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ITEP Work in Action February 10, 2016 West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy: A Tax Cut That Works for Working Families: A West Virginia Earned Income Tax Credit
“Too many working families in West Virginia are paid low wages and have trouble making ends meet, with basic living expenses stretching family budgets beyond their limits. With tax overhaul… -
ITEP Work in Action February 8, 2016 South Dakota Budget and Policy Institute: WHO PAYS increased SD sales taxes to raise teacher salaries?
“There is broad consensus in South Dakota that teacher salaries need to be competitive to attract and retain good teachers – but who is going to pay for it? Two… -
ITEP Work in Action February 8, 2016 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Revenue Options that Strengthen the Commonwealth
“By generating new revenue to invest in the building blocks of our s.tate, good tax reform will make Kentucky stronger for all. This menu of tax reform options describes some… -
brief February 5, 2016 How Long Has it Been Since Your State Raised Its Gas Tax?
Many states’ transportation budgets are in disarray, in part because they are trying to cover the rising cost of asphalt, machinery, and other construction materials with a gasoline tax rate that is rarely increased. A growing number of states have recognized the problem with this approach and have switched to a “variable-rate” gas tax under which the tax rate tends to rise over time alongside either inflation or gas prices. A majority of Americans live in a state where the gas tax is automatically adjusted in this way.
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brief February 5, 2016 Most Americans Live in States with Variable-Rate Gas Taxes
The federal government and many states are seeing shortfalls in their transportation budgets in part because the gasoline taxes they use to generate those funds are poorly designed. Thirty-one states and the federal government levy “fixed-rate” gas taxes where the tax rate does not change even as the cost of infrastructure materials inevitably increases over time. The federal government’s 18.4 cent gas tax, for example, has not increased in over 22 years. And twenty states have gone a decade or more without a gas tax increase.
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ITEP Work in Action February 3, 2016 Louisiana Budget Project: A stronger EITC can mitigate sales tax increase
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) calculates that the poorest 40 percent of Louisiana households paid 10 percent of their family income in state and local taxes… -
ITEP Work in Action January 29, 2016 Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Analysis and Considerations Related to House Bill 380
“Idaho households with incomes between $41,000 and $64,000 a year would see a $23 decrease in their tax liability, on average. The top 1% – those with incomes of $444,000… -
ITEP Work in Action January 22, 2016 The Commonwealth Institute: Room for Improvement
“Virginia households with an average annual income of $59,000 would save an average of just $6.45 per year – less than the price of a movie ticket. And households making… -
report January 19, 2016 Testimony before the Vermont Senate Committee on Finance: Tax Policy Issues with Legalized Retail Marijuana
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the tax policy issues associated with legalized retail marijuana. Our testimony includes five parts:
1. An overview of the marijuana tax rates and structures that exist in the four states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington) where retail marijuana can be legally sold.
2. An analysis of early stage revenue trends in the two states (Colorado and Washington) where legal, taxable sales of retail marijuana have been taking place since 2014.
3. A discussion of issues associated with different types of marijuana tax bases–specifically weight-based taxes, price-based taxes, and hybrids of these two structures.
4. A discussion of issues involved in choosing a tax rate for marijuana.
5. A discussion of long-run issues related to the structure of marijuana taxes and their revenue yield. -
report January 13, 2016 ITEP Comments to the Vermont Senate Committee on Finance: Tax Expenditure Evaluation
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Vermont’s effort to establish a system for regularly evaluating its tax expenditure programs. Data-driven tax expenditure evaluations are a valuable tool for gauging the effectiveness of policy initiatives pursued via the tax code. ITEP is supportive of Vermont’s efforts in this area and is generally encouraged by the work completed thus far by groups such as the Joint Fiscal Office and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Rather than rehash the many useful recommendations made by those organizations, these comments focus on two areas that may be in need of further attention: the scope of what is labeled a “tax expenditure,” and the importance of data infrastructure advancements to the success of these evaluations.
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ITEP Work in Action January 12, 2016 Oklahoma Policy Institute: The Cost of Tax Cuts in Oklahoma
“Due to these cuts, Oklahoma’s top income tax rate has been slashed by almost a fourth, from 6.65 percent before 2004 to 5 percent beginning in 2016. The annual revenue… -
ITEP Work in Action December 18, 2015 Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Welcome Newcomers to Build a Stronger Georgia
“Immigrant taxpayers contribute to Georgia’s bottom line. As immigrants start businesses, buy homes, earn wages and spend disposable income at local businesses, they generate considerable state and local tax revenue… -
ITEP Work in Action December 18, 2015 Michigan League for Public Policy: The 2015 roads plan: Helps wealthy and hampers budget
“Finally, the income tax rollback that was thrown in as a sweetener has implications on the budget as well as tax fairness. Under the plan, if General Fund revenues grow… -
ITEP Work in Action December 18, 2015 Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: A Summary of Four Proposals from the Legislature’s Tax Working Group
Idaho has a graduated personal income tax, with rates increasing with household income. This has a balancing effect on the sales and property taxes,which generally cost middle and lower-earning… -
report December 10, 2015 Delaware: An Onshore Tax Haven
When thinking of tax havens, one generally pictures notorious zero-tax Caribbean islands like the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. However, we can also find a tax haven a lot closer to home in the state of Delaware – a choice location for U.S. business formation. A loophole in Delaware’s tax code is responsible for the loss of billions of dollars in revenue in other U.S. states, and its lack of incorporation transparency makes it a magnet for people looking to create anonymous shell companies, which individuals and corporations can use to evade an inestimable amount in federal and foreign taxes. The Internal Revenue Service estimated a total tax gap of about $450 billion with $376 billion of it due to filers underreporting income in 2006 (the most recent tax year for which this data is available).[i] While it is impossible to know how much underreported income is hidden in Delaware shell companies, the First State’s ability to attract the formation of anonymous companies suggests that it could rival the amount of income hidden in more well-known offshore tax havens.
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ITEP Work in Action December 7, 2015 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Expanding the Sales Tax in an Equitable Way
“There is good reason to worry about the sales tax falling heavily on low-income families. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the lowest-income 20% of Pennsylvania families… -
ITEP Work in Action December 4, 2015 Open Sky Policy Institute: Nebraska Taxes at a Glance
Read the full fact sheet -
ITEP Work in Action November 30, 2015 Third and State: Unintended Consequences? Property Tax Elimination Increases Taxes on the Middle Class to Reduce Taxes for High Income Families
“Let’s start with the impact of property tax elimination on different groups of taxpayers. While we have not examined the tax incidence of the current SB 76 bill, the Institute… -
ITEP Work in Action November 18, 2015 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Who Pays For An Increase in the Sales Tax: Analysis of the Tax Incidence of an Increase in the Sales Tax from 6% to 7.25%
Gov. Wolf and legislative leaders are currently negotiating over the terms of a plan to cut property taxes which would be financed by an increase in the state sales tax… -
ITEP Work in Action November 4, 2015 Transportation Futures: Overview of Transportation Funding
An Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analysis shows the purchasing power of the Federal fuel tax has lost 28% from 1997 to 2011 through a combination of inflation and… -
ITEP Work in Action November 2, 2015 Michigan League for Public Policy: Enough is Enough: Business Tax Cuts Fail to Grow Michigan’s Economy, Hurt Budget
Cutting business taxes has not been an effective way to grow jobs and the Michigan economy as promised. This is particularly true when combined with increased taxes on individuals, disproportionately… -
ITEP Work in Action October 21, 2015 Maine Center for Economic Policy: MECEP Analysis: Better Deal for Maine “Provides Bigger Tax Cuts for More Mainers”
The Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) today released “Distributional Analysis: ‘Better Deal’ Provides Bigger Tax Cuts for Most Mainers while Increasing Investment in Education and Other Critical Services,” a… -
ITEP Work in Action October 21, 2015 Maine Center for Economic Policy: Eliminating Maine’s income tax: A boon to wealthy Mainers, will hurt everyone else
Two weeks ago Governor LePage notified lawmakers of his intention to amend Maine’s constitution to eliminate the state’s income tax by 2020. This may mean the governor has thrown in… -
ITEP Work in Action October 21, 2015 Maine Center for Economic Policy: Republican Tax Plan Gives Huge Tax Breaks to the Wealthy While Raising Taxes for Working Mainers and Seniors
Legislative Republicans have released a tax plan that is a bad deal for working Mainers and seniors living on fixed incomes. Based on preliminary analysis the Maine Center for Economic… -
ITEP Work in Action October 21, 2015 Maine Center for Economic Policy: Everything you need to know about the Democratic and Republican tax plans in one chart
Last week Republican legislators released their proposal for overhauling Maine’s tax system. The plan includes income and corporate tax cuts, and eliminates the estate tax, all disproportionately benefiting Maine’s wealthiest…