1,134 posts
Fiscal Policy Institute: New York’s Regressive Tax Structure and the 1% Plan for Tax Fairness
• By ITEP Staff
Those in the wealthiest 1% are taking home the lion’s share of income gains, yet they nevertheless pay a smaller share of their income in combined state and local taxes than lower and middle-income families. New York households with incomes under $100,000 pay higher effective state and local tax rates, ranging from 10.4% to 12%, […]
North Carolina Tax and Justice Center: Prosperity Watch Issue 58, No. 3: State EITC allows working North Carolinians keep more of what they earn, boosts economy
• By ITEP Staff
Low- and middle-income taxpayers in North Carolina pay a larger share of their income in state and local taxes than the wealthiest taxpayers in the state. This inequity in North Carolina’s tax code makes it difficult for working families to make ends meet and further challenges the state’s ability to invest in communities and […]
Rewarding Work Through State Earned Income Tax Credits
• By Aidan Davis, Lisa Christensen Gee, Meg Wiehe
See the 2016 Updated Brief Here Read the brief in a PDF here. that time, the EITC has been improved to lift and keep more working families out of poverty. The most recent improvements enhanced the credit for families with three or more children and for married couples. First enacted temporarily as part of the […]
Tax Foundation Model Seeks to Revive Economic Voodoo
• By Carl Davis
In recent months, the Tax Foundation has used its Taxes and Growth Model (TAG Model) to estimate the impact that a variety of tax policy changes would have on the nation's economy--including tax plans proposed by current presidential candidates. The Tax Foundation describes the underlying "logic" of its TAG Model as being rooted in the assumption that "taxes have a major impact on economic growth." More specifically, the TAG Model has concluded that proposals to…
Missouri Budget Project: Earned Income Tax Credit: The Basics
• By ITEP Staff
“A Missouri EITC would boost local communities and economies while encouraging work, enhancing take-home pay, and improving long-term health and economic outcomes for more than 500,000 Missouri families. A Missouri EITC would give a much-needed break to Missourians struggling to get by on low wages. A state EITC would boost local communities and economies while […]
Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice: Cutting Taxes to Strengthen the Economy and Boost Hawai’i’s Families: A Refundable State Earned Income Tax Credit
• By ITEP Staff
“Building a stronger Hawai‘i for businesses and residents means creating more opportunities for working families to climb the economic ladder. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a proven tool for fostering economic prosperity.” Read full report
West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy: A Tax Cut That Works for Working Families: A West Virginia Earned Income Tax Credit
• By ITEP Staff
“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 a main topic in front of the legislature, a bottom-up tax cut like a state Earned Income Tax Credit that would help people who work […]
South Dakota Budget and Policy Institute: WHO PAYS increased SD sales taxes to raise teacher salaries?
• By ITEP Staff
“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 options have been floated thus far to fund the increase. Some in-depth fiscal analysis and charting helps clarify the difference between these options.” Read full […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Revenue Options that Strengthen the Commonwealth
• By ITEP Staff
“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 of main ways to get there. Currently, too many tax breaks and loopholes in the state’s tax system drain money that is needed to shore […]
How Long Has it Been Since Your State Raised Its Gas Tax?
• By Carl Davis
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…
Most Americans Live in States with Variable-Rate Gas Taxes
• By Carl Davis
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…
Louisiana Budget Project: A stronger EITC can mitigate sales tax increase
• By ITEP Staff
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 last year. The richest 1 percent of households paid only 4.2 percent of their total income in state and local taxes. The main reason for […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Analysis and Considerations Related to House Bill 380
• By ITEP Staff
“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 and above – would see an $815 tax cut, on average. The exact tax cut that a household in any range would receive depends upon […]
The Commonwealth Institute: Room for Improvement
• By ITEP Staff
“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 roughly $14,000 a year would save an average of only $1.32 per year per household. That’s barely enough to buy the local newspaper. In fact, […]
Testimony before the Vermont Senate Committee on Finance: Tax Policy Issues with Legalized Retail Marijuana
• By Carl Davis
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…
ITEP Comments to the Vermont Senate Committee on Finance: Tax Expenditure Evaluation
• By Carl Davis
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…
Oklahoma Policy Institute: The Cost of Tax Cuts in Oklahoma
• By ITEP Staff
“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 loss from these cuts has now reached $1.022 billion, according to an analysis prepared for OK Policy by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. […]
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Welcome Newcomers to Build a Stronger Georgia
• By ITEP Staff
“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 regardless of citizenship status. Georgia immigrants as a whole contributed nearly $1.8 billion in state and local taxes in 2012, the most recent year available. […]
Michigan League for Public Policy: The 2015 roads plan: Helps wealthy and hampers budget
• By ITEP Staff
“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 by more than the rate of inflation, the rate of the income tax would be reduced. According to the House Fiscal Agency analysis, if these […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: A Summary of Four Proposals from the Legislature’s Tax Working Group
• By ITEP Staff
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 households a larger share of their income. When all state and local taxes are combined, Idaho’s tax distribution is relatively even across the income spectrum, […]
Delaware: An Onshore Tax Haven
• By Richard Phillips
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…
Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Expanding the Sales Tax in an Equitable Way
• By ITEP Staff
“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 pay an average of 5.8% of their income in sales tax. The top 20%, by contrast, pay less than 2.3% of their income in sales […]
Third and State: Unintended Consequences? Property Tax Elimination Increases Taxes on the Middle Class to Reduce Taxes for High Income Families
• By ITEP Staff
“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 on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) did estimate for us the tax incidence of a similar proposal several years ago. That proposal, like the current […]
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%
• By ITEP Staff
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 rate from 6% to 7.25%. This brief analyzes the size of the sales tax rate increase by income. It also compares that impact to how […]
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