Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

Union Bulletin: State Needs Flat Rate Income Tax

April 13, 2015

“Fairness: The Washington State Tax Structure Study Committee found that in 1999 the state’s lowest-income households paid 15.7 percent of their income on state and local taxes, while the highest-income households paid just 4.4 percent. This meant the lowest-income households had to work 8.2 weeks out of the year to pay their tax bill, while […]

The Advocate: With future of Louisiana higher education threatened, lawmakers sift through filed bills seeking deficit plug

April 13, 2015

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal nonprofit in Washington, D.C., reported in January that the poorest 20 percent of households in Louisiana pay an average of 10 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while the wealthiest 1 percent pay an average of 4.2 percent of their income in those […]

Lansing Journal: Working Poor May See Modest Tax Break Under Prop 1

April 13, 2015

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, in an analysis conducted for the Michigan League for Public Policy, estimates a small net tax break of $24 for the average Michigan EITC recipient who earns less than $20,000. Read more

The Detroit News: Prop 1 Would Cost Households Hundreds More in Taxes

April 13, 2015

The average tax hike for the middle fifth of Michigan households — those making $40,000 to $64,000 a year — would be $267, or $22 a month, according to an analysis by the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy for the Michigan League for Public Policy, an advocacy group in Lansing focused on poverty. […]

USA Today: The Tax Even Republicans Like

April 13, 2015

And one state can start a wave. For example, Virginia reformed its gas tax in 2013, making it easier for neighbors like Maryland and Pennsylvania to follow, says Carl Davis, senior policy analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “States notice what other states are doing.” Iowa’s new law will help Smith’s case […]

Mother Jones: Why Do Progressive States Have Regressive Tax Codes?

April 13, 2015

This problem isn’t limited to conservative states: According to a recent report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), every state places a higher effective tax rate on the poor than it does on the rich. In fact, several of the nation’s most politically progressive states count among the worst when it comes […]

Meet the Press: #Nerdscreen, It’s Tax Time

April 12, 2015

Common sense would suggest that the more money you make, the higher tax rate you pay, but that’s not exactly right.     Read More

Pacific Business News: Hawaii Community Foundation Launches Fund to Support Immigrants

April 3, 2015

The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy found that in 2010, unauthorized immigrants in Hawaii paid more than $60.3 million in state and local taxes. If granted legal status, they would pay $79.6 million in state and local taxes. Read more

Boston Globe: Baker’s Position on Taxes Is Great for the Wealthy, and Not Many Others

April 3, 2015

In fact, many in Massachusetts have been taxed more than enough. Those in the lowest 20 percent of personal income pay more than twice as high a share to state and local taxes than those in the top 1 percent, according to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy. Add in the state’s growing reliance […]

The Bond Buyer: States Raising Gas Taxes for Road Revenue

April 3, 2015

“Gasoline tax hikes are one of the biggest trends we’re seeing this year,” said Carl Davis, a senior analyst at the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy. “That’s not surprising because revenues are falling short, and states are trying to catch up.” Gasoline tax proposals are on a three-year roll, Davis said, after no state […]

Fast Company: Taxes Could Help Reduce Inequality

April 2, 2015

According to the latest Who Pays? report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which documents the shares of income paid in taxes to state and local governments for all 50 states, “virtually every state’s tax system is fundamentally unfair, taking a much greater share of income from middle- and low-income families than from wealthy […]

San Jose Mercury News: Sales taxes hit 10 percent in Hayward, San Leandro, Union City, Albany and El Cerrito

April 2, 2015

When it comes to tax fairness, California gets high marks for its income tax, which targets the wealthy, but a demerit for its sales tax, which ranks among the highest in the nation, according to the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, based in Washington, D.C. “Any tax that is based on what you consume […]

The Tucson Weekly: A Rich Switch

April 2, 2015

The first study came from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which regularly gathers data to show how the tax burden is spread across a state’s population. ITEP’s most recent report, released in January, showed that Arizona was eighth worst state in terms of pushing the tax burden on lower earners because it relies […]

The Atlantic: How Red States Learned to Love the Gas Tax

March 31, 2015

If nothing has changed in Washington, why are Republicans so tax-happy on the state level—at least when it comes to fuel? “The difference is states have to balance their budgets,” said Carl Davis, a senior analyst at ITEP. Unlike Congress, state lawmakers can’t simply borrow money and accumulate debt when the coffers run dry, and […]

Phoenix Business: Arizona Misses List of Top 10 Tax Shift States

March 31, 2015

Turns out, Arizona missed a new list that looks at the supply-side tax cut to shift income equality. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found ten states passed laws this session that effectively shift tax burdens to the poor and middle class. Each of the identified states (listed below) passed trickle-down tax cuts, according […]

C-SPAN Washington Journal: State and Local Tax Systems

March 30, 2015

Matthew Gardner, executive director of ITEP, talked about the fairness of state and local tax systems in each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia and what this means as people file their income taxes. He talked about how the 2015 edition of the report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), […]

Idaho Press Tribune: Tax Plan Gives Big Cut to Top 1 Percent

March 30, 2015

The analysis is provided by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a national nonpartisan think tank that works on state and federal tax policy issues. The three pieces of the bill combined result in a tax increase between $68 for the lowest earners to $192 for those making between $38,000 and $61,000 per year. […]

Albany Business Review: New Yorkers Face Highest Tax Burden the Country

March 30, 2015

Wallethub, a personal finance website, analyzed data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy to determine the impact that income, sales and property taxes have on low-, middle- and high-income families. Read more

USA Today: Lawmakers, Farmers Urge Repeal of Estate Tax

March 30, 2015

Matthew Gardner, executive director with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said there are special tax breaks in place to make sure that most small family-owned farms and businesses will be exempt from the estate tax. For the few that do have to pay, he said there are rules allowing those taxes to be […]

KPLU: If Only We Had Idaho’s Tax

March 27, 2015

If you’re poor and you live in Washington state, you wind up forking over almost 17 percent of your income in state and local taxes. That’s according to a recent report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. But if you live in, say, Boise or Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, state and local taxes only […]

Vermont Business: Vermont Has the Capacity to Avoid 2016 Budget Cuts

March 26, 2015

“Total personal income” is a broad measure of income used by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). It is based on filers under age 65 and includes adjusted gross income, which is the starting point used by most states to determine taxable income, as well as income typically not subject to tax, such […]

Arizona Daily Sun: Arizona Tax Burden Heavy for the Poor

March 26, 2015

Even more detailed figures from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy bear that out. It finds those in the top 1 percent of Arizona earners — those making more than $402,000 a year — are paying just 1 percent of what they make in sales taxes. Read more

Tucson Weekly: It’s True. Arizona Taxes Screw the Poor

March 26, 2015

In general, WalletHub is a font of half-baked statistics (I mean, it declared Tucson the fifth best city in “Efficient Spending on Education” because we spend so little on schools). But in this case, they got it right, and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which Fischer also cited, got it even more right in […]

The Citizen: New York Taxes Tough for Rich and Poor Residents

March 26, 2015

WalletHub used data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy 2015 report to calculate the tax burdens — which included sales, property and income tax.  Read more  

Orlando Business Journal: Florida One of the Most Tax-Friendly States to Earn High Incomes

March 25, 2015

The study used data from the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy’s 2015 report to generate estimates of the state-specific tax burdens at three income levels $25,000 (low income), $50,000 (medium) and $150,000 (high) to rank the states. Read more