Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

Michigan League for Human Services: All Pain, No Gain

January 14, 2013

Michigan has a regressive tax system, meaning that lower-income people pay a bigger share of their income in state and local taxes than higher-income people. Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan would make it even more regressive, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington D.C.-based nonpartisan think tank. In fact, […]

Maine Center for Economic Policy: MECEP Urges Legislature to Expand and Simplify Maine’s Property Tax “Circuit Breaker”

January 14, 2013

The Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP)today urged the members of the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Taxation to support L.D. 474, “An Act to Reduce the Property Tax Burden and Improve the Circuit Breaker Program.” The Maine Residents Property Tax and Rent Refund Program, popularly known as the “Circuit Breaker,” provides eligible Maine residents […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Four Revenue Options that Should Be on the Table

January 14, 2013

The Kentucky legislature is debating ways to address the hole in the state’s Medicaid budget. The options under consideration include immediate across-the-board budget cuts as well as eventual cuts to non-education programs if the governor’s proposed Medicaid savings for 2012 are not achieved. But before enacting painful cuts that are on top of several years […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Testimony Regarding Senate Bill No. 1007: An Act Concerning the Governor’s Recommendations on Revenue

January 14, 2013

“Today I submit testimony regarding Senate Bill 1007 An Act Concerning the Governor’s Recommendations on Revenue, in particular, regarding components of the act which concern the personal income tax. Specifically, this testimony makes three broad points: 1) The Governor’s personal income tax proposals generally represent an improvement to Connecticut’s current income tax. 2) The total […]

Children’s Action Alliance: The Flat Tax Proposal – Winners and Losers – Which One Are You?

January 14, 2013

Arizona families need a budget that works for them. HB 2636 doesn’t do that. Instead, it provides significant tax breaks to those at higher income levels at the expense of low- and middle-income Arizonans.

Center for Public Policy Priorities: Who Pays Texas Taxes

January 14, 2013

Our quality of life in Texas depends on our public structures-including public education, child health services, and transportation infrastructure–maintained by Texas tax dollars, A good tax system would not only provide adequate revenue to maintain these structures, but would also match the share of taxes paid with the share of income earned by each Texas […]

The Poverty Institute: A 21st Century Sales Tax Why Governor Chafee’s plan to modernize the sales tax is necessary

January 14, 2013

Rhode Island must modernize its antiquated sales tax in order to maintain investments in public services that improve our quality of life, protect our families and businesses, and help grow our economy. Today, we have one of the most narrow sales tax bases in the country, and our collections from this important source of revenue […]

North Dakota Economic Policy Project: Proposed Rate Cuts Would Make North Dakota Tax System More Unfair

January 14, 2013

“North Dakota Legislators are proposing nearly a half billion dollars in tax cuts, reductions and exemptions this session. Some of those tax breaks may be warranted, but they should be targeted primarily to North Dakotans working to sustain or achieve a middle class life.”

NC Policy Watch: The Devil’s in the Details- Health and Human Services

January 14, 2013

Legislative leaders announced their intent to cut $592 million from the state’s health and human services budget next year, which is $372 million more than the $212 million in FY11-12 cuts proposed in the Governor’s budget. To put the legislature’s proposal in perspective, the state’s $4.9 billion health and human services budget is second only […]

North Carolina Justice Center: A Plan to Modernize North Carolina’s Revenue System

January 14, 2013

State leaders must create a budget that meets the population’s needs and allows them to make the investments that will prepare North Carolina for future prosperity. But these goals are made more difficult to achieve by the state’s deteriorated revenue system, which even in the best of times cannot produce the resources required for education, […]

Mississippi Economic Policy Center: Thank Taxes- Tax Day 2011

January 14, 2013

Everyone who gets a paycheck pays payroll taxes. Everyone who buys anything at a local store or fills up their car with gas pays taxes. Individuals and businesses alike, benefit from the public structures paid for by taxes. The figure below shows the estimated share of state and local taxes as a percentage of income […]

Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy: Tax Giveaways to Corporations Deserve a Look As Floridians Mark Tax Day

January 14, 2013

“This initial report examines a small portion of the many “economic development incentive” programs funded by the legislature that direct tens of millions of tax dollars each year to corporations under the guise of job creation. Whether the subsidies work often is open to question. Official state reports suggest that half or more of the […]

California Budget Project: Who Pays Taxes in California?

January 14, 2013

Former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once noted that, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” State and local taxes support our public schools, streets and highways, public hospitals that form the backbone of the state’s trauma care system, parks and beaches, the public health infrastructure that ensures that our food is safe […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Testimony to the House Finance and Appropriations Committee on Substitute House Bill 153

January 14, 2013

We remain concerned with House Bill 153 and the numerous and drastic cuts that it makes to education, local governments and a wide range of public services. While the committee has restored funding for some important services, others have been reduced. This will be a zero sum game unless the General Assembly takes the necessary […]

North Dakota Economic Policy Project: Revised Analysis of 2011 Individual Income Tax Reductions

January 14, 2013

“North Dakota Legislators passed nearly a half billion dollars in tax cuts, reductions and exemptions this session. Some of those tax breaks may have been warranted, but they should have been targeted primarily to North Dakotans working to sustain or achieve a middle class life. One tax cut passed by the 2011 Legislature reduced the […]

Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada: Bridging the Gap: Building a Sound Tax System for the Silver State

January 14, 2013

With such a deficient, upside-down structure, it is no accident that Nevada, a state blessed with great natural and financial resources, has in fifteen years slipped from 7th to 14th in per capita income among all states (and from 17th to 20th in median household income), or that it currently has the nation’s highest unemployment […]

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Facts At A Glance – The Income Tax: Another Reform Option

January 14, 2013

Previous MassBudget fact sheets have examined the Massachusetts personal income tax and a number of reform options (see “Facts At A Glance: The Income Tax”, available at http://www.massbudget.org/768). This Facts At A Glance examines another reform option (currently before the Legislature) that would make changes to the way the Commonwealth taxes wage and salary income […]

Campaign for Our Communities: Support Public Education and Other Vital Services!

January 14, 2013

“We need to invest in our communities and keep middle-class families working and earning! An Act to Invest in Our Communities – HB 2553 / SB 1416 – does just that. This bill takes a balanced approach to the fiscal crisis by raising revenue to maintain the services we need and value. By asking more […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Extending Federal Tax Cuts Would Double the Deficit for the Benefit of the Wealthiest

January 14, 2013

Ten years ago, large federal tax cuts were signed into law by President Bush. Those cuts are now set to expire at the end of 2012. Extending them beyond that date would almost double the size of the federal budget deficit, and in Kentucky close to half of the tax cuts from an extension would […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: 2011 Revenue Results a Reminder of Importance of State Income Taxes

January 14, 2013

The $166 million in state revenues above projections for the fiscal year that just ended are helping prevent additional cuts to critical state services. They are also a reminder of the advantages of a broad-based tax system and in particular the importance of Kentucky’s individual and corporate income taxes. Read the Full Report (PDF)

Connecticut Voices for Children: After 2011 Tax Reforms, Connecticut’s Wealthy Still Pay Smallest Share of Income in State and Local Taxes

January 14, 2013

Despite recent efforts to make the Connecticut tax system fairer, the wealthiest 1% of our residents will still pay only half as much of their income in state and local taxes as the poor and middle class, according to a new analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The state and local tax […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Benchmarking Connecticut

January 14, 2013

As Connecticut works towards a plan for economic growth and job creation, it is essential that we understand our strengths and weaknesses. This brief fact sheet outlines several indicators — “benchmarks — that should inform our policy discussion about jobs, economic competitiveness, and shared prosperity for all Connecticut families. Read the Full Report (PDF)

Washington State Budget & Policy Center: A Capital Reform

January 14, 2013

To create jobs, spur long-term economic growth, and foster prosperity, Washington state desperately needs to rebuild its eroding education, public health, and community safety infrastructure. Our state has a powerful, but untapped resource to accomplish this: capital gains. A modest tax on some capital gains would help fuel economic recovery and opportunity for future generations […]

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Proposal to Eliminate Income Taxes Amounts to a Tax Increase on Bottom 80 Percent of Louisianans

January 11, 2013 • By Meg Wiehe

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has said that he supports the elimination of the state's personal and corporate income taxes. In fiscal year 2012, Louisiana collected nearly $3 billion in revenues from its personal and corporate income taxes.

Fiscal Policy Institute: The Tax Shift

January 8, 2013

New York State is at a crossroads. Our tax structure is scheduled to change in a way that will render state revenues inadequate for the budget years ahead. Hundreds of thousands of households struggle to pay property tax bills that represent an inordinate share of their incomes. And, in the aftermath of the Great Recession, […]