Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

The Bellingham Herald: When It Comes to Unfair Tax Systems, We’re No. 1

February 4, 2015

The unfair nature of our tax system made national news earlier this month when the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released its state-by-state profile in which it compares features of state tax systems. Its analysis shows that while taxes in just about every state are skewed – on average the bottom 20 percent […]

CNN Money: Offshore Corporate Cash Piles at Risk from Obama Tax Plan

February 2, 2015

Meanwhile, Matt Gardner, executive director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, says the proposed tax rates are too low. “It’s helpful that the [U.S.] administration has identified a way to tax the profits that multinationals are stashing offshore. This is an important part of tax reform. But I think these rates are too […]

Nooga.com: Study Says Tennessee Poor Hit Harder with Taxes than the Rich

February 2, 2015

The report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy—a nonpartisan research group with ties to the liberal-leaning Citizens for Tax Justice—ranks Tennessee’s tax system as the seventh most unfair in the U.S. Under a regressive tax structure, family incomes are less equal after state and local taxes are paid than before. Read more

Progress Illinois: Illinois Ranks Poorly on Wellbeing Indicators

February 2, 2015

Additionally, researchers highlighted the fact that Illinois has the fifth most regressive tax system in the nation, according to a separate study recently issued by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The analysis showed that the poorest Illinois residents currently pay almost three times more in taxes as a percent of their income compared to the richest people in the […]

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio’s Tax System Burdens Middle Class and Poor

February 2, 2015

In Ohio the top 1 percent of non-elderly residents by income, who earned at least $356,000 in 2012, pay 7 percent of their income in state and local taxes on average. The lowest fifth, who make less than $18,000, pay 11.7 percent on average. Those in the middle, making between $34,000 and $56,000, pay 10.6 […]

Atlanta Black Star: Brutally Unfair Tax Structure Forces the Poor to Pay Twice As Much As the Rich

January 30, 2015

The culprit is the state and local taxes Americans pay on top of the federal taxes. While the federal taxes are relatively progressive, meaning they take a higher percentage from the wealthy than they do the poor and therefore try to address poverty and inequality, the federal efforts are swamped by state and local taxes […]

Forbes: Regressive Taxes Are Neither New Nor Good

January 30, 2015

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released its annual “Who Pays” report. The report should be read by everyone in the state and local tax policy business. Once again, ITEP has found that state and local tax systems are decidedly regressive. In fact, ITEP concluded that the effective tax rate of the 20% […]

Politico: Gas Tax Talk Isn’t Just for the Feds

January 30, 2015

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill may struggle to even utter the words “gas tax hike” sometimes, but that’s not stopping action on the state level. At least a dozen states are seriously considering raising their gas taxes this year, according to Carl Davis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. That comes after eight states […]

Bangor Daily News: Roads in Maine–Well, Everywhere–Need More Than a 9-Month Fix

January 30, 2015

The result? The Highway Trust Fund — which pays for both road and transit improvements — faces a $161 billion shortfall by 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that 78 percent of the shortfall is due to Congress’ inaction on the gas tax; 22 percent is […]

The Western Front: Keeping Tuition Prices on Ice

January 30, 2015

What it really comes down to is money and where that money comes from. Why doesn’t the legislature start by looking at how we collect taxes in Washington? According to a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, our state has the most regressive tax system in the nation. We’re one of […]

Seattle Times: Gov. Inslee’s Cap Gains Idea is DOA

January 30, 2015

The claim that Washington has the nation’s most unfair tax system comes from the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which favors progressive tax policies. We may quibble about the rankings — these things aren’t easy to measure — but the institute is right: Washington’s tax burden falls more heavily on lower-income taxpayers. It’s […]

The Atlantic: Robin Hood in Reverse

January 28, 2015

But according to a new report from The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the impact of those federal tax breaks is largely offset by the burden of state and local taxes. Here’s how state and local taxes break down as a percentage of income: The richest Americans pay the least. The tax mix changes […]

Inter Press Service: Banks, Inequality and Citizens

January 27, 2015

Every day we receive striking data on major issues which should create tumult and action, but life goes on as if those data had nothing to do with people’s lives. Well, in a just-released report, the U.S. Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy notes that in 2015 the poorest one-fifth of Americans will pay on […]

The Hill: Tech Mounts Pre-Emptive Strike on Taxes

January 27, 2015

“Intangible income is so easily manipulated on paper,” said Matthew Gardner of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal group that has called out U.S. multinationals for what it sees as tax avoidance strategies. “You just can’t allow people to simply call it foreign income.” Read more

West Hawaii Today: How Progressive Is Our Tax System

January 26, 2015

On Jan. 15, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released a report ranking the states in terms of how progressive their tax systems are. A “progressive” tax system is one that asks wealthier taxpayers to pay more of their income than poorer taxpayers. Most states rely upon some form of net income tax […]

St. Cloud Times: Tax Plan Is Fair, Sustains State’s Prosperity

January 26, 2015

A national study out this month confirms Minnesota is doing a better job at sharing the responsibility for paying for public services among all taxpayers than most other states in the U.S. The study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy assesses the fairness of state and local tax systems by measuring the state […]

The Journal Gazette: Progress on Regressive Taxes

January 26, 2015

Indiana has the 10th most regressive tax structure in the nation, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Households in the lowest percentile, excluding seniors, pay 12 percent of annual income on state and local taxes. The top 1 percent pay just 5.2 percent. Indiana’s flat income tax rate of 3.4 percent “taxes […]

East Bay Express: It’s Time to Raise the State Gas Tax

January 26, 2015

Historically, gas taxes have been too low in the United States — certainly not high enough to sufficiently fund our infrastructure and transportation needs. That’s why many economists and nonpartisan think tanks, including the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, which tracks tax policies nationwide, support higher gas taxes to pay for road projects. Gas […]

KNOE (CBS Louisiana Affiliate): Study Says Those Who Earn the Least Pay the Most

January 26, 2015

They say nothing in this life is as certain as death and taxes, and for some taxes mean death to a living wage. A recent study by The Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy says the lowest 40-percent of workers pay 10-percent of their income toward taxes, and the top 20-percent pay between 6.9 and […]

C-SPAN Washington Journal: President Obama’s Tax Policies

January 26, 2015

ITEP Executive Director Matt Gardner appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal on Jan. 24 to discuss President Obama’s tax proposal. Check out the video.

MSNBC: States See Slump in Lotto Sales (Video)

January 26, 2015

Meg Wiehe, ITEP state policy director, appeared on Weekends with Alex Witt, to talk about declining lotto sales. Check out the video.

The Boston Globe: Obama Is Taking on Inequality. How Does Massachusetts Fair?

January 24, 2015

In Massachusetts, lower-income people actually pay more of their money in taxes. If you are a middle-class family in Massachusetts, more than 9 percent of your income goes to state and local taxes, according to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy. If you’re among the very wealthiest, it’s more like 5 percent.  Read more

Slate: Republicans Are Finally Talking About Income Inequality

January 24, 2015

The problem is that this shifts the tax burden from the top to the bottom. In other words, it’s upward redistribution of wealth that harms the least well-off. And while the vast majority of states have tax systems that hit low-income Americans the hardest, these effects are worst in conservative states, where the highest tax […]

Salon: Why Wealthy Americans Delusions about the Poor Are So Dangerous

January 24, 2015

The rich are certainly entitled to their own opinions — but, as the old saying goes, nobody is entitled to their own facts. With that in mind, here’s a set of tax facts that’s worth considering: Middle- and low-income Americans are facing far higher state and local tax rates than the wealthy. In all, a […]

Newsmax: Tax Reform Is a Key Driver Toward Economic Reform

January 24, 2015

State and local taxes are similarly regressive. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-partisan research organization, average state and local taxes as a percentage of income in 2015 are 10.9 percent for the poorest fifth of Americans, 9.4 percent for the middle fifth and 5.4 percent for the wealthiest 1 percent.  […]