Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

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ITEP Testimony on Corporate Tax Reform before the New York State Senate Select Committee on Budget and Tax Reform

May 21, 2009 • By ITEP Staff

The stated purpose of this hearing is to evaluate the impact of New York’s business taxes on equity and economic growth. These are laudable concerns: the most basic questions to ask about any corporate break are whether they are allocated fairly, and whether there’s any reason to think they will help create jobs in New […]

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Ready, Set, Reform – How the Income Tax Can Help Make the Illinois Tax System Fairer and More Sustainable

May 15, 2009 • By ITEP Staff

The Illinois tax system faces a crisis of both adequacy and equity. The state must confront a projected $11.6 billion budget shortfall over the next two fiscal years that will likely require a variety of difficult spending and tax policy choices, and also faces a fundamental long-term mismatch between its spending needs and the revenues […]

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Analysis of HJR 36 “Fair” Tax Plan

May 1, 2009 • By ITEP Staff

Earlier this week, the Missouri Senate Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on House Joint Resolution 36, which would eliminate the state’s individual and corporate income taxes while increasing the state’s sales tax rate and applying the sales tax to all consumer spending. The bill would also introduce a sales tax rebate to offset […]

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Fact Sheet on HB64 Income Tax Proposal

April 23, 2009 • By ITEP Staff

Missouri House Bill 64 would change the state’s personal income tax in three important ways: • Expand the starting point for the 6 percent top income tax bracket from $9,000 to $50,000 of taxable income.• Increase the deduction for federal income taxes paid from $10,000 for married couples($5,000 for single filers) to $15,000 for married […]

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Fact Sheet on SB71 Proposed Income Tax Rate Cut

April 23, 2009 • By ITEP Staff

This policy brief examines the impact of the principal tax change in House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 71, which would decrease each of the state’s income tax rates by 0.5 percent. Missouri’s income tax rate structure currently starts at 1.5 percent for filers with taxable income below $1,000 and increases in thousand dollar increments […]

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Budget Hikes Taxes on Low-Income Families to Pay for High-End Capital Gains Cuts

April 7, 2009 • By ITEP Staff

On Friday, April 3, the Georgia General Assembly passed a budget for fiscal year 2010 that includes a major new tax cut (an exclusion for long-term capital gains income) and a substantial tax increase (eliminating a state-funded property tax relief program). A new analysis by the Washington, DC-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) […]

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A Capital Idea: Repealing State Tax Breaks for Capital Gains Would Ease Budget Woes and Improve Tax Fairness

March 15, 2009 • By ITEP Staff

This report explains what capital gains are, how they are treated for tax purposes, and who typically receives them. It also details the consequences of providing preferential tax treatment for capital gains income for states’ budgets, taxpayers, and economies in nine key states. Lastly, it responds to claims about both the relationship between capital gains […]

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ITEP Testimony on HB 642 Tax Reform Proposal before the New Hampshire General Court House Committee on Ways & Means

March 5, 2009 • By ITEP Staff

I am here today to offer testimony on House Bill 642, which was introduced by Representative Jessie Osborne earlier this year and which would improve New Hampshire’s tax system, both by generating additional revenue and by shifting greater responsibility for such revenue onto those state residents with a greater ability to pay. In the time […]

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ITEP Testimony on HB 567 Income Tax Reform

February 18, 2009 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today focuses on one bill introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives: HB 567, which concerns reforming the state’s individual income tax structure. In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of this bill on the overall fairness of Missouri’s tax system. This bill would make the overall tax structure more equitable and […]

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ITEP’s Public Comments to the Governor’s 21st Century Tax Reform Commission

September 15, 2008 • By ITEP Staff

We appreciate the opportunity to submit comments on ways to improve Minnesota’s business climate. Historically, Minnesota has ranked above the national average in terms of many economic and social indicators. These public services are what foster economic development and what businesses look for when making location decisions. In fact, “research shows an emerging consensus that […]

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Latest IRS Data Reveal Fundamental Mismatches in the States

August 15, 2008 • By ITEP Staff

Data released late last week by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indicate that 10 states have greater concentrations of reported income among their very wealthiest residents than the country as a whole. Unfortunately, the tax systems in those ten states generally ignore that very important reality. Of those ten states: • four lack a broad-based […]

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Fair and Sustainable Tax Reform: Options for Louisiana

June 15, 2008 • By ITEP Staff

Louisiana lawmakers are in what appears to be an enviable position. At a time when legislators in many other states face daunting budget shortfalls, Louisiana enjoys a projected short-term budget surplus for the upcoming fiscal year. But Louisiana’s tax system remains troubled in one important sense. It is profoundly unfair, imposing much higher effective tax […]

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Building a Better Tax Cut: An Alternative to SB 87

May 19, 2008 • By ITEP Staff

On Wednesday, May 14, 2008, the House Ways and Means Committee approved SB 87, a measure originally sponsored by Senator Buddy Shaw and now backed by Governor Bobby Jindal. The measure would reduce state income taxes by close to $300 million per year, but a new analysis by the Washington, DC-based Institute on Taxation and […]

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ITEP Testimony on Combined Reporting, Before the Massachusetts General Court Joint Committee on Revenue

March 5, 2008 • By ITEP Staff

Over the past few months, a strong consensus appears to have developed here in Massachusetts, a consensus that the Commonwealth should put a stop to tax avoidance by large and profitable businesses and adopt a new approach to its corporate excise tax – a method of taxation commonly referred to as combined reporting. I want […]

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Assembly’s Tax Plan: More Revenue, Less Fairness

November 20, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

The tax plan approved by the Maryland General Assembly on Monday will help provide the revenue necessary to fund vital public services in Maryland, but, according to the latest analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), working families will bear the brunt of the tax changes contained in the plan. All told, […]

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Senate Plan Falls Hardest on Low-Income Marylanders

November 15, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

A new analysis of the tax legislation approved by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Tuesday shows that the Senate’s tax changes would impose the largest tax hikes, as a share of income, on low- and middle-income Marylanders. The analysis also shows that the Senate plan’s regressive impact is in sharp contrast to the […]

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ITEP Testimony on Governor’s Plan: Expanding the Sales Tax

November 7, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today focuses on the sales tax legislation included in the Tax Reform Act of 2007. In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of the bill’s expansion of the sales tax base to include more services. The proposed changes are an important first step toward a more sustainable Maryland tax system. But, because […]

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ITEP Testimony on Governor’s Plan: Improving the Income Tax

November 1, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today focuses on the proposed changes to Maryland’s personal income tax put forward by Governor O’Malley and the impact that those changes would have on Marylanders at different income levels. Before I present the substance of my analysis of the Governor’s proposal, however, I would like to describe three important contexts for you […]

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ITEP Testimony on Governor’s Plan: Corporate Tax Reform

October 31, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony examines a problem facing not just Maryland, but a number of different states – the erosion of the corporate income tax and the related emergence of profitable “zero-tax corporations.” I also will discuss the single best strategy available to lawmakers seeking to respond to the problem of corporate tax avoidance – mandatory combined […]

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Assessing the Income Tax Treatment of Social Security Benefits

May 15, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

Early in the 2007 legislative session Missouri Governor Matt Blunt and House Speaker Rod Jetton made eliminating the state’s personal income tax on Social Security benefits a priority. In May, the legislature passed a bill that would eliminate the income tax on Social Security benefits for some better-off seniors. This bill is currently awaiting Governor […]

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Combined Reporting – How Does Your State Stack Up?

April 15, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

Over the past few years, a number of states, seeking to address longstanding flaws in their corporate income taxes and significant declines in the revenue they yield, have instituted a major reform: combined reporting. Combined reporting requires multi-state corporations to report the income earned by both the parent corporation and all of its subsidiaries and […]

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ITEP Testimony on Tax Reform Bill HB750 in Illinois

March 20, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today focuses on the revenue-raising tax reform bill, House Bill 750 and Illinois’ current tax structure. In particular, my testimony will discuss the state’s current tax structure and reveal the opportunity that HB 750 provides. Read the Full Report (PDF)

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ITEP Testimony on Nebraska EITC Expansion

March 9, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony focuses on Legislative Bill 683, which would expand the Nebraska Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of this bill on the overall fairness of Nebraska’s tax system. Read the Full Report (PDF)

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Broad-Based Gross Receipts Taxes: A Worthwhile Alternative?

March 1, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

States currently face a number of fiscal challenges, ranging from unresolved structural deficit, to underlying flaws in their existing tax systems, to the demands posed by ambitious initiatives such as improved access to health care. In response, some policymakers are casting about for new alternatives for generating revenue that do not seem to require visible or difficult changes in law. One such alternative that has gained in popularity in the past few years is a broad-based gross receipts tax.

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ITEP Testimony on Combined Corporate Income Tax Reporing in Maryland

February 28, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today examines a problem facing not just Maryland, but a number of different states – the erosion of the corporate income tax and the related emergence of profitable “zero-tax corporations.” I also will discuss the single best strategy available to lawmakers seeking to respond to the problem of corporate tax avoidance – mandatory […]