Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

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 […]

Law360: Five States that Could Follow Iowa’s Gas Tax Hike

March 4, 2015

As inflation pushes up the cost of construction materials such as cement and gravel, gas tax rates haven’t kept pace, meaning that revenues raised by states for transportation and other infrastructure projects can’t be stretched as far, according to Carl Davis, senior policy analyst for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

Bluffton Today: Legislators Must Act to Safeguard Roads

March 4, 2015

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy made recommendations including linking an increase to inflation/gas prices/construction costs. Georgia, currently at a total 45.9 cents, has proposed a gradual increase over time. A long-term, dedicated solution is needed. While gas prices are at their lowest in years, we need state and federal legislators to act now […]

Philadelphia Inquirer: Your Tax Plan’s Weird

March 3, 2015

But the leaked details on the income tax and sales tax proposals make no sense. Most experts will tell you that one of the biggest problems in Pennsylvania is income inequality — and our tax policy contributes to that. (The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy ranks Pennsylvania as the 8th most regressive state in […]

Bloomberg: Deficits in States Have Alabama’s Governor Risking Career

March 2, 2015

Alabama’s state and local government taxes per resident are the lowest in the U.S., according to the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. It also has the 12th-worst tax structure in terms of disproportionate impact on the poor, according to Meg Wiehe, state policy director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington. […]

Marketwatch: 10 Biggest Financial-Market Events This Week

March 2, 2015

One of the most popular MarketWatch articles this week was 10 states with the worst taxes for average Americans, based on a report called “Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States,” released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). According to ITEP’s data, as reviewed by 24/7 […]

Marketwatch: 10 States with The Worst Taxes for Average Americans

March 2, 2015

According to “Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States,” a report released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), Washington has by far the most regressive tax system nationwide. To identify the 10 states with the worst tax systems for average Americans, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed ITEP’s […]

The Herald News:

March 2, 2015

Consumption taxes (like sales taxes on food and clothing, gas taxes, and so-called sin taxes on cigarettes and liquor) fall on the middle and working classes’ backs far more than the backs of the wealthy. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has found that while the bottom fifth of earners devote 10 percent of […]

The Columbus Dispatch: Debate over Ohio’s Shift from Income to Sales Taxes Continues

March 2, 2015

But Policy Matters says that figure does not include all taxes being raised, including the commercial-activity tax on gross receipts. Using figures calculated by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the Cleveland research group estimates that the latest proposed tax changes would leave the bottom 60 percent of earners, on average, paying more in […]

Toledo Blade: Instead of Another Tax Cut, Ohio Should Focus on Tax Fairness

March 2, 2015

Here are some facts and figures about Ohio’s lopsided income distribution and tax burdens, gleaned from Mr. Herzenberg’s study and separate new reports by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Economic Policy Institute: You’re part of Ohio’s 1 percent if you make more than $356,000 a year. The average annual income […]

The Toledo Blade: Governor’s Tax Plan Would Wide Inequality

February 27, 2015

Yet an analysis of his tax proposal by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy concludes that the wealthiest 1 percent of Ohio taxpayers — those who made more than $388,000 last year — would get an average tax cut of $11,906 a year from the governor’s plan. By contrast, the lowest 60 percent […]

Associated Press Mississippi: Differing Tax Cut Plans Advance in Mississippi House

February 27, 2015

Opponents warn Gunn’s plan means Mississippi’s remaining taxes would fall more heavily on the poor, as a proportion of income. Projections from the liberal-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy show the lowest-earning 20 percent of taxpayers, making $16,000 or less, would save an average of $13 a year. Those in the top 1 percent […]

Gainesville Times: Study Says Poor Bear the Brunt of Sales Tax Hikes

February 23, 2015

Georgia’s poorest residents will pay a larger share of their income this year in state and local taxes than the wealthiest earners, according to a new study from the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, a nonprofit Washington think tank. That burden could grow as Republican lawmakers in the state legislature push for lower income […]

Seattle Times: Trickle-Down Theory Makes Less Sense Than Ever

February 23, 2015

Current state income-tax rates are bad for the poor and comparably good for the rich, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. While the rich pay more in dollars than the poor, the rate on the top 1 percent of the richest Americans is 5.4 percent while the rate on the 20 percent […]

Dallas Business Journal: Texas Great for Businesses But Terrible for Most People

February 23, 2015

While many Lone Star State business organizations tout Texas’ tax climate when pitching corporate relocations, those same tax policies are among the worst in the nation when boiled down to the family level, according to a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Texas has the third-most regressive tax structure in the […]

WFSP (Arizona): Arizona’s Unfair Tax System Targets the Poor/Middle Class

February 20, 2015

Arizona’s local and state tax system targets the middle class, and the poorest people in the state pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than the richest people do, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. In fact, the Tax Inequality Index, released in January 2015, ranks Arizona’s local and state […]

New Jersey Spotlight: NJ Needs to Do the Right Thing–Raise Taxes

February 20, 2015

Of course, New Jersey’s middle class and working poor are already taxed at substantial rates. However, according to a recent study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the top one percent of families in earnings pay a state and local tax rate that is 3.6 percentage points lower than families in the bottom […]

San Francisco Chronicle: Tax Fairness Could Boost Resources for Roads, Schools Pensions

February 20, 2015

Last month, the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the poorest 20 percent of households pay on average more than twice the effective state and local tax rate (10.9 percent) as the richest 1 percent of taxpayers (5.4 percent). That preceded the new report from the left-leaning groups Good Jobs First and […]

Watchdog.org: States Don’t Want Undocument Immigrants, But Could They Need Them

February 20, 2015

A 2013 study conducted by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that allowing illegal immigrants the legal opportunity to work would actually increase state and local tax revenues by over $2 billion, added to the already $10.6 billion in revenues they contributed in 2010. For many states facing the danger of tax fatigue, […]

The Toledo Blade: The Governor’s Tax Proposal Would Harm Most Ohioans

February 20, 2015

According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, taxpayers in the top 1 percent of earners would enjoy an average income tax reduction of more than $13,000, and earners in the next 4 percent would get an average reduction of $1,395. By contrast, taxpayers in the bottom 20 percent would […]

Tribune News Service: Some Governors Seek to Cut Taxes as Potholes Deepend

February 20, 2015

Current state income tax rates are bad for the poor and comparably good for the rich, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. While the rich pay more in dollars than the poor, the rate on the top one percent of the richest Americans is 5.4 percent while the rate on the 20 […]

Culture Map Houston: Texas Tax Myths Shattered

February 20, 2015

If you’re living in Texas and don’t fall within the wealthiest one percent of residents, chances are you’re paying some of the highest tax rates in the nation. According to “Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States,” a report recently released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy […]

The Christian Science Monitor: Coming This Tax Season–Tax Laws Favoring the Rich

February 18, 2015

“The vast majority of states allow their very best-off residents to pay much lower effective tax rates than their middle- and low-income families must pay,” concludes the recent report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a left-leaning research group. The organization argues that it’s unfair for wealthy residents of a state to […]