, 2017

The high food sales tax hurts Kansas families. Food is a basic necessity for Kansas’ families. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the state’s increasing reliance on sales tax hurts Kansas’ poorest residents. The lowest 20% of  income earners in Kansas pay an average of 11.1% of their income in state and […]

Detroit Free Press: House Panel Approves Gradual Elimination of Income Tax

February 15, 2017

And Gilda Jacobs, executive director of the Michigan League for Public Policy, said that according to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the tax relief for the lowest earners–less than $22,000 a year–would be only $16 per year while the wealthiest earners–more than $484,000–would get a tax benefit of $3,700 a […]

West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: Income Tax Cuts and Shifting to Sales Tax a Poor Strategy for Growing West Virginia’s Economy

February 15, 2017

Even though faced with a $600 million budget deficit, some West Virginia lawmakers are proposing reducing or eliminating the state’s income tax, and replacing that lost revenue with an increase in the sales tax. This plan is unlikely to produce the economic growth, instead it dramatically shifts tax responsibility responsibilities from the wealthy onto low […]

ITEP Testimony Regarding Kansas Senate Bill 188

February 14, 2017

ITEP analysis of Kansas tax changes enacted between 2012 and 2015 shows the state lost over $1 billion in revenue annually from changes to its personal income tax, including lowering income tax rates and exempting business pass-through income from taxation (see Figure 1). While the state subsequently made up some of these revenue losses through […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Kasich plan continues tax shift

February 14, 2017

Governor John Kasich’s new tax proposal would further reinforce the shift in Ohio’s state and local tax system in favor of affluent residents and against those with lower or middle incomes. Under the plan, Ohioans who made under $56,000 last year – those in the bottom three-fifths of the income spectrum – on average would […]