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Short-sighted tax cuts continue to make their way to Governors’ desks this week. In Florida, Gov. DeSantis signed a $1.3 billion tax cut package with $550 million of the tax cuts from sales tax holidays, alone. The Nebraska legislature also sent $6.4 billion in tax cuts to Gov. Pillen’s desk which includes an enormous personal income tax cut that will reduce taxes on the top 1 percent by tens of thousands of dollars.
Congress Should Consider Attaching Work Requirements to the Biggest Tax Break for the Rich
May 25, 2023 • By Steve Wamhoff
Instead of focusing on low-income people who are already mostly employed or facing significant barriers to employment, lawmakers who want to encourage labor force participation should revisit existing tax breaks subsidizing wealthy individuals who live off their assets rather than work.
State Rundown 5/25: The North Star State Leads the Way on Tax Fairness
May 24, 2023 • By ITEP Staff
As we approach the midpoint of 2023, it’s a good time to look back at the progress states have made in the name of tax fairness and equity...
This past week, in statehouses around the country, tax policy decisions are moving fast as budgets were signed and budget plans were released and passed...
States are Talking About the Wrong Kind of Property Tax Cuts
May 11, 2023 • By Brakeyshia Samms, Carl Davis
Concerns over property tax affordability have been at the forefront this year as housing prices have climbed and property tax bills have often increased along with them. As lawmakers mull a range of property tax cuts, circuit breakers are the best possible approach—and these policies are receiving far too little attention in the states.
State Rundown 5/10: Momentum on State Tax Credits Continues to Build
May 10, 2023 • By ITEP Staff
This week, in states across the country the momentum to center improvements to family economic security remains strong...
At nearly every turn, Oregon’s tax policies widen inequality; as a result, the top 1 percent pay less state and local taxes as a share of income than the poorest residents. Taxing capital gains at the local level is an important and exciting move in the other direction – to tax income from wealth and use it to address crucial needs.
The House’s Debt Ceiling Smoke Screen: The GOP Budget Plan Gives Cover for Tax Cuts for the Rich
May 9, 2023 • By Joe Hughes
While it isn’t reasonable in the first place for Congress to debate whether it will pay the bills it has already incurred, some of the same lawmakers who are holding the economy hostage to exact budget cuts have decided to make the conversation even more irrational by proposing to increase deficits with tax cuts that enrich the already rich.
Congress Should Raise Taxes on the Rich, But That’s a Totally Separate Issue from the Debt Ceiling
May 9, 2023 • By Steve Wamhoff
Congress absolutely should raise taxes on the rich and on corporations to generate revenue and improve the fairness of our tax code. President Biden has several proposals to do exactly that. But this is an entirely separate question from whether we should raise the debt ceiling to honor the debts the nation has already incurred and avoid an economic apocalypse.
Minnesota Poised to Enact Landmark Loophole-Closing Corporate Tax Reforms
May 7, 2023 • By Matthew Gardner
With Minnesota poised to enact worldwide combined reporting of corporate income taxes, business lobbyists are pulling out all the stops to make state lawmakers believe the apocalypse is upon them.
While the conversations on the debt ceiling heat up in the nation's capital, debates on state tax policy also continue to unfold in capitol buildings across the nation...
The GOP is Finally Ready to Raise Taxes. (Or, When a Tax Hike is Not a Tax Hike.)
May 3, 2023 • By Joe Hughes
House Republicans recently voted to rescind the green energy and electric vehicle tax credits that were enacted last Congress as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. This newfound willingness to raise taxes stands in contrast to the recent position of almost the entire House Republican Caucus.
Minnesota’s House, Senate and Governor’s office have each proposed their own vision as to how the state should maximize its $17.5 billion surplus and raise new revenue, and these tax plans make one thing clear: Minnesota lawmakers are serious about using tax policy to advance tax equity and improve the lives of Minnesotans.
A compelling new examination over multiple years and multiple states found that infants are more likely to survive to age one in states that raise more revenue and raise it from those most able to pay. Generating taxes from rich people and corporations can help babies make it to their first birthday.
Kansas Avoids Flat Tax Proposal: Narrow Victory a Cautionary Tale for Other States
April 27, 2023 • By Brakeyshia Samms
Kansas lawmakers failed to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a damaging flat tax package. In doing so, the state narrowly avoided traveling again down the same disastrous yet well-worn path of deep income tax cuts. States across the country can learn from Kansas’s experience by rethinking tax policy decisions and broader statewide priorities.
This week the importance of state tax policy is center stage once again...
Racial Justice Requires Tax Justice: Our Analysis Helps Deliver Both
April 24, 2023 • By Amy Hanauer
ITEP’s analytical approach, our comprehensive microsimulation model, and our unique state-level capacities enable us to do pioneering analyses that enrich the debate on racial justice in tax policy that no other entity can do.
State Rundown 4/19: Revenue Discussions Heat Up Like the Temperature
April 19, 2023 • By ITEP Staff
Tax season has ended for most filers, but the topic remains a hot one in states around the country...
Why is My Refund So Much Smaller This Year? Only the Good (Tax Credits) Die Young.
April 18, 2023 • By Joe Hughes
This year millions of American families are finding that their refunds are much smaller than last year—or that they even owe taxes back to the government—because of the expiration of the expanded Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit that were in effect in 2021. The lapse of the expanded credits affects a majority of the middle class, but lower-income households are particularly likely to feel the sting.
Everything! Taxing wealthy people and corporations and using the revenue for paid leave, child care, education, health care and college would transform America for girls and women of every race and family type, in every corner of this country.
State Rundown 4/12: Tax Day 2023 – A Good Reminder of the Impact of Our Collective Investments
April 12, 2023 • By ITEP Staff
With Tax Day quickly approaching it’s worth taking some time to reflect not just on tax forms (though those are important!), but also on the current state of state tax policy...
Deep Public Investment Changes Lives, Yet Too Many States Continue to Seek Tax Cuts
April 12, 2023 • By Aidan Davis
When state budgets are strong, lawmakers should put those revenues toward building a stronger and more inclusive society for the long haul. Yet, many state lawmakers have made clear that their top priority is repeatedly cutting taxes for the wealthy.
As Tax Day approaches, it’s worth thinking about not only the taxes that we individually pay but the overall condition of our tax code as well. State tax codes, while perhaps less discussed than the federal system, are critically important. Depending on how they are designed, state taxes can improve or worsen economic and racial […]
This week, a bill out of Arkansas that would cut the top personal income tax rate and the corporate income tax rate found its way to the governor’s desk...
Lawmakers have repeatedly stepped on the same rake of slashing tax rates and expecting revenues to magically go up. Now they want middle-class Americans to be the ones who get hit in the face. The con is getting tired. If Congress wants to reel in the debt then it’s time to raise taxes on the wealthy.
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