The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to consider a case next week (South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.) that has the potential to significantly improve states and localities’ ability to enforce their sales tax laws on Internet purchases.
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blog April 11, 2018 ITEP Resources on Amazon and the Online Sales Tax Debate
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blog April 11, 2018 What to Expect if the Supreme Court Allows for Online Sales Tax Collection
Online shopping is hardly a new phenomenon. And yet states and localities still lack the authority to require many Internet retailers to collect the sales taxes that their locally based, brick and mortar competitors have been collecting for decades.
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media mention April 11, 2018 CNN: Kentucky Governor Signs Controversial Pension Bill as Teachers Call for Rally
An analysis of that bill by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found it would bring a huge tax cut for the richest 1% of residents, while the biggest tax increase would affect those making less than $21,000 a year.
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ITEP Work in Action April 9, 2018 Vox: How Tax Cuts for the Rich Led to the Oklahoma Teachers Strike
Before the strike last week, the state legislature tried to avert the work stoppage by passing a $447 million tax increase that effectively gives teachers an average annual pay bump of $6,000. That concession from the state legislature didn’t meet the teachers’ full demands, but it was a huge win considering the state legislature hadn’t approved a tax increase since 1990.
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media mention April 6, 2018 Courier Journal: Kentucky Tax Reform Bill is a Break for the Rich but a Hike for Everybody Else, Study Says
The tax bill that zipped through the General Assembly on Monday will amount to a tax break for millionaires but a tax increase for 95 percent of Kentuckians, according to an analysis by the Washington-based Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy.
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media mention April 6, 2018 WUKY: A Tale Of Two Tax Studies
“This is a complicated tax plan with a lot of moving pieces, but the net result is clear: that it is middle-class tax hike. Kentucky’s poorest families and the middle class will end up paying more while the state wealthiest taxpayers are going to end up paying less,” ITEP analyst Aidan Davis says.
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ITEP Work in Action April 5, 2018 Lexington Herald Ledger: Study: GOP Bill Cuts Taxes for the Rich, Raises Taxes for 95 Percent of Kentuckians
A new study of the tax bill rushed through the Kentucky General Assembly Monday shows the changes it makes to the tax code are likely to lower taxes for the wealthy while raising taxes for 95 percent of Kentuckians.
The analysis, performed by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington D.C., a liberal-leaning think tank, studied the impact of the tax cuts and increases on Kentuckians.
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ITEP Work in Action April 5, 2018 Washington Post: Kentucky Legislators Send Tax Cuts for Wealthy, Tax Hikes for the Other 95 Percent to Governor’s Desk
The Kentucky legislature passed a sweeping tax overhaul this week, and now lawmakers are asking Gov. Matt Bevin to sign a bill that would slash taxes for some corporations and wealthy individuals while raising them on 95 percent of state residents, according to a new analysis.
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ITEP Work in Action April 4, 2018 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: House Bill 366 Represents a Tax Shift Away from the Wealthy to Low- and Middle-Income Kentuckians
A new analysis of HB 366 by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows the dramatically skewed impact of the tax changes on Kentuckians by income group. As can be seen in the graph below, Kentuckians whose income puts them in the top 5 percent will see a tax cut, with those in the top 1 percent, whose average income is $1,042,000, receiving an average tax cut of $7,086.
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ITEP Work in Action April 2, 2018 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Tax Plan Is a Tax Shift with Troubling Long-Term Effect on Revenues
The General Assembly introduced a tax bill today that is a shift in taxes away from corporations and high-income people and over to low- and middle-income Kentuckians. Although the official… -
media mention March 29, 2018 Hawaii News Now: Nonprofit to State on Tax Savings for Low-Income Families: Check Your Math
The state miscalculated the benefits of the federal tax overhaul to low-income families in Hawaii, a new analysis concludes. The source of the confusion: The scope of the tax savings that the child tax credit benefit would offer very low-income families (those earning up to $10,000 a year).
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media mention March 29, 2018 Honolulu Star Advertiser: New Tax Benefits Likely Overstated for Hawaii’s Poorest
A nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, has estimated that Hawaii’s richest 1 percent, represented by households earning over $554,230, would save $39,420 on average next year under the new law. The group also figured that Hawaii taxpayers earning less than $26,620 would save $130 on average in taxes.
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ITEP Work in Action March 29, 2018 Colorado Fiscal Institute: Pies & Charts: Mid-Session Briefing
Pies and Charts is the annual mid-session briefing hosted by Colorado Fiscal Institute.
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ITEP Work in Action March 28, 2018 Minnesota Budget Project: Families With Children Could Pay Higher Taxes Under Tax Conformity
The complex set of tax changes in the recent federal tax bill creates a set of challenging decisions for states like Minnesota. Because Minnesota’s state income and corporate taxes use federal tax… -
ITEP Work in Action March 28, 2018 Hawai’i Budget & Policy Center: Effects of Federal Tax Cuts in Hawai‘i: Correcting the Record
Although corporate taxes are not reported on individual income tax forms, corporate tax cuts benefit those who own stocks, and the vast majority are owned by upper-income individuals. For that reason, ITEP included corporate tax breaks in its analysis of the federal tax law.
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blog March 26, 2018 Amazon and Other E-Retailers Get a Free Pass from Some Local-Level Sales Taxes
A new ITEP analysis reveals that in seven states (Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania), the nation’s largest e-retailer, Amazon.com, is either not collecting local-level sales taxes or is charging a lower tax rate than local retailers. In other states, such as Colorado and Illinois, Amazon is collecting local tax because it has an in-state presence, but localities cannot collect taxes from other e-retailers based outside the state.
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brief March 26, 2018 Many Localities Are Unprepared to Collect Taxes on Online Purchases: Amazon.com and other E-Retailers Receive Tax Advantage Over Local Businesses
Online retailer Amazon.com made headlines last year when it began collecting every state-level sales tax on its direct sales. Savvy observers quickly noted that this change did not affect the company’s large and growing “marketplace” business, where it conducts sales in partnership with third-parties and rarely collects tax. But far fewer have noticed that even on its direct sales, Amazon is still not collecting some local-level taxes.
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ITEP Work in Action March 21, 2018 Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Considerations on House Bill 675
A proposal before the Legislature seeks to amend the child tax credit that was created through recent legislation passed by both chambers and signed by the Governor. This analysis presents… -
ITEP Work in Action March 20, 2018 Colorado Fiscal Institute: Forecast Five: March 2018 Revenue Estimates
As a result of TCJA, Legislative Council estimates the state will see increased revenue of $196.5 million in FY 2018-2019, and $329.8 million in increases in FY 2019-2020. However, new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy suggests the revenue increase next year could be closer to $28 million.
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ITEP Work in Action March 19, 2018 Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Passing Through a Special Break for Wealthiest Filers
The tax bill that recently passed the Iowa Senate included a provision from the recent federal tax cut bill that provides preferential tax treatment for certain kinds of business income earned mostly by the highest income taxpayers. The “Qualified Business Income Deduction” (QBID) provides a 20 percent exemption of that income from the personal income tax.
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ITEP Work in Action March 19, 2018 Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Passing through a special break
The tax bill that recently passed the Iowa Senate included a provision from the recent federal tax cut bill that provides preferential tax treatment for certain kinds of business income… -
ITEP Work in Action March 16, 2018 Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Governor’s Plan Sets Stage For Service Cuts
Iowa’s General Assembly opened with promises from legislative leadership and the Governor for tax reform. We noted key opportunities to assure a fairer and sustainable system in a brief report last fall, “Introduction to 2018: What should be part of tax reform? And what should not?”[i] These options remain; some are gaining attention — such as the elimination of federal deductibility and the closing of sales tax loopholes — and some are not.
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ITEP Work in Action March 16, 2018 E.I.T.C. Spells LOVE for Kids and Families in Arkansas
Many people in our state work at low-paying jobs. Arkansans who work hard for little money pay a much higher share of their income to state and local taxes compared to the wealthiest. That’s not the way it should be. Fortunately, there is a great option for Arkansas (just ask the 29 other states that are already using it!) that can help turn things around for working families. That option is a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit (or EITC). At Arkansas Advocates for Children and families, we are so in love with the Earned Income Tax Credit that we decided to sing about it.
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ITEP Work in Action March 15, 2018 Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Lawmakers Approve Major Tax Plan, Still Reviewing Several Tax Breaks
A range of tax bills are still in the pipeline at the General Assembly after lawmakers already approved a sweeping package of income tax cuts. Georgia’s 2018 General Assembly advanced… -
ITEP Work in Action March 14, 2018 New Jersey Policy Perspective: Op-Ed: Tax Law Requires More Than ‘SALT Cap’ Workarounds
If you live in a high-wealth and high-tax state like New Jersey, the news gets worse. For the first time in 100 years, taxpayers may no longer deduct their full state and local taxes (“SALT” for short) from the income on which federal taxes are owed. The deductible ceiling is set at $10,000, so if you pay more than that with property and income taxes combined, your taxable income will increase by a bit.