Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

brief  

A Primer on State Rainy Day Funds

October 20, 2015 • By Aidan Davis

Read the Report in PDF Form An individual savings account can serve as an emergency reserve – a financial cushion to sustain yourself in the event of an emergency. “Rainy day” funds are much like individual saving accounts, but on a statewide scale. Lawmakers use rainy day funds to set aside state tax revenue during […]

Maine Center for Economic Policy: Statement on Gov. LePage’s Proposal to Seek a Ballot Initiative to Reduce Maine’s Income Tax to 4 Percent by 2021

September 22, 2015

The non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that Mainers with annual income above $175,000 would receive almost 50 percent of the benefits from this massive tax cut. The top 1 percent of Mainers with income greater than $390,000 would get an average tax cut of over $21,000 while the 20 percent of Mainers […]

report  

State Tax Codes As Poverty Fighting Tools

September 17, 2015 • By Aidan Davis, Meg Wiehe

The U.S. Census Bureau released data in September showing that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high. In 2014, the national poverty rate was 14.8 percent - statistically unchanged from the previous year. However, the poverty rate remains 2.3 percentage points higher than it was in 2007, before the Great Recession, indicating that recent economic gains have not yet reached all households and that there is much room for improvement. The 2014 measure translates to more than 46.7 million - more than 1 in 7 - Americans living in poverty. Most state poverty rates also held steady between…

brief  

Rewarding Work Through State Earned Income Tax Credits

September 17, 2015 • By Aidan Davis, Lisa Christensen Gee, Meg Wiehe

Despite some economic gains in recent years, the number of Americans living in poverty has held steady over the past four years. At the same time, wages for working families have remained stagnant and more than half of the jobs created by the economic recovery since 2010 were low-paying, mostly in the food services, retail, and employment services industries. Our country's growing class of low-wage workers often faces a dual challenge as they struggle to make ends meet. First, wages are too low and growing too slowly - despite recent productivity gains - to keep up with the rising cost…

report  

Low Tax for Whom?: Tennessee is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty

September 17, 2015 • By Meg Wiehe

Annual data from the U.S. Census Bureau appear to lend support to Tennessee's reputation as a "low tax state," ranking it 50th nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income.1 But focusing on the state's overall tax revenues has led many observers to overlook the fact that different taxpayers experience Tennessee's tax system very differently. In particular, the poorest 20 percent of Tennessee residents pay significantly more of their income (10.9 percent) in state and local taxes than any other group in the state. For low-income families, Tennessee is far from being a low tax state.2 In fact,…

report  

Low Tax for Whom?: South Dakota is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty

September 17, 2015 • By Meg Wiehe

Annual data from the U.S. Census Bureau appear to lend support to South Dakota's reputation as a "low tax state," ranking it 51st nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income, the lowest overall tax state.1 But focusing on the state's overall tax revenues has led many observers to overlook the fact that different taxpayers experience South Dakota's tax system very differently. In particular, the poorest 20 percent of South Dakota residents pay significantly more of their income (11.3 percent) in state and local taxes than any other group in the state. For low-income families, South Dakota is…

report  

Low Tax for Whom?: Washington is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty

September 17, 2015 • By Meg Wiehe

Annual data from the U.S. Census Bureau appear to lend support to Washington's reputation as a "low tax state," ranking it 36th nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income.1 But focusing on the state's overall tax revenues has led many observers to overlook the fact that different taxpayers experience Washington's tax system very differently. In particular, the poorest 20 percent of Washington residents pay significantly more of their income (16.8 percent) in state and local taxes than any other group in the state. For low-income families, Washington is far from being a low tax state.2 In fact,…

report  

Low Tax for Whom?: Florida is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty

September 17, 2015 • By Meg Wiehe

Annual data from the U.S. Census Bureau appear to lend support to Florida's reputation as a "low tax state," ranking it 48th nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income.1 But focusing on the state's overall tax revenues has led many observers to overlook the fact that different taxpayers experience Florida's tax system very differently. In particular, the poorest 20 percent of Florida residents pay significantly more of their income (12.9 percent) in state and local taxes than any other group in the state. For low-income families, Florida is far from being a low tax state.2 In fact,…

report  

Low Tax for Whom?: Texas is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty

September 17, 2015 • By Meg Wiehe

Annual data from the U.S. Census Bureau appear to lend support to Texas' reputation as a "low tax state," ranking it 39th nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income.1 But focusing on the state's overall tax revenues has led many observers to overlook the fact that different taxpayers experience Texas' tax system very differently. In particular, the poorest 20 percent of Texans pay significantly more of their income (12.5 percent) in state and local taxes than any other group in the state. 2 For low-income families, Texas is far from being a low tax state. In fact,…

report  

Low Tax for Whom?: Arizona is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty

September 17, 2015 • By Meg Wiehe

Annual data from the U.S. Census Bureau appears to lend support to Arizona's reputation as a "low tax state," ranking it 37th nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income.1 But focusing on the state's overall tax revenues has led many observers to overlook the fact that different taxpayers experience Arizona's tax system very differently. In particular, the poorest 20 percent of Arizona residents pay significantly more of their income (12.5 percent) in state and local taxes than any other group in the state.2 For low-income families, Arizona is far from being a low tax state. In fact,…

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Funding Improvements for Schools, Roads, and Public Transit with Tax Reforms that Improve Fairness

September 14, 2015

We can expand opportunity for our people and strengthen our economy by making smart investments to improve our schools; make our colleges and universities affordable; and build a transportation system that gets families, students, workers and customers to the places they need to be. There are fair and effective ways that we could pay for […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Impact of the Final FY 2016 Budget on Children and Families

August 11, 2015

The State of Connecticut’s final FY 16 budget, improved from earlier proposals, still balances on children and families’ finite resources, this analysis finds.  While funding the “Children’s Budget” – state spending on children and family services – requires only a third of overall state funding, children’s program funding reductions account for nearly ninety percent of […]

brief  

Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform

July 22, 2015 • By Lisa Christensen Gee

Lawmakers in many states have enacted "sales tax holidays" (at least 17 states will hold them in 2015), to provide a temporary break on paying the tax on purchases of clothing, computers and other items. While these holidays may seem to lessen the regressive impacts of the sales tax, their benefits are minimal. This policy brief examines the many problems associated with sales tax holidays and concludes that they have more political than policy benefits.

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Increasing the EITC Would Boost New Jersey’s Working Families

June 29, 2015

Increasing New Jersey’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to 30 percent from 20 percent of the federal EITC would provide over half a million New Jersey working families with a much-needed bump in their take-home pay while giving the state’s economy a boost. But the economic impact of the EITC goes beyond the specific amount […]

brief  

Pay-Per-Mile Tax is Only a Partial Fix

June 24, 2015 • By Carl Davis

Read this report in PDF form Introduction For years, academics and transportation experts have been discussing the possibility of taxing drivers for each mile they travel on the nation’s roads.  This “vehicle miles traveled tax” (VMT tax) could either supplement or replace the existing gas tax as the primary method of funding transportation infrastructure. To […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Ohio Senate Flat Tax Mandate is Unwise and Unwarranted

June 23, 2015

The Senate budget bill approved Thursday, like the House-approved version, would create a tax policy study commission to review the state’s tax structure. But the Senate would require the study commission to make recommendations “on how to transition Ohio’s personal income tax to a flat tax of three and one-half percent or three and three-quarters […]

report  

Testimony: Adding Sustainability to the Highway Trust Fund

June 17, 2015 • By Carl Davis

The federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF) is the single most important mechanism for funding maintenance and improvements to the nation's transportation infrastructure. Absent Congressional action, however, the HTF will face insolvency at the end of July. Unfortunately, despite the critical importance of infrastructure to the U.S. economy, the condition of the HTF has been allowed to deteriorate to the point that imminent insolvency has become entirely normal.

Local Progress: Progressive Policies for Raising Municipal Revenue

June 16, 2015

This report lays out a set of policy and political interventions that cities, regions, and states can make to increase municipal revenue and to make their collections more progressive. Cities have historically suffered enormous budget shortfalls and after the Great Recession, available funds depleted even more drastically. Read the full report here.

NC Policy Watch: The Senate Tax Plan Fails to Fix the Problem

June 16, 2015

Last week, we raised concerns with the Senate leadership’s new tax plan. Rather than reinvesting and regaining ground lost in recent years, the Senate is pursuing another round of costly income tax cuts. When fully implemented, the $1 billion price tag for the Senate tax plan will mean North Carolina must forgo investments in the foundations […]

Oregon Center for Public Policy: Immigration Reform Would Boost Oregon State and Local Budgets

June 15, 2015

How much do undocumented Oregonians contribute in state and local taxes? A recent report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimated that 124,000 undocumented Oregonians paid more than $83 million in state and local taxes in 2012. Read the full report here.

Fiscal Policy Institute: Property Tax Relief for Low- and Middle-Income Property New Yorkers Must Remain a Priority

May 28, 2015

Those making the least income relative to other New Yorkers would benefit more from the proposed circuit breaker than from a STAR rebate. Some 40 percent of taxpayers with incomes below $19,000 (the poorest fifth of New Yorkers) would receive a circuit breaker refund, according to an analysis of the governor’s proposal by the Institute […]

West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy: Gutting the Personal Income is a Poor Strategy

May 20, 2015

As this post shows, the personal income tax is not only the largest source of revenue from state residents but it is also a progressive tax that helps reduce income inequality and pay for important budget priorities like education, higher education and health and human services. In the next post, we will explore whether the […]

Missouri Budget Project: State Earned Income Tax Credit Would Benefit Missouri

May 7, 2015

Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs) encourage work, enhance take-home pay, improve health & economic outcomes, and have lasting benefits. Proposals to create a state-level EITC would build on these benefits of the federal EITC for more than 500,000 Missouri families. Click here to read the full report. 

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Income Tax Cuts Won’t Boost Georgia Economy

May 7, 2015

Big income tax cuts did not improve the economies of states that enacted them, and states without income taxes do not consistently grow more jobs or have stronger economies. Six states cut income taxes sharply from 2002 to 2007, before the most recent recession. Three of them – Arizona, Ohio and Rhode Island – grew […]

Voices for Illinois Children: Avoid Cuts, Choose Revenue

May 7, 2015

Governor Rauner has proposed to close this massive gap through damaging cuts to essential programs and services that strengthen Illinois families, children, communities, and our economy — including child care and early intervention services, K-12 education, afterschool, child protection and welfare, public health, higher education, health care, public transportation, and revenue-sharing with local governments. Cuts […]