Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

ITEP's Research Priorities

Indiana Capitol Chronicle: Indiana Lawmakers To Weigh Joining Trump’s Tax Cuts

December 23, 2025

One worry with Indiana adopting all the federal changes is that it would further reduce the state’s tax base, said Neva Butkus, a senior analyst for the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. That could make the state more dependent on its 7% sales tax — among the highest in the country — that […]

Maine Center for Economic Policy: Tax Conformity Decisions Will Shape Maine’s Future (Part 1: Maine Shouldn’t Fall for Policy Gimmicks)

December 22, 2025

Policy gimmicks in HR 1 disguise its true nature as a huge tax giveaway to the ultra-wealthy and big corporations — Maine should not compromise the future well-being of its residents to give tax breaks to the rich. Read more.

Every Texan: Highest Tax Rates in the State Fall on Texans of Color

December 19, 2025

The income groups paying the highest tax rates in Texas are disproportionately Hispanic and Black, whereas the lowest-taxed group (the wealthiest 5%) is predominantly white. Read more.

Associated Press: States Faces a Choice on Whether To Embrace Trump’s Tax Cuts on Tips, Overtime and More

December 19, 2025

Lawmakers across the U.S. will be debating whether to adopt new federal tax breaks for tips, overtime and business expenses… “States in general are approaching this skeptically,” said Carl Davis, research director at the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more.

DC Fiscal Policy Institute: DC Tax Credits for Households with Low Incomes Will Reduce Child Poverty by One-Fifth

December 19, 2025

This November, the DC Council significantly increased economic security for approximately 78,000 children and their families through legislation that restores the District’s Child Tax Credit (CTC) and strengthens the DC Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Read more.

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: A State Budget for an Affordable Kentucky: Preview of the 2026–2028 Budget of the Commonwealth

December 17, 2025

The Kentucky General Assembly will perform its most important job — crafting a two-year state budget that funds education, health, social services and other critical needs. But unlike recent years, when pandemic-era stimulus created robust revenue growth, lawmakers are now facing a serious budget crunch due to the loss of federal funds, a weakening economy […]

The Milbank Quarterly: The 2021 Child Tax Credit and Children’s Health and Well-Being: Evidence From a National Longitudinal Study

December 16, 2025

Evidence suggests the 2021 temporary Child Tax Credit expansion reduced material hardship and improved parental mental health. This expansion was also associated with improvements in child behavioral health. Read more.

Nevada Law Journal: Nothing to Gain: The Disparate Impact of the Capital Gains Tax Preference on Women and Persons of Color

December 16, 2025

This article provides a brief history of the capital gains preference, examines statistical income and wealth disparities based on gender and race, and proposes solutions to reduce the negative impact of the capital gains preference that leaves behind women and persons of color. Read more.

Senators and House Members Warn Treasury Against Delivering Retroactive Tax Break to Billionaire Corporations

December 15, 2025

Billionaire corporations have engaged in a lobbying blitz with the Treasury to obtain a retroactive R&E carveout from the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax. Lawmakers are urging the Treasury not to further rig the tax code in favor of billionaire corporations. Read more.

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President Trump Says His Tariffs Aren’t Paid by Americans. Corporations Are Indicating the Opposite.

December 15, 2025 • By Logan Liguore

President Trump Says His Tariffs Aren’t Paid by Americans. Corporations Are Indicating the Opposite.

Corporations have publicly revealed that they are passing the cost of tariffs on to Americans—the opposite of what the executive branch has said is happening.

The New York Times: Businesses Are Cashing In on Trump’s Tax Cuts

December 12, 2025

“We are giving companies an awful lot of money to do something they were going to do anyway; that’s the issue with most tax incentives,” said Matt Gardner. Read more.

The Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott Wants a Tighter Lid on Home Values. Tax Policy Experts Warn That’s a Bad Idea

December 11, 2025

Gov. Greg Abbott wants to put a tighter lid on how fast property values can rise in a bid to deliver property tax relief to homeowners and businesses — but tax policy experts across the political spectrum warn the proposal wouldn’t address the root causes of higher tax bills and would backfire with severe consequences. […]

ProPublica: Wave of Tax Cuts Has Left Many States Vulnerable to Trump SNAP and Medicaid Crisis

December 10, 2025

President Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act will shift billions in costs for SNAP and Medicaid to states. But with 26 having cut or eliminated state income taxes just since 2021, they may not have the money to continue the programs. Read more.

Associated Press: Governor Suggests Hawaii May Scale Back on Income Tax Cuts, Tap Reserves To Help Balance Budget

December 10, 2025

Some critics questioned the structure of the tax cuts from the beginning, citing analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that concluded nearly half of the savings from the income tax cuts would go to the top the top 20% of earners, meaning people who earn more than $147,000 annually. It now appears Green may be taking […]

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Congressional Republicans Ignore Tariffs and Instead Talk Up Their Corporate Tax Cuts

December 4, 2025 • By Steve Wamhoff

Congressional Republicans Ignore Tariffs and Instead Talk Up Their Corporate Tax Cuts

Instead of discussing President Trump's deeply unpopular tariff policies, House Republicans are making misleading and untrue claims about their tax cuts.

CNN: Why Trump Is Speaking Like a Democrat About Obamacare

December 4, 2025

He fought against Obamacare for years, and his “One Big Beautiful Bill” act is expected to cut more than $1 trillion from health care and food stamps. That’s why his support for extending the enhanced subsidies has surprised some political observers. Read more.

The Associated Press: FACT FOCUS: Trump Says Tariffs Can Eventually Replace Federal Income Taxes. Experts Disagree

December 4, 2025

Tariff revenue doesn’t even come close to where it would need to be if federal income taxes were eliminated, and experts say such a plan isn’t at all feasible. Read more.

Newsweek: Republican Governor to Propose Scrapping Income Tax

December 3, 2025

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) said that eliminating a state’s income tax, anywhere, benefits wealthy people over lower-income residents. Read more.

PBS/NPR Southwest Florida: Eliminating Property Taxes Would Make Florida’s ‘Worst in the U.S.’ Regressive System Even Worse

December 3, 2025

The Sunshine State has the most “regressive” tax structure of all 50 states, according to a recent study by a national tax analysis organization. That means the wealthy pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes while the poor and middle class pay more. Read more.

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Building a Kentucky Workers Can Afford

December 2, 2025

The working class drives prosperity, and it’s time for an agenda in Frankfort that puts them first. From the state’s rural counties to our biggest cities, it’s Kentuckians—whether white, Black or brown—who make it all go. Supported by the right policies, ones that reward their efforts and prioritize their concerns, more Kentuckians could work in […]

Washington Post: Corporations To Claim $16B From Retroactive GOP Tax Break, Federal Report Says

December 2, 2025

Corporations are expected to claim $16 billion in new tax breaks this year for purchases they had already made and put into use before the July passage of the Republican tax law. Read more.

Action Center on Race & the Economy: Pay Us What You Owe Us: Concrete State Solutions to Re-Fund Our Communities

November 25, 2025

We are in the midst of what many are deeming the largest transfer of wealth in U.S. history from Black, brown and poor communities to the ultra-wealthy. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimates that Trump’s 2025 federal tax cuts will result in the richest 1% receiving $117 billion in tax cuts in […]

Institute for Policy Studies: FACT SHEET: Federal Policy Threatens Women and Children with Poverty

November 24, 2025

The Trump administration continues to enact harmful policies, like those contained in HR.1, which make massive cuts to education, health care, food assistance, and housing programs, to give tax cuts to the rich. The poverty rate is bound to continue to increase in the next few years. As a result, women and children will face […]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Eliminating Missouri’s Income Tax Would Do Nothing but Shift Costs to the Poor

November 18, 2025

Those tempted by the allure of ditching that significant state tax bill every April 15 should insist their political representatives adhere to Kehoe’s own stated criterion for such a change: that the resulting tax policies “will make sense to everybody.” It’s difficult to see how this proposal would make sense for any but the state’s […]

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Breaking the Bank: Eliminating the State Income Tax Harms Most Georgians and Increases the Cost of Living

November 17, 2025

Eliminating Georgia’s income tax would represent the largest transfer of wealth from working and middle-class families to high income individuals and corporations in state history. Doing so would dramatically push Georgia’s budget out of balance, given that the income tax has been the state’s single largest source of revenue since 1982. Read more.