
• By ITEP Staff
A more thorough examination of preliminary tax return data for 2007 and 2008 suggests that, while Maryland millionaires may have moved, their most likely destination was a different income group. Read the Full Report (PDF)
• By ITEP Staff
Download the Powerpoint Presentation
• By ITEP Staff
A more careful examination of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data for the period from 1997 to 2006 reveals a far different picture, however. They show that the number of “rich” taxpayers (federal income tax filers with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) in excess of $200,000) rose considerably in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York over the […]
• By ITEP Staff
Consequently, combined reporting represents the most comprehensive option available to states seeking to halt the erosion of their corporate tax bases and to curtail corporate tax avoidance. It ensures that form – specifically, the form in which corporations choose to organize themselves, which may be manipulated to reduce their tax liabilities – does not triumph […]
• By ITEP Staff
Kentucky’s tax system currently faces two serious problems. The first – and most immediate – is that Kentucky’s tax system is insufficient, as it fails to produce enough revenue to fund the public services on which Kentuckians rely. Recent data from the Commonwealth’s Consensus Forecasting Group (CFG) indicate that Kentucky faces a $996 million budget […]
• By ITEP Staff
As Kentucky grapples with the news of a potential $1 billion budget shortfall, there are good reasons for state lawmakers to turn to progressive tax reform instead of resorting to painful spending cuts. Kentucky’s overall tax structure is currently quite regressive, meaning that low-and middle-income families pay more as a share of their income in […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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) […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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, […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]
• 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 […]