Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

Bloomberg: States Lacking Income Tax Get No Boost in Growth

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By Brian Chappatta on June 25, 2012 Governors seeking to expand their economies by eliminating income taxes find little support for the idea in the record of U.S. states that lack such a levy. The BGOV Barometer shows the nine states with the highest personal income taxes on residents outperformed or kept pace […]

Think Progress: Having No Income Tax Gives States No Economic Boost

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By Pat Garofalo on Jun 26, 2012 at 10:30 am According to a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, states without an income tax received no discernible boost in growth over the last decade compared to states with relatively high income taxes. Lacking an income tax provided no boost to […]

New York Times: No Income Tax? No Boost.

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) June 26, 2012, 3:52 pmBy JULIET LAPIDOS This past February, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin announced a plan to phase out her state’s income tax over ten years. “We’re going to have the most pro-growth tax system in the region,” she said, according to The Wall Street Journal.  Lawmakers in Kansas and Missouri have […]

Salon: Supply-side guru- Wrong again

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) More evidence that cutting taxes does not automatically lead to prosperityBy Andrew LeonardTuesday, Jun 26, 2012 11:11 AM EDT There are so many nails in the coffin containing supply-side economics that it’s hard to find room for another one, but with yet another Republican presidential candidate chanting the mantra coined by Ronald Reagan’s […]

NPR’s State Impact: Recent Study Questions “New Hampshire Advantage”

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) June 29, 2012 | 11:23 AMBy Emily Corwin A couple of weeks ago, Arthur Laffer — an economist made famous for his work in the Reagan administration — co-wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal warning that the expiration of federal tax cuts in January puts the country on the verge […]

The Oklahoman: Citizens for Tax Justice working for fair and sustainable tax system

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) “Class warfare creeps into tax cut extension debate” (Our Views, June 26) mischaracterized Citizens for Tax Justice’s views in criticizing our report about the expiring tax cuts. The CTJ report is based on numbers from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s micro-simulation model that estimates the effect of tax policy changes on […]

Virginia Connection: Documentary Tackles Corporate Tax Evasion

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) “We’re Not Broke” screening in Arlington makes taxation a question of justice. By Erik Heaney Monday, July 2, 2012 Arlington — In Karin Hayes and Victoria Bruce’s documentary film, “We’re Not Broke,” which played to an audience in the Arlington County Library June 25, makes the case that taxes are not America’s problem. […]

The Young Turks: Do High Taxes Kill Growth?

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Published on Jul 2, 2012 by TheYoungTurks Cenk Uygur refutes the Republican talking point that if you cut taxes you’ll spur the economy. Cenk discusses the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s recent report on state taxes. Tell us what you think in the comment section below. Read the report: https://itep.org/whopays3.pdf  

International Business Times: How Much Would Middle Class Save With Bush Tax Cut Extension?

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By Ashley Portero July 9, 2012 1:52 PM EDT President Barack Obama on Monday officially called for a one-year extension of the Bush tax cuts for middle-class families while allowing those cuts for the  wealthy to expire, a strategy that has previously been scorned by Republicans who argue rescinding those lower rates for […]

New York Times: To Cut Taxes or Keep Services- 2 States Act as Test Cases

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By MICHAEL COOPERPublished: July 10, 2012 OCEAN CITY, Md. — As state governments begin to emerge from the long downturn, many are grappling with a difficult choice: should they restore some of the services and jobs they were forced to cut after the recession or cut taxes in the hopes of bolstering their […]

The Milford Daily News: Some question value of sales tax holiday

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By Laura Krantz/Daily News staffMetroWest Daily NewsPosted Jul 13, 2012 @ 01:11 AM FRAMINGHAM — When Jim Green heard about this year’s sales tax holiday, his reaction was “Oh my God!” Green owns Automatic Appliance Service in Framingham, a six-employee family business that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. “You can do a month’s […]

Capital Gazette: Marylanders have a lot riding on tax policy

December 17, 2012

Posted: Friday, July 13, 2012 10:30 am | Updated: 1:25 pm, Fri Jul 13, 2012. In an interesting article this week, The New York Times used Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley and Sam Brownback, the Republican governor of Kansas, as examples of the contrasting Democratic and Republican approaches to state spending, now that revenue is […]

The Nation: ‘We Can’t Afford It’: The Big Lie About Medicaid Expansion

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Richard Kim on July 20, 2012 – 10:47 AM ET In his letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius rejecting the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, Texas Governor Rick Perry tells a whopper. Expanding Medicaid, he writes, would “threaten even Texas with financial ruin.” Texas has the highest […]

The Examiner: GOP plan taxes poor and middle class for the benefit of wealthiest .03 percent

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) GOP Tax ProposalJuly 25, 2012By: James Johnson The lengthy title and subtitle of the latest Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report truly says it all, “Senate and House GOP Leaders’ Tax Proposals Would Provide Windfall for Heirs of Largest Estates, But Would Let Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit Improvements […]

Bloomberg: Back to School Means Back to Sales Tax Holidays, But Are They Worth It?

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) August 1, 2012 by Kathleen Caggiano t’s that time of year again – the end of summer signals back to school for many families. And it also signals the start of various sales tax holidays, as many states offer various sales tax holidays in the beginning of August. In 2012, 17 states will […]

Bloomberg BNA: Back to School Means Back to Sales Tax Holidays, But Are They Worth It?

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Wednesday, August 1, 2012 It’s that time of year again – the end of summer signals back to school for many families.  And it also signals the start of various sales tax holidays, as many states offer various sales tax holidays in the beginning of August.  In 2012, 17 states will offer sales […]

The Portland Press Herald: Bush-era tax cuts? Maine candidates have range of opinion

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Posted: August 1Updated: Today at 7:06 AM By John Richardson [email protected] House Bureau It will likely be one of the first orders of business for Maine’s next U.S. senator: extend the Bush tax cuts or let them expire? With Congress deadlocked so far on which cuts to keep, the winner of the election […]

National Journal: Should Wind Tax Credit Stay or Go?

December 17, 2012

Original Post OPINION:Not Extending Wind Credit Hypocritical Scott Sklar,  President, The Stella Group, Ltd & Adjunct Professor GWU August 6, 2012 In light of the massive existing subsidies for petroleum and nuclear energy, the policy idea to allow the wind energy production tax credit expire is not only absolute poor public policy but an extreme […]

The Journal Gazette: Report- Rich benefit most in Pence plan

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Published: August 8, 2012 3:00 a.m. Niki Kelly | The Journal Gazette INDIANAPOLIS – The majority of benefits from an income tax cut proposed by Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence would flow to the highest-income Indiana taxpayers, a new analysis shows. Pence, a six-term U.S. congressman, last week proposed dropping Indiana’s 3.4 percent […]

Forbes: New York AG’s Private Equity Investigation- Money Grab or Shameless Politics?

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) It must be a Presidential election year because otherwise normal people are debating arcane provisions of the federal tax law and some seem to actually be enjoying it. Everybody’s got an opinion on the New York Times report that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating several private equity firms – KKR, […]

Wisconsin Public Radio: Lawmakers Hear Calls for Reviewing Tax Breaks

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) 6:23 pmThu September 6, 2012 By Shawn Johnson Several tax experts told a special legislative panel today that any income tax reform in Wisconsin should consider eliminating the state’s many tax breaks. Among those who testified was Matt Gardner of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.  The Institute favors a progressive income […]

Pierce County Herald: Lawmakers lectured on taxes

December 17, 2012

Published September 11, 2012, 04:34 PM By: Sen. Kathleen Vinehout , Pierce County Herald “We’ve really got a mess,” Todd Berry told the group. Lawmakers are “mucking up the tax code with a lot of stuff nobody uses.” Mr. Berry is the president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. He was among four experts who testified […]

Winona Daily News: Lawmakers lectured on taxes

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout Alma, Wis. “We’ve really got a mess,” Todd Berry told the group. Lawmakers are “mucking up the tax code with a lot of stuff nobody uses.“ Mr. Berry is the president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. He was among four experts who testified at a recent Symposia Series […]

Slate: Debunking Romney’s 47 Percent: The Poor Pay Their Fair Share

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By Eliot Spitzer Posted Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, at 6:18 PM ET Two numbers now define our political discourse. One number, made famous by Occupy Wall Street, is 99 percent. It represents the vast majority of our society—those who do not enjoy the income distribution and tax policies, including capital gains preferences and […]

South Bend Tribune: Here’s a better idea on Indiana’s sales tax

December 17, 2012

ANDREA NEAL 5:46 a.m. EDT, September 19, 2012 At 3.4 percent, Indiana’s personal income tax is one of the nation’s lowest. A half dozen states, including Texas and Florida, don’t charge income tax at all; 41 states impose a rate higher than Indiana’s. At 7 percent, the Indiana sales tax ties for second highest with […]