1,134 posts
Washington is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
• By Meg Wiehe
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 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 […]
Texas is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
• By Meg Wiehe
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 state,” ranking it 40th nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income. 1 But focusing on the state’s overall tax revenues has led […]
Tennessee is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
• By Meg Wiehe
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 state,” ranking it 49th nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income.1 But focusing on the state’s overall tax revenues has led many […]
South Dakota is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
• By Meg Wiehe
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,” ranking it 50th nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income, the lowest overall tax state.1 But focusing on the state’s overall tax […]
Florida is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
• By Meg Wiehe
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…
Arizona is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
• By Meg Wiehe
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…
North Carolina Justice Center: Final Tax Plan Falls Far Short of True Tax Reform
• By ITEP Staff
The tax plan recently signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory fails to make the fundamental changes North Carolina needs to create a modern, adequate and fair revenue system that can boost the state’s economy and strengthen schools, health care and other services families need to prosper and the economy needs to grow. The plan […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Cutting taxes isn’t helping Ohio
• By ITEP Staff
For years, North Dakota has had the lowest unemployment rate of any state in the nation. Nevada, by contrast, has had the highest. North Dakota has a personal income tax, while Nevada has no personal income tax. There are, of course, other states that show a different pattern. We cite this to illustrate that taxes, […]
South Dakota: Should SD repeal the grocery sales tax with a revenue neutral sales tax increase?
• By ITEP Staff
SD HB1154 proposes lowering state sales tax on certain food items and increasing sales tax on other goods and services in a revenue-neutral exchange. Read the Full Report
A Closer Look at TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights)
• By ITEP Staff
Colorado has become infamous for its Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, a constitutional amendment restricting growth in revenue collections to an arbitrary "population-plus-inflation" formula. Although TABOR has had significant negative effects on Colorado's finances, similar proposals have surfaced in at least 30 states over the past decade. None of these proposals were approved, and in five states they were placed directly on a state-wide ballot where they were rejected by voters. Even in Colorado…
Tax Expenditure Reports: A Vital Tool with Room for Improvement
• By Carl Davis
State and local tax codes include a huge array of special tax breaks designed to accomplish almost every goal imaginable: from encouraging homeownership and scientific research, to building radioactive fallout shelters and caring for "exceptional" trees. Despite being embedded in the tax code, these programs are typically enacted with tax policy issues like fairness, efficiency, and sustainability only as secondary considerations. Accordingly, these programs have long been called "tax expenditures." They are essentially government spending…
Tax Incentives: Costly for States, Drag on the Nation
• By Carl Davis
Tax incentives are intended to spur economic growth that would not have otherwise occurred. More specifically, these narrowly targeted tax breaks are usually offered in an attempt to convince businesses to relocate, hire, and/or invest within a state's borders.
Open Sky Policy Institute: Analysis shows large chunk of income-tax cut would leave Nebraska
• By ITEP Staff
Ahead of Tuesday’s Tax Modernization Committee meeting on the state’s corporate and personal individual income taxes, OpenSky commissioned the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) to forecast a hypothetical scenario in which the state cuts its top income tax rate to 5 percent. The analysis showed about 40 percent of the tax cut […]
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Tax Shift Plans Threaten Georgia’s Future
• By ITEP Staff
Despite support from powerful out-of-state interests, tax shift plans are misguided roadmaps for change. Georgia’s lawmakers should ignore the siren’s call and firmly reject the fringe, copycat idea during its likely appearance in the 2014 legislative session that begins in January. Read the Full Report (PDF)
The White House: Fixing Our Broken Immigration System
• By ITEP Staff
Trends in the agriculture sector – due in part to growing domestic demand for fresh fruit and vegetables year-round – indicate that farmworkers are increasingly settling permanently in places where they previously worked temporarily.37 This means not only a more stable and available workforce for farmers, but also higher, year-round consumer demand in the local […]
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
• By Meg Wiehe
Sales taxes are an important revenue source, comprising close to half of all state revenues in 2012. But sales taxes are also inherently regressive because the lower a family's income, the more of its income the family must spend on things subject to the tax.
North Carolina Justice Center: The Math Doesn’t Add Up
• By ITEP Staff
The latest Senate tax plan continues to provide large tax cuts to the wealthiest taxpayers and profitable corporations, while shifting more of the overall tax load to middle-class families and reducing revenue for schools, health care and other services by nearly $1 billion each year when fully implemented. While Senators say the new scheme addresses […]
New Jersey Policy Perspective: New Jersey’s Undocumented Immigrants Pay Nearly Half a Billion Dollars a Year in State and Local Taxes; Immigration Reform Would Boost These Revenues by $81 Million
• By ITEP Staff
With fiscal costs and benefits figuring large in the immigration reform debate, a new analysis estimates that unauthorized immigrants are already paying $10.6 billion a year in state and local taxes nationwide, including $476 million in New Jersey. The study, released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), also estimates that New […]
The Commonwealth Institute: Immigration Reform Generates Revenue
• By ITEP Staff
State and local tax contributions of undocumented immigrants in Virginia would increase 42 percent to $259.6 million from $183 million under immigration reform, according to a new report released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Nationally, state and local contributions would increase by more than $2 billion. Read the Full Report
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Immigration Reform Would Bolster Georgia’s Strained Finances
• By ITEP Staff
Georgia would gain nearly $100 million in state and local tax revenue each year if Congress allows undocumented immigrants now living in the United States to work here legally, according to a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Comprehensive immigration reform is under debate in Washington and passing a forward-looking […]
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Four Steps to Moving State Sales Taxes Into the 21st Century
• By ITEP Staff
Antiquated sales taxes are hindering states’ ability to strengthen their economies. As they emerge from the recession and look to compete in a 21st century economy, many states are recognizing the urgent need to invest in highly competitive education systems, modern transportation networks, and a range of other innovative public initiatives that will form a […]
Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contributions (2013)
• By Matthew Gardner, Meg Wiehe
In the public debates over federal immigration reform, much has been made of the argument that undocumented immigrants would be a drain on federal, state and local government resources if granted legal status under reform. But it is also true that the 11.2 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States are already taxpayers, and that their local, state and federal tax contributions would increase under reform.
New Jersey Policy Perspective: Invest in New Jersey: Improve Our Roads and Bridges
• By ITEP Staff
Fixing New Jersey’s crumbling roads and bridges is vital to energizing the state’s lagging recovery from the Great Recession. Without a sound transportation system that allows businesses to cheaply and efficiently move their goods to market and eases the commute of working men and women, New Jersey’s economy will continue to trail its neighbors. Rather […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Tax plan still rewards affluent, leaves some of poorest Ohioans paying more
• By ITEP Staff
Last-minute tweaks in the tax plan put forward by Ohio House and Senate Republicans do not significantly change its impact for different income groups. The plan still will reward Ohio’s most affluent with average annual tax cuts of more than $6,000 a year, while low-income Ohioans will pay slightly more. That is the conclusion of […]
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