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State Rundown 10/22: Despite Obstacles, Progressive Taxes Define 2026
• By ITEP Staff
As more states move to raise revenue and tax the rich, anti-tax lobbyists and lawmakers are hard at work to undo that progress. Despite pushback, important conversations around needed revenue continue.
Testimony: ITEP’s Nick Johnson weighs in on revenue options for the District of Columbia
• By Nick Johnson
A D.C. Business Activity Tax, or BAT, meets commonly held standards for sound tax policy.
State Rundown 10/8: Ballot Debates and Gas Tax Promises Accelerate as Election Day Nears
• By ITEP Staff
As the Iran War continues to cause gas prices to rise across the country, lawmakers are stepping on the accelerator instead of pumping the brakes on costly and ineffective proposals to suspend the gas tax ahead of the November election.
ITEP Comment on Tax Credit Restrictions for Immigrants
• By Carl Davis, Emma Sifre
This proposal would bar a variety of immigrant tax filers from receiving the refunded portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), and Adoption Tax Credit.
New State Taxes on the Wealthy Raise Revenue and Rebalance Tax Codes, Advancing Racial Justice
• By Brakeyshia Samms
Taxing the rich is proven fiscal policy – it raises revenue for vital public services and makes tax codes fairer. But a part of the debate that rarely gets enough attention: taxing the rich is also one of the most effective tools available for advancing racial equity.
Trump’s Invasion of Iran Could Cost You Thousands
• By Amy Hanauer
Higher fuel and food prices are on track to cost the average household over $1,300 by the end of the year.
Meta’s Outlandish Tax Breaks for AI Data Centers
• By Steve Wamhoff
Meta is claiming the research tax credit – a tax break meant to encourage innovation and experimentation – to pay for the equipment it uses in data centers to power its AI activities. ITEP described how Meta paid just 3.5% of its profits in federal corporate income taxes in 2025.
Tallying Up the Impact of Florida’s Property Tax Ballot Measure on Local Communities
• By Neva Butkus
Florida voters will soon vote on Amendment 3, which would create a pathway for non-school property tax elimination in the state. If passed, the measure would cost local governments $13.7 billion in the first two years alone.
California’s Prop 40: Responses to Common Objections
• By Brian Galle, David Gamage, Darien Shankse
Proposition 40, California’s proposed billionaire tax, is a one-time 5 percent levy that addresses a significant one-time emergency, namely the cuts made to the healthcare system by the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
State Rundown 9/24: States Reckon with Tightening Fiscal Futures
• By ITEP Staff
States across the nation are reckoning with their tightening fiscal futures as inflation and economic woes continue to eat into their budgets.
Big Tech Is Raking in Enormous Tax Breaks for AI Development
• By Matthew Gardner
OBBBA’s expensing provision is becoming especially lucrative for the companies building out AI infrastructure right now. There is no evidence whatsoever that tax breaks are necessary to encourage their construction.
New Census Data Show Importance of Refundable Tax Credits and Need for Improvements
• By Joe Hughes
The Child Tax Credit actually moved fewer children out of poverty in 2025 than it did in 2024 prior to Congress passing the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA).
TurboTax Maker Intuit Paid Zero Federal Income Tax in 2025
• By Joe Hughes
TurboTax maker Intuit reported nearly $6 billion in U.S. profits in 2025 and paid no federal income tax. Instead, the company received a refund, thanks in part to new tax breaks from OBBBA.
State Rundown 9/10: States Brace for (and in Some Cases Embrace) Ballots and Budgets
• By ITEP Staff
States across the country will consider a host of ballot measures that could reshape the fairness and adequacy of their states’ tax systems, while other states are receiving budget forecasts that could further shape upcoming policy debates.
2026 State Tax Ballot Measures to Watch
• By Aidan Davis
This fall, voters across the country will consider a host of ballot measures that could reshape the fairness and adequacy of their states’ tax systems. Here’s some of what we’re following.
The Biggest Winners from Trump’s Tariff Refunds are Big Corporations
• By Matthew Gardner
The Trump administration has been forced to pay out over $100 billion from illegal tariffs, and the biggest winners from these tariff refunds have been big corporations.
State Action on Child Tax Credits and Earned Income Tax Credits Since 2021
• By Neva Butkus
Since 2021, there has been a flurry of new and expanded state Child Tax Credits and Earned Income Tax Credits. This continued momentum speaks to the power and popularity of these credits and the need to boost the financial security of families and children across the country.
State Rundown 8/27: Tax Policy is Cool as Summer Wraps
• By ITEP Staff
With many state legislatures already adjourned, developments in tax policy have slowed.
Maryland Digital Advertising Ruling Shouldn’t Stop Other States from Considering Ad Taxes
• By Nick Johnson
Consumers are increasingly bombarded with advertisements based on our personal data. This explosion in targeted advertising is leading state policymakers to revisit the tax treatment of advertising, which has long been exempt from sales tax.
Relentless State Income Tax Cuts Add Up to Massive Giveaways for the Wealthy
• By Sarah Austin
Today's state income tax cutting is defined less by sweeping one-time reforms than by sustained campaigns to ratchet down income tax rates year after year. This approach enables lawmakers to enshrine significant long-term reductions into law, while obscuring the fiscal impact by spreading it across multiple state budgets and legislative cycles.
The Trump Administration Slashed Taxes for H&R Block and Raised Costs for Tax Filers
• By Joe Hughes
Tax-prep giant H&R Block paid no federal taxes on its U.S. income in 2025. It also made a public disclosure, required by the European Union, characterizing one-third of its global profits as earned in Ireland, a low-tax country where the company offers no tax services and has only 15 employees.
Five Things to Know About the Trump Administration’s New Effort to Deny Tax Credits to Lawfully Present Immigrants
• By Carl Davis
Today the Trump administration proposed new regulations seeking to drastically reduce the tax credits that certain immigrant tax filers can claim. The affected credits include the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Additional Child Tax Credit, American Opportunity Tax Credit, and the Adoption Tax Credit.
Six Companies Reaped $83 Billion in Federal Tax Breaks in 2025
• By Sarah Buttikofer, Matthew Gardner
Six companies alone accounted for $83 billion of federal tax breaks disclosed by publicly traded U.S companies so far for 2025. Microsoft received a record high for single-year federal tax breaks for one publicly traded company, followed by Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, JPMorgan Chase, and Nvidia.
State Rundown 8/13: Income Tax Elimination Fails in Missouri
• By ITEP Staff
In a win for Missouri workers and families, voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposed amendment that would have allowed lawmakers to replace the state's income tax with increased or expanded sales taxes.
Child Tax Credits and Child and Dependent Care Credits: What’s the Difference?
• By Maddie Brown Shirley
Three popular state tax credits support families with children: the Child Tax Credit (CTC, or child credit), the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC, or dependent care credit), and the Earned Income Credit (EITC). While the EITC is intended to boost wages for low- and moderate-income workers and families, the CTC and CDCTC are […]
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