Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
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.

Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Considerations on House Bill 675

March 21, 2018

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 the effect of the revised credit amount proposed in House Bill 675 together with the provisions of House Bill 463 on Idaho families, as enacted. […]

Colorado Fiscal Institute: Forecast Five: March 2018 Revenue Estimates

March 20, 2018

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.

Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Passing Through a Special Break for Wealthiest Filers

March 19, 2018

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.

Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Passing through a special break

March 19, 2018

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 […]

Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Governor’s Plan Sets Stage For Service Cuts

March 16, 2018

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.

E.I.T.C. Spells LOVE for Kids and Families in Arkansas

March 16, 2018

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.

Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Lawmakers Approve Major Tax Plan, Still Reviewing Several Tax Breaks

March 15, 2018

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 11 pieces of tax legislation by the Feb. 28 Crossover Day milestone that affect state revenues if approved by the House, Senate and the governor. […]

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Op-Ed: Tax Law Requires More Than ‘SALT Cap’ Workarounds

March 14, 2018

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.

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: All Georgians Stand to Lose from Immigrant Crackdown Measure

March 9, 2018

And Georgia immigrants contribute significant state and local tax revenue, including $352 million a year by undocumented immigrants as a whole and $66 million by Dreamers in particular. Read more here

Maine Center for Economic Policy Policy Brief: The LePage Tax Bill

March 9, 2018

On March 1, Gov. Paul LePage’s Administration presented a tax bill to the Legislature designed to mirror at the state level some of the reforms enacted by passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act at the federal level. The proposal is framed as simple conformity with federal law but goes much further than routine […]

Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Governor’s Tax Cut Plan Sets Stage For Service Cuts

March 7, 2018

Governor Kim Reynolds’ tax proposal trades massive cuts in public services for small savings for lower-income taxpayers, larger savings for high-income taxpayers and few meaningful strides toward fairness in a system that already treats the poor poorly and raises too little revenue to avoid mid-year cuts.

Economic Progress Institute: Changes in Federal Tax Law Will Cut Taxes for Many Rhode Islanders; Wealthiest Families and Corporations Benefit the Most

March 7, 2018

To help explain what the Act will mean for Rhode Island, the Economic Progress Institute released a paper entitled "Changes in federal tax law will cut taxes for many Rhode Islanders; wealthiest families and corporations benefit the most."

Louisiana Budget Project: On the Brink of Collapse

March 5, 2018

The backbiting and bitterness surrounding the revenue debate in Baton Rouge is wildly disproportionate to the effect on Louisiana families. As The Advocate’s Tyler Bridges reports, none of the tax bills would cost any Louisiana family more than 1 percent of their income per year. What’s really at stake in the tax debate – besides trying to fill a $1 billion hole in the budget – is whether to continue relying on a regressive sales tax, or if the burden should be shifted slightly to high-income taxpayers.

Five Ways States Can Recoup Corporations’ Massive Federal Tax Giveaway

Corporate America is doing alright. Corporate profits soared last year, and 2018 has already brought a major windfall in the form of the Trump-GOP tax law, which dramatically cut the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and shifted to a territorial tax system, giving income earned offshore by U.S. companies a free pass by no longer making it subject to U.S. taxes.

Missouri Budget Project: Sales Taxes on Groceries & the Importance of a Refundable EITC

February 28, 2018

A state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), like the recently proposed Missouri Working Families Credit, could benefit as many as 515,000 working families with modest wages, providing hardworking families the ability to achieve a better future and a pathway to the middle class. By making the credit refundable, like the federal EITC and most other […]

CBPP: North Carolina Tax Cuts Have Worsened Racial Wealth Inequities

February 27, 2018

The top 1 percent of North Carolinians are getting about $21,780 in average tax breaks per year — 59 times the average break for people in the middle fifth of the income scale and 1,361 times the average break for people in the lowest fifth, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found in its analysis of the 2013 tax changes.

Associated Press: GOP Tax Law Boosts Income Taxes, Budgets in Some States

February 26, 2018

The Republican tax overhaul is giving most Americans a break on their federal income taxes. But fallout from the same law means many people could actually see their state income taxes rise.  For some state governments, the prospect of getting more revenue without actively raising taxes is almost too good to be true, but it also […]

Why the Minute Federal 529 Provision Has Huge Consequences for States

When Republican leaders rushed through an overhaul to the federal tax code over a seven-week legislative period, they failed to acknowledge that many provisions in their bill would have negative consequences for states. One such provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that undermines state laws is the expansion of federal tax breaks that now allows taxpayers to use 529 savings plans to pay for private K-12 education.

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Lawmakers Might Come to Regret Georgia’s Risky Tax Plan

February 22, 2018

Bill Analysis: House Bill 918 Substitute (LC 34 5383-ECS); Feb. 22, 2018 Georgia leaders are now rushing a massive tax package through the state’s General Assembly with limited debate and without a clear tally of the plan’s true cost. Gov. Nathan Deal and legislative leaders introduced a revised tax package Feb. 20, 2018, designed to […]

Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Additional Analysis: Impacts of House Bill 463 Including the Pass-Through Deduction (199A) Provision

February 20, 2018

House Bill 463 would make substantial changes to Idaho’s tax code, in part as a response to recent federal tax cuts. The legislation would also cut Idaho’s state income tax rates for households and corporations, changing significantly the way the income tax load is carried by residents. The proposal also includes a nonrefundable state child tax credit, although this does not offset the tax increases for some Idaho families from full conformity.

Oregon Center for Public Policy: Repealing Oregon’s Tax Haven Law is a $20 Million Gamble

February 19, 2018

The Oregon legislature should act prudently and refrain from hastily eliminating the state’s tax haven law. Otherwise, the legislature could be making it easier for multinational corporations to avoid paying Oregon corporate taxes, potentially costing the state millions.

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Governor’s Tax Plan Carries $1 Billion Price

February 16, 2018

Gov. Nathan Deal’s administration introduced a multifaceted tax package on Feb. 13, 2018 designed to reduce state revenues by about $1 billion a year over the next decade. House Bill 918 comes in response to recent news that the federal tax changes signed into law by President Donald Trump in December could generate a so-called […]

Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Exploring Working Family Tax Credit Options in Idaho

February 16, 2018

Idahoans believe that everyone should pay their fair share. But the passage of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017 raised concerns about potential negative impacts on Idaho families with children. If Idaho chooses to update its tax code to align fully with the federal changes (a policy choice called ‘conformity’), an estimated 66 percent of Idaho families with 1 to 2 dependents will see a state tax increase and 80 percent of Idaho families with 3 or more dependents will see a state tax increase. To mitigate these negative impacts, Idaho lawmakers are considering the creation…

Kansas Center for Economic Growth: New KCEG Blog Series Documents Equity Issues Facing Kansas

February 15, 2018

systemic barriers facing Kansans can strengthen our state’s economy. Using data broken out by race and ethnicity, gender, and immigration status, the entries highlight areas for policymakers to address to ensure continued economic prosperity for every Kansan. Policy and research analyst Emily Fetsch examined data in recent reports from the Kansas Health Institute and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.