Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Sarah Austin

Senior Analyst

Sarah Austin

Sarah is a Senior Analyst at ITEP. She focuses her research on progressive revenue-raising options for states. Before joining ITEP in 2025, Sarah served as senior policy advisor to the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. Prior to that, she served as the research and policy director at the Maine Center for Economic Policy where she focused her research on state budget advocacy, refundable tax credits, and progressive tax policies to improve revenue adequacy and fairness.

Sarah holds a bachelor’s degree from Unity College and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Wisconsin.

 sarah at itep.org

Recent Publications

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The Wealth Proceeds Tax: A Simple Way for States to Tax the Wealthy

October 30, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Sarah Austin

Taxing the proceeds generated by wealth through a new Wealth Proceeds Tax is a simple way for states to raise billions in new revenue and improve the fairness of their tax systems.

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Quite Some BS: Expanded ‘QSBS’ Giveaway in Trump Tax Law Threatens State Revenues and Enriches the Wealthy

October 2, 2025 • By Nick Johnson, Sarah Austin

States should decouple from the federal Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exemption.

More Publications by Sarah Austin

Recent Media Mentions

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Virginia Public Radio: What a “Wealth Proceeds Tax” Could Look Like in Virginia

November 3, 2025 • By Sarah Austin

Tax the rich. That’s the idea behind the wealth proceeds tax, which would hit things like dividends, interest and capital gains. A new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says a three percent wealth proceeds tax in Virginia would generate about a billion dollars of new revenue.…

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CNBC: How the Republican Megabill Targets Immigrant Finances

June 26, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Sarah Austin

“If a U.S. citizen is married to an undocumented immigrant, or if a citizen child has an undocumented parent, then the House bill considers the citizen to have forfeited their right to a range of tax breaks,” ITEP researchers Carl Davis and Sarah Austin wrote in an analysis in May. Read more. 

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