Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

The Lens: Louisiana’s poor pay higher tax rate than the rich

January 31, 2013

(Original Report) By Tyler Bridges, Staff writerJanuary 30th, 2013 The poor in Louisiana pay twice as much of their income in state and local taxes as do the rich, a new study shows. The report, released Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal, Washington, D.C.-based group, will likely raise more questions […]

Bloomberg: How Republican Governors Are Pretending to Cut Taxes

January 31, 2013

(Original Post) By Deborah Solomon Jan 31, 2013 10:37 AM ET Republican governors across the U.S. are engaged in an income tax-cutting frenzy, moving to reduce or even eliminate individual income taxes in their states. The changes will increase economic growth and reduce the size of government, they say, and their plans are drawing strong […]

Daily Kos: The Republican Land of Oz

January 31, 2013

(Original Post) Thu Jan 31, 2013 at 05:44 AM PST I am sure that Kansas is a wonderful place, but if Leavenworth Penitentiary is your best known landmark and a fictitious 12 year old girl from the “Land of Oz” is your most famous resident…then you might want to question why you are living in […]

MSNBC: And the rich pay less

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) By Laura Conaway – Wed Jan 30, 2013 4:05 PM EST Just about every state’s tax system treats the rich better than the poor, writes the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in a new report today. The Institute says the states with the most regressive (read: unfair) tax plans are Washington State, […]

The Town Talk: Tax expert warns that Jindal’s tax plan will hurt lower-income earners

January 30, 2013

Jan. 30, 2013 4:27 PM,   | Written by MIKE HASTEN Gannett Louisiana BATON ROUGE – Like many states, Louisiana has a tax structure that is unfair to low- and middle-income families, a study examining tax structures released today says. But the tax revision plan pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, dropping income taxes in exchange for […]

Gambit: La.’s poorest pay more than 10% of income in state, local taxes

January 30, 2013

(Original Report) Posted by Charles Maldonado on Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 4:31 PM A national survey of state and local tax codes by Washington think tank the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows that Louisiana’s poorest residents pay the highest levels of state and local taxes as a percent of income — […]

Pacific Business News: Hawaii’s poorest residents pay highest share of income in taxes

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Jan 30, 2013, 12:17pm HST Staff Pacific Business News Low- and middle-income families in Hawaii pay a larger share of taxes than the top 20 percent of earners in the Islands, ranking the state the fourth worst in the nation with a tax system that favors high earners, according to a study released […]

WEKU: Report Says Kentucky Tax System Unbalanced On Backs of the Poor

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) 4:51pm Wed January 30, 2013 By Kenny Colston, KPR-Frankfort A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows a big gap between Kentucky’s income levels on who pays taxes. The report says Kentucky’s top 1 percent income bracket pays roughly 5 percent of the state’s income, while the bottom 20 […]

Arkansas Times: Who pays taxes?

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Posted by Max Brantley on Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 9:56 AM Arkansas is on the cusp of a Republican-led charge to reshape taxation. Where they don’t want to cut taxes, they want to dramatically reduce the burden on wealthy taxpayers, by reducing or eliminating the tax on unearned income and by reducing […]

Great Falls Tribune: Legislature considers bill to cut taxes on top income earners

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Jan. 30, 2013 10:18 AM Written byJOHN S. ADAMSTribune capital bureau HELENA — The Senate Taxation committee on Wednesday heard testimony on a measure that would reduce the income tax rate for the highest income earners by one percent. Senate Bill 170, by Sen. Art Wittich, R-Bozeman, would reduce the tax levied on […]

Honolulu Star Advertiser: Hawaii among most regressive states for taxation

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) By Erika Engle POSTED: 08:07 a.m. HST, Jan 30, 2013LAST UPDATED: 08:07 a.m. HST, Jan 30, 2013 Hawaii has been declared one of the “Terrible Ten” most regressive states for tax laws, by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, based in Wash., D.C. An ITEP study released today found that Hawaii […]

CBS 42: Ala. among ‘Terrible 10’ most regressive tax states

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Low and middle-income Alabamians pay more than twice as much of their incomes in state and local taxes as the state’s richest households pay, according to a report released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, D.C. Alabama’s upside-down tax system […]

Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama’s tax system among most regressive in nation, says report

January 30, 2013

State not alone: ‘Virtually every state’s tax system is fundamentally unfair’ Written by Brian Lyman Jan. 30, 2013 11:17 AM,   | Alabama’s tax system ranks as one of the ten most regressive in the country, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-partisan think tank based in […]

Chicago Magazine: Illinois- The Fourth Most Regressive Taxes in America

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Posted today at 11:21 a.m.By Whet Moser  One of the ongoing complaints about Illinois’s tax system—besides general complaints about it being too high for everything—is its prairie flatness, which is unusual among states. One complaint is that it hits low-income taxpayers hardest (Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, has proposed a graduated tax); the other is […]

Nashville Scene: We’re No. 6 in Unfair Taxes

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 12:54 PM Tennessee might rank near the bottom nationally in education spending, per capita income and nearly every other quality-of-life category ever devised. But we remain near the top in one measure. Our tax system is really great at sticking it to the […]

Keystone Politics: Pennsylvania’s Tax Code is Hideously Regressive

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Pennsylvania’s crazy regressive tax code is an issue I think it would be worth picking a Constitutional amendment fight over:     Pennsylvania is one of the “Terrible Ten” states with the most regressive tax structures nationwide, hitting the poor hardest while taking the least from the rich, according to a new report from […]

WFPL: Kentucky Tax System Unbalanced On Backs of the Poor

January 30, 2013

By Kenny Colston A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows a big gap between Kentucky’s income levels on who pays taxes. The report says Kentucky’s top 1 percent income bracket pays roughly 5 percent of the state’s income, while the bottom 20 percent pays 9 percent. Middle income levels are […]

Philadelphia Business Journal: Pa. tax system among ‘Terrible 10’ for working families

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Jan 30, 2013, 1:27pm EST Staff Philadelphia Business Journal Pennsylvania is among the 10 states with the most regressive tax systems in the United States, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says. The group says families in the state earning less than $19,000 a year pay a higher percentage of their incomes, […]

New Jersey News Record: Poorest NJ Families Have Greater Tax Burden Than Wealthy

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) January 30, 2013 STATE – New Jersey’s poorest families spend a greater percentage of their income on taxes than the state’s wealthiest, according to a report released this week by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy in Washington. According to the study, “virtually every state’s tax system is fundamentally unfair, taking a […]

The Providence Journal: Study says Rhode Island is one of 10 states with highest taxes on poor

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) January 30, 2013 12:01 amBy Katherine Gregg PROVIDENCE, R.I. — As the tax debate begins anew at the State House, a new study has identified Rhode Island as one of ten states with the highest taxes on the poor. The poorest Rhode Islanders paid 12.1 percent of their income in state and local […]

The Star-Ledger: Poorest N.J. residents face biggest tax burden

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) By Ryan Hutchins/The Star-Ledgeron January 30, 2013 at 6:35 AM, updated January 30, 2013 at 6:38 AM TRENTON — New Jersey’s poorest families pay more than 11 percent of their income toward state and local taxes, while the tax bite for the richest is about 7 percent, a study released Tuesday has found. […]

Philadelphia City Paper: Top 1 percent don’t pay in PA

January 30, 2013

POSTED: Wednesday, January 30, 2013, 10:39 AM Follow on Twitter @DanielDenvir Pennsylvania is one of the “Terrible Ten” states with the most regressive tax structures nationwide, hitting the poor hardest while taking the least from the rich, according to a new report from the liberal Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center (PBPC) and the Institute on […]

Wichita Eagle: Poor Kansans hit harder by taxes than rich

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Published Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, at 9:23 a.m. TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A new study by a non-partisan Washington research group says the poorest Kansans pay a much higher percentage of their incomes in state and local taxes than do the state’s wealthiest residents. Wednesday’s report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic […]

Kansas City Business Journal: State taxes take bigger bite from lower earners

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Staff Kansas City Business Journal An analysis released Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reveals that state taxes take a bigger toll on low- and middle-income families than the wealthy. The report combines the average overall effective state and local tax rates by income group nationwide. It found that the […]

The Hill: State tax systems regressive

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) By Bernie Becker – 01/30/13 07:02 AM ET Practically every state charges a higher share of taxes from lower- and middle-class families than the highest earners, a new study from a liberal-leaning group found. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the bottom 20 percent of earners paid an effective tax […]