Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

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Worthwhile Ideas for a Stronger and Fairer D.C. Tax Code

January 17, 2024 • By Andrew Boardman, Kamolika Das, Marco Guzman

The nation’s capital has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to advance a stronger and fairer local tax code. New draft recommendations from a key advisory panel will help leaders make the most of the moment.

Yahoo Finance: Lawmakers Ink a Bipartisan Tax Deal to Expand the Child Tax Credit

January 17, 2024

A powerful bipartisan duo announced a significant tax deal Tuesday that would combine a temporary expansion of the child tax credit with long-sought provisions for the business world. Read more.

Ring of Fire: You’ll Be Sick When You Find Out How Little The Top 1% Are Paying In Taxes

January 17, 2024

In 41 states across the country – and yes, that includes plenty of Democrat-controlled states – the tax rates for the top 1% of income earners and corporations are actually LOWER than the tax rates for EVERY OTHER income group. Read more.

Axios: Bipartisan Deal Would Expand Child Tax Credit, Lift Half-Million Children Out of Poverty

January 17, 2024

Congressional committee chairs reached a deal Tuesday that would expand the federal child tax credit, after three years of pushing by Democrats and progressives. Read more.

Testimony of Prosperity Indiana’s Andrew Bradley Before the Indiana State and Local Tax Review Task Force

January 16, 2024

On January 10, Andrew Bradley, Policy Director at Prosperity Indiana, testified before the State and Local Tax Review Task Force of the Indiana General Assembly. During his presentation, Bradley highlighted Prosperity Indiana’s tax policy priorities and ITEP’s Who Pays? findings. To watch the video, click here (Bradley’s testimony begins at 1:55:40) To read written testimony […]

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ITEP Statement on Federal Tax Deal on Child Tax Credit, Business Tax Breaks

January 16, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

Child poverty is a problem. Corporations paying too much in taxes is not. Unfortunately, many members of Congress have refused to direct resources to help children in poverty unless an equal amount of resources is simultaneously directed towards corporate tax cuts.

Video: The Young Turks Explains Upside-Down State Tax Codes

January 16, 2024

An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) show that lower and middle class citizens are paying way a higher tax rate their rich counterparts. Rayyvana, David Shuster and Wosny Lambre discuss on The Young Turks. Read more.

New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department: New Mexico Among Top 10 for Tax Equity

January 15, 2024

New Mexico is now among the top 10 states for most equitable tax structures thanks mostly to changes signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham over the past five years, according to a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Read more.

Washington State House Democrats: WA Improves Tax Equity Based On New Report

January 15, 2024

Washington’s tax system is becoming more fair for working families. Read more.

Oxfam: Do the Rich Pay Their Fair Share?

January 15, 2024

Paying your fair share of taxes strikes at the heart of fundamental fairness. Does everyone play by the same rules? Does our government have the resources it needs to provide the services we all rely on, from schools to roads to firefighters? Read more.

The Guardian: US Corporations Push to Roll Back Trump-Era Tax Policies They Once Endorsed

January 12, 2024

An agreement is emerging that ties the corporate tax breaks to an increase in support for vulnerable American families. Read more.

MarketWatch: Moving to Florida Might Not Be the Tax Play It’s Cracked Up to Be — Unless You’re Loaded

January 12, 2024

Florida, Texas and Tennessee have become hot real-estate markets in recent years, in part because they offer the allure of low taxes and cheap living costs. But a new analysis of how much state and local taxes cost rich and poor residents in those states throws cold water on the assumption that moving to states like Florida […]

Washington Post: Behind Closed Doors, Trump Eyes Second Round of Corporate tax Cuts

January 12, 2024

Donald Trump’s campaign team says the former president would prioritize cutting taxes for working-class families and small businesses if he returns to the White House. But privately, Trump has told allies that he is keenly interested in cutting corporate tax rates again, according to two people who have spoken with Trump in recent months. Read […]

Bloomberg: As ‘Mansion Taxes’ Catch On in US Cities, Los Angeles Offers Lessons

January 11, 2024

Amid backlash and a tough housing market, a new tax intended to fund affordable housing is bringing in far less money than projected. Read more.

Video: ITEP’s Carl Davis Discusses Arkansas’ Upside-Down Tax Code

January 11, 2024

The “Who Pays?” report, a nationwide report that highlights the tax systems of each of the 50 states, shows Arkansas is one of the many states that “exacerbate inequality” for low-income and middle-class Arkansans. “The Arkansas tax system right now is not very balanced,” said Carl Davis, research director for the Institute on Taxation and […]

Washington Post: Congress Nears Deal to Partially Restore Biden’s Expanded Child Tax Credit

January 11, 2024

Congressional lawmakers are closing in on a deal that would partially revive President Biden’s expanded tax credit for lower-income families in exchange for extending tax incentives favored by business interests, according to two people familiar with the matter. Read more.

Newsweek: Florida’s Tax System Most Unfair on Poor in US, Study Shows

January 10, 2024

The Florida tax system is the most unfair on the poor in the entire country, according to a new study, with the lowest-income 20 percent in the state paying much more of their income in taxes than the wealthiest 1 percent. Read more.

The Guardian: Forty-Four of 50 US States Worsen Inequality with ‘Upside-Down’ Taxes

January 10, 2024

A total of 44 of the 50 US states worsen inequality by making the wealthy pay a lesser share of their income in taxes than lower income people, a new analysis has found. Read more.

The Hill: Top 1 Percent Paying Lower Tax Rates Than Other Residents in Most States: Study

January 10, 2024

The wealthiest families in most states are paying lower tax rates than everyone else, a new analysis found. Read more.

Fast Company: Florida Can’t Get Enough of Tax Holidays. But They’re Not the Magic Bullet Ron DeSantis Claims

January 10, 2024

Floridians saved more than $475 million on tax-free holidays—but it comes at the expense of the state’s schools and infrastructure. Read more.

Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center: How Much Does the Millionaire Tax Improve Tax Fairness? How Does Massachusetts Compare Now to Other States?

January 10, 2024

A new 50-state analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds that Massachusetts’ recently adopted millionaire tax makes Massachusetts’ state and local tax system much more equitable. Even under current law, however, those with incomes over $1 million still will pay a smaller share of their income in state and local taxes […]

HuffPost: Most States Have Tax Codes That Are Rigged To Benefit The Wealthy: Report

January 9, 2024

A sweeping new analysis of taxes across the country reveals that in four out of every five states, the top 1% are paying a lower tax rate than their middle-class and low-income neighbors. Instead of taxing wealthy residents an equal share, the vast majority of states are filling their budget gaps with taxes that disproportionately burden […]

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In Most States, the Tax Code Makes Inequality Worse

January 9, 2024 • By Carl Davis

The vast majority of state and local tax systems are upside-down, with the wealthy paying a far lesser share of their income in taxes than low- and middle-income families. Yet a few states have made strides to buck that trend and have tax codes that are somewhat progressive and therefore do not worsen inequality.

news release  

Tax Systems in 44 States Exacerbate Inequality, In-Depth ‘Who Pays?’ Study Finds

January 9, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

The vast majority of state and local tax systems are upside-down, with the wealthy paying a far lesser share of their income in taxes than low- and middle-income families. That’s according to the latest edition of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s Who Pays?, the only distributional analysis of tax systems in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Yahoo Finance: The Tax Credit That Could Do More for American Pocketbooks Than Any New Year’s Resolution

January 8, 2024

Many Americans are making promises to do better in 2024 with New Year’s resolutions to save money and spend it wisely. Read more.