Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

The Times Daily: Alabama Tax Rankings in the Middle of the Pack for Low and Moderate Incomes

March 25, 2015

The Wallethub study, using data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s 2015 report, identified the best states in which to be taxed according to income group. The study looked at three levels–low ($25,000); medium ($50,000) and high ($150,000). Read more

The Bergen Record: Why NJ Ends up on Those ‘Worst Place” Lists

March 25, 2015

On the other hand, that’s just a little higher than the 10 percent paid by low earners in the state – making New Jersey one of the most fair states in terms of how the tax burden is shared by low and high earners, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which supplied […]

Chatanooga Free Press: Tennessee Ranked as Top State for High-Income Earners

March 25, 2015

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s latest report, many taxes, such as payroll, sales, and some state and local taxes, are regressive. That means that they take more money from lower and middle income brackets than from wealthier families, WalletHub reported. Read more

KPLU: Washington Voters Once Passed an Income Tax by a Wider Margin Than Vote for Legal Booze

March 25, 2015

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, says Washington’s tax system is the most regressive in the nation. That’s because with our state’s heavy reliance on sales tax and lack of an income tax, the poorest 20 percent of residents pay 16.8 percent of their income in state and local […]

The Seattle Observer: Seattle Economy Soars Alongside Effort to Combat Worsening Inequality

March 25, 2015

Washington’s tax system, ranked as the most regressive in the country by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, is not helping. The lowest-earning families in the state “pay about 17% of their income in taxes. And our top 10 percent pay about 2.7% of their income”, said Pramila Jayapal, a Democratic state senator. All […]

Public News Service: North Carolina Taxpayers Report Leaner Returns in 2015

March 25, 2015

“The key thing about a tax system is it absolutely has to be adequate to meet the core public service commitments that we need to be making as a state,” says Sirota. “But the way in which we raise revenue is really critical.” Sirota says taxpayers making less than $67,000 a year – about 80 […]

Illinois Times: Angry Crowd Protests Rauner’s Budget

March 25, 2015

Herzenberg pointed out that Illinois was ranked fifth on the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s (ITEP) ‘Terrible Ten’ list of states with the most regressive tax systems. He said Illinois’ tax system is regressive because high-income earners spend a smaller percentage of their income on sales and consumption taxes than low-income and middle-income earners, […]

The Washington Times: What’s Not in Your Wallet?

March 25, 2015

To identify the best states to be taxed in, according to a taxpayer’s income group, WalletHub generated estimates of the state-specific tax burden on residents at three income levels — low ($25,000), medium ($50,000) and high ($150,000) — in each of the states, plus the District. Data was taken from the Institute on Taxation & […]

Florida Sun Sentinel: Florida’s gas, cell phone taxes among the highest in the nation

March 17, 2015

Another recent study found that Florida’s taxes hit the poor the most, largely through the sales tax. Those at the bottom fifth in income in Florida pay 13 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while the state’s top 1 percent pay only 2 percent, said the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, […]

Washington Post: The Tax Hikes States Are Agreeing On

March 16, 2015

Under a compromise plan, the state’s gas tax would rise 5 cents in January and subsequently be increased automatically as gas prices rise, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. But Utah is far from alone. If that compromise is signed into law by Gov. Gary Herbert, Utah will become the 10th state to raise its gas tax in just two […]

South Bend Tribune: Falling Behind

March 16, 2015

In fact, a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy concludes that low- and middle-income taxpayers pay more than their fair share of Indiana taxes.  Middle-income taxpayers, those making between $34,000 and $56,000, pay 10.8 percent of their income in Indiana state and local taxes. Taxpayers making between $19,000 and $34,000 pay 11.1 percent, and […]

Gotham Gazette: Separating Fact from Fiction on the Dream Act

March 16, 2015

According to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants contributed an estimated $744,276,000 New York State taxes in 2010. At the federal level, the Social Security Administration each year keeps $6 billion to $7 billion in social security contributions from W-2s that cannot be matched with a correct social security […]

Progress Illinois: Tax Fairness Key to Solving Illinois Budget Crisit

March 16, 2015

Illinois has the fifth most regressive state tax system in the nation due to its flat income tax, under which all residents are taxed at the same rate despite their income, and its relatively high reliance on sales and property taxes, according to a separate report released earlier this year by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The […]

The Daily Item: Tax the Rich More

March 16, 2015

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy ranks Pennsylvania at No. 6 in the Institute’s “Terrible 10” states that taxes low income earners up to seven times as much of their income in taxes as the top 1 percent are taxed on their income. Washington, Florida and Texas top the list of the “Terrible 10” […]

The Albany Times Union: Bad But Could Be Worse

March 11, 2015

New York is regularly ranked as one of the worst states in the nation for taxes. But a new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that New York’s tax policies are actually some of the best for average people. That’s because some tax structures grab a larger percentage of take-home pay of middle- […]

The Sun Daily: Robin Hood Budget for Singapore

March 11, 2015

A study by the US Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found the effective state and local tax rates by income group nationwide are 10.9% for the bottom 20%, 9.4% for the middle 20% and 5.4% for the top 1%. This means the poorest Americans pay twice as much in taxes as the very rich. […]

The Patriot News: There’s a Reason Pennsylvania Makes the Top 10 Terrible Tax States

March 11, 2015

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy ranks Pennsylvania at number six in the its “Terrible 10” states that tax low income earners up to seven times as much, as a percentage of income, as the top one percent are taxed. Washington, Florida and Texas top the list of the “Terrible 10” states, and Delaware, Montana […]

Bangor Daily News: Is Maine Headed for a Consumption Tax?

March 11, 2015

This under-taxed group includes several large corporations, some tax-exempt nonprofits and more. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy lists Wal-Mart and other giants among companies that avoid state income taxes, typically by allocating the sources of their income among the states by inscrutable, if legal, accounting practices. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy […]

Pekin Daily Times: Illinois Taxes Hit Vulnerable the Hardest

March 6, 2015

Illinois has the fifth most regressive tax system in the country, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. That means low-income and middle-class people are hit the hardest. “The problem with our state tax systems is that we are asking far more of those who can afford the least,” said Meg Wiehe, a […]

The Florida Times Union: Good Idea to Lower Cell Phone Taxes

March 4, 2015

As Florida TaxWatch reports, “The high rate makes the tax punitive and distortionary, and makes the state less competitive than other states, particularly in terms of reducing investment in broadband network infrastructure.” Meanwhile, the poor in Florida bear some of the heaviest tax burdens in the nation, reports the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. […]

The Memphis Daily News: Eliminating Hall Income Tax Raises New Problems

March 4, 2015

While Tennessee depends primarily on sales taxes for state revenue, the Hall tax was projected to bring $260 million into state coffers in fiscal 2014, about $98 million of which would go back to the local governments where those taxpayers live. That revenue would disappear, and 63 percent of the tax cuts would go to […]

The Boston Globe: Wide Support for Lifting Earned Income Credit

March 4, 2015

Eldridge’s proposal would cost the state $372 million a year in tax revenue, up from $112 million currently, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington research organization. Baker and Tarr’s proposal would increase its annual cost to $223 million. Read more

Orlando Sentinel: Affordable Housing Bears Higher Tax Burden

March 4, 2015

However, heavy reliance on property taxes and lack of an income tax were among the reasons a January report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy ranked Florida as one of the nation’s most regressive tax states. Only Washington had a tax structure that was more punitive on low-income families. The bottom 20 percent […]

Chicago Sun Times: More Education Cuts

March 4, 2015

Meanwhile, our system of taxes hits low-income families the hardest. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy named us one of the 10 “Most Regressive State Tax Systems,” with the third-highest “Taxes on the Poor.” Yet if just 20 large Illinois companies had paid state taxes at the required statutory rate over the past five […]

The Seattle Times: Washington Suffers Most Regressive Tax System in the U.S.

March 4, 2015

In the latest Who Pays? report by the non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Washington state has “by far” the most regressive tax system in the nation. Poor residents here pay 16.8 percent of family income in state and local taxes while the wealthiest 1 percent pay only 2.4 percent. By comparison, the percentage […]