Astonishingly, tax policies in virtually every state make it harder for those living in poverty to make ends meet. When all the taxes imposed by state and local governments are taken into account, every state imposes higher effective tax rates on poor families than on the richest taxpayers.

Low- and middle-income working parents spend a significant portion of their income on child care. As the number of parents working outside of the home continues to rise, child care expenses have become an unavoidable and increasingly unaffordable expense. This policy brief examines state tax policy tools that can be used to make child care more affordable: a dependent care tax credit modeled after the federal program and a deduction for child care expenses.

State lawmakers seeking to make residential property taxes more affordable have two broad options: across-the-board tax cuts for taxpayers at all income levels, such as a homestead exemption or a tax cap, and targeted tax breaks that are given only to particular groups of low- and middle-income taxpayers. One such targeted program to reduce property taxes is called a “circuit breaker” because it protects taxpayers from a property tax “overload” just like an electric circuit breaker: when a property tax bill exceeds a certain percentage of a taxpayer’s income, the circuit breaker reduces property taxes in excess of this “overload”…

Sales taxes are one of the most important revenue sources for state and local governments; however, they are also among the most unfair taxes, falling more heavily on low- and middle-income households. Therefore, it is important that policymakers nationwide find ways to make sales taxes more equitable while preserving this important source of funding for public services. This policy brief discusses two approaches to a less regressive sales tax: broad-based exemptions and targeted sales tax credits.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a policy designed to bolster the earnings of low-wage workers and offset some of the taxes they pay, providing the opportunity for struggling families to step up and out of poverty toward meaningful economic security. The federal EITC has kept millions of Americans out of poverty since its enactment in the mid-1970s. Over the past several decades, the effectiveness of the EITC has been magnified as many states have enacted and later expanded their own credits.

2017 marked a sea change in state tax policy and a stark departure from the current federal tax debate as dubious supply-side economic theories began to lose their grip on statehouses. Compared to the predominant trend in recent years of emphasizing top-heavy income tax cuts and shifting to more regressive consumption taxes in the hopes […]

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a policy designed to bolster the earnings of low-wage workers and offset some of the taxes they pay, providing the opportunity for struggling families to step up and out of poverty toward meaningful economic security. The federal EITC has kept millions of Americans out of poverty since its enactment in the mid-1970s. Over the past several decades, the effectiveness of the EITC has been magnified as many states have enacted and later expanded their own credits.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration released some broadly outlined proposals to overhaul the federal tax code. Households in Nebraska would not benefit equally from these proposals. The richest one percent of the state’s taxpayers are projected to make an average income of $1,572,200 in 2018. They would receive 52.6 percent of the tax cuts that go to Nebraska’s residents and would enjoy an average cut of $128,300 in 2018 alone.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration released some broadly outlined proposals to overhaul the federal tax code. Households in North Carolina would not benefit equally from these proposals. The richest one percent of the state’s taxpayers are projected to make an average income of $1,541,500 in 2018. They would receive 46.5 percent of the tax cuts that go to North Carolina’s residents and would enjoy an average cut of $78,880 in 2018 alone.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration released some broadly outlined proposals to overhaul the federal tax code. Households in New Hampshire would not benefit equally from these proposals. The richest one percent of the state’s taxpayers are projected to make an average income of $1,668,100 in 2018. They would receive 41.3 percent of the tax cuts that go to New Hampshire’s residents and would enjoy an average cut of $98,940 in 2018 alone.