Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

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ITEP Testimony on HB 444 Proposal to Exclude Social Security Benefits from Tax

January 30, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today focuses on one bill introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives: HB 444, which concerns excluding Social Security Benefits from the Missouri’s income tax. In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of this bill on the overall fairness of Missouri’s tax system. Read the Full Report (PDF)

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Dollars and Cents – Bringing Nebraska’s Tax System Into the 21st Century (Powerpoint)

January 17, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

Goals of the Workshop • What makes a good state tax system?• How does Nebraska’s tax system (and those of other states) fall short?• Options for reform: A national perspective• Back to reality: the best and worst of tax reform in 2005-2006.• Federal legislation: threats & opportunities Download the Powerpoint

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Why Large Corporations Can Do Business in Your State Tax-Free – The “Substantial Nexus” Test

December 15, 2006 • By ITEP Staff

The holiday season is in full swing — and chances are you’re buying gifts on the Internet or over the phone, from people you will never meet and companies that will never set foot in your state. These companies are clearly benefitting from services provided by your state government. They could not conduct their business […]

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How Will the 2006 Special Session Affect Louisiana Tax Fairness?

December 12, 2006 • By ITEP Staff

Louisiana lawmakers currently face a pleasant dilemma: how to dispose of a short-term budget surplus exceeding $2 billion. In the opening days of the special legislative session that began last Friday, tax writers in the House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee approved several bills that would reduce state income tax collections substantially. This analysis […]

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Analysis of Proposed Capital Gains Tax Cut

July 15, 2006 • By ITEP Staff

The Ohio legislature is considering a proposal to scrap the current Ohio rule that taxes capital gains (profits from selling stock, investment real estate, etc.) at the same rates as other income. The plan would reduce the maximum Ohio tax rate on capital gains as follows: In 2007, from the currently scheduled 6.555 percent to […]

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ITEP Testimony on HB 1960 Proposed Income Tax Reform

April 5, 2006 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today focuses on one bill introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives: HB 1960, 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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Achieving Adequacy: Tax Options for New York in the Wake of the CFE Case

April 15, 2005 • By ITEP Staff

Achieving Adequacy is intended to provide a useful resource for understanding the impact of recent school finance legislation on the state’s tax and education system. The study examines options available to New York policy makers as they seek to adequately fund elementary and secondary education and other public services. Read the Full Report (PDF)

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ITEP Testimony Bill 16-35 Proposed Income Tax Changes

March 14, 2005 • By ITEP Staff

ITEP’s analysis of Bill 16-35 shows that it would impact the District’s tax system in two important ways. First, the bill would make the District’s tax system less unfair by reducing the income tax on low- and middle-income D.C. residents. Second, it would reduce the revenues available to fund public services by about $86 million […]

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ITEP Testimony on SB 403 and SB 748 – Combined Reporting & Corporate Minimum Tax

March 9, 2005 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today focuses on a trend in the Maryland corporate income tax that is becoming increasingly visible—the emergence of profitable “zero-tax corporations”—and on two effective and complementary solutions to this problem, mandatory combined reporting and a gross-receipts-based minimum corporate tax. Requiring combined reporting of the income of multi-state corporations would help ensure the long-term […]

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State Corporate Income Taxes 2001-2003

February 15, 2005 • By ITEP Staff

Last September, Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy published Corporate Income Taxes in the Bush Years, an in-depth look at the taxes that 275 large, profitable corporations paid, or failed to pay, on their U.S. profits over the 2001-03 period. That study found that by 2003, these corporations were […]

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The Impact of the Tennessee Tax Structure Study Commission’s Tax Reform Recommendations on Tax Fairness

December 14, 2004 • By ITEP Staff

Tennessee’s tax system is regressive, requiring low- and middle-income families to pay more of their income in tax than wealthier Tennesseans. A tax reform plan recently proposed by the Tennessee Tax Structure Study Commission would reduce the state sales tax, repeal local sales taxes, cut business taxes, and introduce a personal income tax. This analysis […]

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Corporate Income Taxes in the Bush Years

September 15, 2004 • By ITEP Staff

This study details which companies have benefitted the most from the decline in corporate taxes over the past three years, and which have been less fortunate. It also measures the effects of loopholes in our corporate tax laws that predated the George W. Bush administration. Specifically, the study looks at the federal income taxes paid […]

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The Effects of Replacing Most Federal Taxes with a National Sales Tax

September 15, 2004 • By ITEP Staff

Recently, there has been renewed discussion of the possibility of replacing most federal taxes with a national retail sales tax. Such an idea was broached in the 1990s, but political interest waned when it was discovered that it would take a sales-tax rate well in excess of 50 percent to replace existing federal revenues. In […]

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The Impact of the Ron Sims Tax Plan on Washington Tax Fairness

August 17, 2004 • By ITEP Staff

Washington’s tax system is regressive, requiring low- and middle-income families to pay far more of their income in tax than wealthier Washingtonians. A tax reform plan recently proposed by gubernatorial candidate Ron Sims would change the state’s tax system by repealing the state’s general business tax and the state sales tax, creating a $100,000 homeowner’s […]

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A Primer on State Rainy Day Funds

July 1, 2004 • By ITEP Staff

In recent years, most state governments have experienced painful budget deficits. Many states have reacted to these shortfalls by cutting spending or increasing taxes. Almost all states now have a third option that can help postpone these painful decisions: using a rainy day fund (RDF). Like a savings account, an RDF sets aside surplus revenue during periods of economic growth for use in times of budget shortfalls. This policy brief takes a closer look at how rainy day funds can help states through difficult fiscal times, and assesses options for improving the adequacy of these funds.

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Federal Taxation of Earnings Versus Investment Income in 2004

May 15, 2004 • By ITEP Staff

How do personal taxes on total investment income compare to taxes on earnings right now? This paper addresses that question. The analysis includes both the individual income tax, which applies in varying degrees to both earnings and investment income, and Social Security and Medicare taxes, which apply only to wages and selfemployment earnings. The central […]

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Value Added Taxes: An Option for States?

May 1, 2004 • By ITEP Staff

In recent months, lawmakers in a number of states have suggested that a particular type of sales tax, called the value-added tax or VAT, might be a cure-all for state budgetary problems. Although Michigan is the only state that currently relies on a VAT as a major revenue source, several other states have recently considered implementing this type of tax. This policy brief evaluates the case for (and against) implementing a VAT at the state level.

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State Corporate Tax Disclosure: Why It’s Needed

May 1, 2004 • By ITEP Staff

Corporate income taxes are in decline. Corporate tax revenues represent a smaller piece of the federal and state tax pie than at almost any time since World War II. While it is possible to diagnose some of the reasons for this decline on the federal level, very little public information is available to help policymakers evaluate the health of the corporate taxes collected by state governments. For this reason, some policymakers have called for better public disclosure of how much the biggest corporations are paying in state taxes. This policy brief evaluates arguments in favor of (and against) requiring detailed…

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Does Personal Income Tax Progressivity Inhibit Economic Growth?

April 15, 2004 • By ITEP Staff

What is the relationship between income tax burdens and state economic growth? A December 2003 study by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA), titled Income Tax Progressivity in Oklahoma: Hindering Economic Growth, Variating State Revenue, attempts to weigh in on this issue. The authors of the report claim that Oklahoma’s personal income tax is […]

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The Distributional Impact of SB 1374’s Personal Income Tax Changes

March 30, 2004 • By ITEP Staff

The Missouri personal income tax currently applies a graduated rate structure with tax rates ranging from 1.5 percent to 6 percent of taxable income. This rate structure is applied to a tax base that starts with federal adjusted gross income, but allows a variety of special deductions and exemptions that allow some Missourians to reduce […]

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ITEP Testimony on Maryland Tax Reform Options

March 10, 2004 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today focuses on two revenue-raising tax bills introduced in the Maryland House of Delegates: HB 1061, the “Millionaire’s Tax Surcharge,” and HB 1306, the “Maryland Progressive Income Tax Reform Act of 2004.” In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of each bill on the fairness of the Maryland tax system, and will […]

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Tax Options for Arkansas: Funding Education After the Lake View Case

July 15, 2003 • By ITEP Staff

The purpose of this study is to analyze the implications of the Lake View case for the future of financing public education in Arkansas. The study has three broad goals: First, the report provides a detailed menu of revenue- raising options that could be used to meet the Lake View spending mandates. Second, the report […]

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Options for Income Tax Simplification in Iowa

March 15, 2003 • By ITEP Staff

Simplicity is generally seen as a virtue in tax systems. The National Council of State Legislatures argues that a properly functioning tax system should “facilitate taxpayer compliance by avoiding a maze of taxes, forms and filing requirements.”1 Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack has echoed this sentiment, calling for a move to a “postcard” income tax in […]

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The Impact of Imposing a “Flat Tax” on Missouri Personal Income

January 28, 2003 • By ITEP Staff

The Missouri personal income tax currently applies a graduated rate structure with tax rates ranging from 1.5 percent to 6 percent of income. This rate structure is applied to a tax base that starts with federal adjusted gross income, but allows a series of special deductions and exemptions that allow some Missourians to reduce their […]

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Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems of All 50 States [2003 Edition]

January 15, 2003 • By ITEP Staff

State governments are facing a profound fiscal crisis. In the past year, states have grappled with mounting budgetary shortfalls, as tax revenues have slumped while spending pressures have continued to grow—and these problems will probably get even worse in the upcoming year. As state and local governments are forced to make hard decisions about how […]