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ITEP Work in Action January 3, 2014 Wisconsin Budget Project: Governor Walker’s Tax Shift Plan Would Raise Taxes for Most
Governor Walker has said he is interested in eliminating the state’s income tax and raising the sales tax to make up for lost revenue, a move that would result… -
ITEP Work in Action January 3, 2014 Policy Matter Ohio: Homestead Exemption Still Out of Whack
The state budget approved in June limits eligibility for Ohio’s homestead exemption, but doesn’t do enough to focus the property-tax break on seniors who need it most. Read the Full… -
ITEP Work in Action December 20, 2013 Hawai’i Appleseed Center: Creating a Fairer State Tax System and Economy for All Families
Our state’s lower-income families are faced with almost insurmountable structural challenges to escaping poverty. They face the highest cost of living and highest cost of shelter in the nation, with… -
ITEP Work in Action November 21, 2013 New York State Tax Reform and Fairness Comission: Final Report
The New York State Tax Reform and Fairness Commission conducted a comprehensive and objective review of the State’s taxation policy, considering ways to eliminate tax loopholes, promote administrative efficiency and… -
ITEP Work in Action November 13, 2013 Michigan League for Public Policy: The Path to Prosperity: Ten Steps Michigan Must Take to Strengthen Its Economy
Over the last decade, Michigan policymakers have addressed the state’s economic and fiscal problems largely through a combination of budget cuts, tax shifts and reliance on one-time revenues–under the mistaken… -
report November 12, 2013 Personal Income Tax Reform: Improving the Fairness of Taxes in the District of Columbia
DC’s tax system is markedly regressive. This is driven largely by the regressive impact of the city’s sales, excise, and property taxes. The personal income tax is the only effective tool that DC has available for offsetting this regressivity. In the comments below I discuss four options for fine-tuning DC’s income tax to lessen its impact on moderate- and middle-income taxpayers. I also describe four options for funding those tax cuts with policies that would increase upper-income taxpayers’ effective tax rates to be more in line with those paid by their less affluent neighbors.
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ITEP Work in Action October 29, 2013 Policy Matters Ohio: Another Ohio tax cut for the affluent?
Senate bill 210 would take the savings from Medicaid expansion and use it for an across-the-board income-tax cut that might buy a cup of coffee for low-income Ohioans but would… -
ITEP Work in Action October 22, 2013 Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: Arkansas tax system should do more for working families
According to a new report from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF), tax changes passed during the 2013 session consisted largely of personal income tax cuts benefiting upper-income taxpayers… -
ITEP Work in Action October 21, 2013 Policy Matters Ohio: A Credit that Counts
More than 440,000 Ohioans will be eligible for the state’s new Earned Income Tax Credit, at an average of $74 per recipient. However, the Ohio EITC is one of the… -
ITEP Work in Action October 17, 2013 Open Sky Policy Institute: “Real Taxpayers of Nebraska” and cutting the top income tax rate
In this “Real Taxpayers” infographic, we examine what cutting Nebraska’s top personal income tax rate to 5.75% would mean for our tax payers. The cut would result in a $156… -
report October 10, 2013 Paying for Education Finance Reform in Colorado
As this report shows, this change would somewhat reduce the steep regressivity of Colorado’s overall tax system. In other words, taxpayers across all income levels would pay a more equal share of their income if Amendment 66 is approved, in large part because most of the revenue raised by the amendment would come from the wealthiest 20 percent of Colorado residents.
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ITEP Work in Action October 3, 2013 Colorado Fiscal Institute: Amendment 66 will Improve Colorado’s Income Tax
Amendment 66 will restore Colorado’s ability to raise enough revenue to meet our schools’ growing needs and make the income tax more like those of our neighboring states, all without… -
ITEP Work in Action September 26, 2013 Oregon Center for Public Policy: A Grandly Flawed Bargain
The revenue package that Governor Kitzhaber has presented to the Oregon legislature to consider in a special session starting September 30 suffers from three major flaws: revenue shrinks after the… -
ITEP Work in Action September 24, 2013 Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: After the Tech Tax Repeal- Remembering the Big Picture
The FY 2014 budget included new investments in our transportation system, in education, and in other areas. Part of the funding for these came from a “tech tax,” which is… -
report September 23, 2013 A Federal Gas Tax for the Future
Gas tax revenues are on an unsustainable course. Over the last five years, Congress has transferred more than $53 billion from the general fund to the transportation fund in order to compensate for lagging gas tax revenues. By 2015, the transportation fund will be insolvent unless an additional $15 billion transfer is made. Larger transfers will be needed in subsequent years.
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ITEP Work in Action September 23, 2013 Center for American Progess: The Real Cost of Cuccinelli
Besides working on these major research projects, I developed CTJ/ITEP’s strong online media presence. One of the most important roles I play is as the primary web manager for both… -
ITEP Work in Action September 23, 2013 Open Sky Policy Institute: A golden opportunity for tax changes
After analyzing options for tax changes put forth by the Tax Modernization Committee, we believe some present a real opportunity to strengthen Nebraska and its economy. Ideas that the… -
report September 19, 2013 Low Tax for Who?
Annual state and local finance data from the Census Bureau are often used to rank states as “low” or “high” tax states based on taxes collected as a share of state personal income. But focusing on a state’s overall tax revenues overlooks the fact that taxpayers experience tax systems very differently. In particular, the poorest 20 percent of taxpayers pay a greater share of their income in state and local taxes than any other income group in all but 10 states (including DC). And, in every state, low- income taxpayers pay more as a share of income than the wealthiest top 1 percent of taxpayers. Arizona, Florida, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington are six states touted as “low tax” that have especially high taxes on poor residents. To learn more about how low tax states overall can be high tax states for families living in poverty, read the state briefs below.
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report September 19, 2013 State Tax Codes As Poverty Fighting Tools
New Census Bureau data released this month show that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high, despite other signs of economic recovery. The national 2012 poverty rate of 15 percent is essentially unchanged since 2010 , but still 2.5 percentage points higher than pre-recession levels. This means that in 2012, 46.5 million, or about 1 in 6 Americans, lived in poverty.1 The poverty rate in most states also held steady with five states experiencing an increase in either the number or share of residents living in poverty while only two states saw a decline.2
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report September 19, 2013 Washington is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
Read the Report in PDF Form See all “Low Tax for Who?” states New data from the Census Bureau appear to lend support to Washington’s reputation as a “low tax… -
report September 19, 2013 Texas is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
Read the Report in PDF Form See all “Low Tax for Who?” states New data from the Census Bureau appear to lend support to Texas’ reputation as a “low tax… -
report September 19, 2013 Tennessee is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
Read the Report in PDF Form See all “Low Tax for Who?” states New data from the Census Bureau appear to lend support to Tennessee’s reputation as a “low tax… -
report September 19, 2013 South Dakota is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
Read the Report in PDF Form See all “Low Tax for Who?” states New data from the Census Bureau lend support to South Dakota’s reputation as a “low tax state,”… -
report September 19, 2013 Florida is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
New data from the Census Bureau appear to lend support to Florida’s reputation as a “low tax state,” ranking it 45th 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 (13.2 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, only two states tax their poorest residents more heavily than Florida.
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report September 19, 2013 Arizona is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
New data from the Census Bureau appear to lend support to Arizona’s reputation as a “low tax state,” ranking it 35th 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 (12.9 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, only four states tax their poorest residents more heavily than Arizona.