Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

The Columbus Dispatch: Group sees inequality in Ohio’s state, local taxes

January 15, 2015

“In Ohio and across the country, lower-income citizens pay a higher percentage of their income in state taxes than the wealthier do, a new study released yesterday found. The situation here is worse than in most states, according to the analysis of 2012 income data by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which ranked […]

Minnesota Post: In study on tax fairness, Minnesota looks … fair

January 15, 2015

“In The Washington Post, Niraj Shoshi reports, “State taxes favor those with the highest incomes. That’s according to a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report, which finds that on average the bottom fifth of earners pay proportionally twice as much of their incomes in state and local taxes as the […]

Common Dreams: How Regressive Local Taxes Are Rewarding the Rich

January 15, 2015

“New report finds ‘fundamentally unfair’ tax system in nearly every state. Here’s something nearly every state in the nation has in common: a regressive state tax system that is exacerbating the wealth divide. So finds the newest edition of Who Pays: A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All Fifty States from the non-partisan […]

Ozark’s First: Arkansas Receives Negative Mark On Taxing Residents

January 15, 2015

“A new study released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) puts Arkansas among the most unfair tax systems in the country. According to the study, Arkansas’s tax system is unfair, or regressive, because the lower someone’s income, the higher their tax rate. This is in part because Arkansas, like most other […]

Mint Press News: Low Oil Prices Prompt New Interest In Raising Gas Tax, Cutting Subsidies

January 15, 2015

“Utah has gone almost 18 years without an increase in its gas tax, so instead they’ve increasingly spent money from their General Fund on transportation – spending less on education and human services,” Carl Davis, a senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), told MintPress News. Yet Davis notes that thinking […]

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Washington tax structure is most regressive in US, study says

January 15, 2015

“Washington frequently basks in “Top Ten” lists of America’s most livable cities, retirement havens or best places to do business. But the Evergreen State ranks rock-bottom in a new “Terrible Ten” list of states with the nation’s most regressive tax system. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the state taxes its poorest […]

The Daily Journal: NJ’s tax system fairer than most

January 15, 2015

“New Jersey’s state and local tax system is fairer than most states, but low- and middle-income residents still fork over a larger share of their income to taxes than the wealthy, according to a new study. New Jersey Policy Perspective and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy authored the study. Despite New Jersey’s progressive […]

The Free Press: An Eerily Familiar Tax Reform Plan, with Some Big Revisions

January 15, 2015

But in the end, the governor’s budget is just a proposal and it will be up to the Legislature to negotiate a final plan. In the coming months, Democrats and Republicans will pore over hundreds of pages of line items and hold public hearings under intense lobbying from various interest groups desperately trying to protect […]

The Washington Post: How government helps the 1 percent

January 15, 2015

“It is thus a public service that the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has issued a report showing that, at the state and local level, government is indeed engaged in redistribution — but it’s redistribution from the poor and the middle class to the wealthy. The institute found that in 2015 the poorest […]

The Huffington Post: Paging Mr. Romney 2016: New Study Shows the Poor Pay More in State/Local Taxes Than the Rich

January 15, 2015

“Read it and weep (really). Here’s what a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found: In terms of the overall tax burden (state, local, federal), the top 1 percent don’t even pay that much more as a percentage of their income than do the bottom 20 percent. Think about that for […]

Washington Post: How state tax systems unfairly burden low-income earners

January 14, 2015

“State taxes favor those with the highest incomes. That’s according to a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report, which finds that on average the bottom fifth of earners pay proportionally twice as much of their incomes in state and local taxes as the top 1 percent. Such systems that are […]

CBS: Are local taxes unfair to the poor?

January 14, 2015

“When it comes to state taxes, the rule of thumb is often topsy-turvy: The less you earn, the more you pay. That’s the conclusion from a new analysis of local taxes from the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonpartisan research firm that studies tax issues. The organization’s findings won’t do much […]

The Providence Journal: RI’s poorest residents pay higher percentage of income in taxes than highest 1 percent

January 14, 2015

“Rhode Island’s poorest residents can expect to pay nearly twice as much of their income in taxes than the state’s wealthiest 1 percent, according to a new study. That data ranks Rhode Island fifth-worst in the country for taxes on the poor, worse than its ninth-place ranking two years ago, according to a study released […]

International Business Times: Poor Families Pay Double The State And Local Tax Rate As The Rich

January 14, 2015

“Middle- and low-income Americans are facing far higher state and local taxes than the wealthy, according to a new report assessing tax data from all 50 states. In all, the analysis by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds that the poorest 20 percent of households pay on average more than twice […]

The New York Times: Study Finds Local Taxes Hit Lower Wage Earners Harder

January 14, 2015

“When it comes to the taxes closest to home, the less you earn, the harder you’re hit. That is the conclusion of an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that evaluates the local tax burden in every state, from Washington, labeled the most regressive, to Delaware, ranked as the fairest of them […]

The New York Times: Writing off the Warhol Next Door

January 12, 2015

And at a time when concerns about inequality have heightened criticism of government policies that favor the wealthiest sliver of society, these tax breaks have come under sharper scrutiny. “I think these types of deals do not follow the intent, even if they follow the letter, of the law,” said Rebecca Wilkins, senior counsel on […]

Yakima Herald-Republic: Tax System Unlikely to See Overhaul This Year

January 12, 2015

Further, due to reliance on a relatively high sales tax, Washington has ranked as the most regressive state tax system in the nation, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that advocates for progressive tax policies. The poorest 20 percent of state residents pay nearly 17 percent of […]

Bloomberg BNA: Will 2015 Be the Year of Gas Tax Reform?

January 9, 2015

While the states have sometimes been slow to react on this issue, at least lawmakers seem to be beginning to understand the reasons for gas tax reform, said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the non-profit, non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).  Gas tax reform was something that many lawmakers weren’t willing to talk […]

The Wall Street Journal: In Low Gasoline Prices, an Opening Emerges for Higher Taxes

January 9, 2015

“There aren’t many products where every time you go for a drive you see the price thrown at you a dozen times before you get to your destination,” said Carl Davis, a senior policy analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit research group in Washington. “Gasoline is something people buy frequently. […]

Illinois Times: Illinois Broken Tax System

January 9, 2015

It adds up to the fourth-most regressive tax code in the nation, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. In thundering against the status quo, Rauner has raised expectations in a state that has traditionally seen tax hikes and overhauls when Republicans occupy the governor’s […]

USA Today: New Year Brings Hundreds of New Laws

January 5, 2015

Drivers in five states could see gasoline prices rise with gas tax increases, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a tax watchdog group. The biggest increase is in Pennsylvania, 9.8 cents, followed by Virginia, 5.1 cents; Maryland, 2.9 cents; North Carolina, 1 cent; and Florida, 0.3 cents. New York, Nebraska, Vermont, West […]

Los Angeles Times: Is the Oil Crash About to Snuff out the Texas Miracle?

January 5, 2015

Questions about who has really benefited from Texas fiscal policies will be heard more often, and the answers will be ugly. As the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy observes, Texas has one of the most regressive tax systems in the land: its poorest 20% pay about four times as much of their average income […]

Grand Forks Herald: Higher Gas Tax Needed for Safe, Efficient Highways

January 5, 2015

he Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has proposed the most logical and realistic analysis of and recommendation on this tax issue. The full report should be reviewed by everyone, but especially by our legislators. Here are the first few paragraphs from this very comprehensive report: “The gas tax is the single most important source […]

Politico Pro: Alaska’s Bill Walker under Pressure Amid Oil Price Crash

January 5, 2015

Meg Wiehe, state tax policy director at the liberal-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said it’s also necessary for Alaska to consider some sort of new tax revenue as a long-term solution. The state is “really kicking the can down the road,” she said. “I just think [Alaska’s plan] is fiscally very short-sighted because […]

NBC–WHAG: Maryland Gas Tax Jumps 3 Cents

January 5, 2015

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, drivers in four other states could potentially see a similar motor-fuel tax increase to benefit state transportation. However, in light of the recent drop in gas prices, local motorists are not as concerned about the uptick. Read more