Blog - Local Policy
34 posts
Pennsylvania Just Gave Low-Income Workers a Tax Credit Boost. Now It’s Philadelphia’s Turn.
December 30, 2025 • By Kamolika Das
In the same way states are building upon federal tax credits, localities should consider building on state tax credits.
From Congressional discussions over the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" to debates on property taxes, ITEP kept busy this year analyzing tax proposals and showing Americans across the country how tax decisions affect them.
Texas Property Tax Plan Mimics California’s Damaging Prop 13
December 19, 2025 • By Neva Butkus, Rita Jefferson
This proposal would disrupt the state’s housing market and jeopardize local revenues while doing very little to help workers and families struggling to pay their property tax bills – just as Prop 13 did in California.
Not-So-Free Kick: How the 2026 FIFA World Cup Will Cost Cities Millions
December 5, 2025 • By Page Gray
FIFA demanded sales tax breaks on World Cup Tickets. That means millions in lost revenue for host cities already shouldering the costs on providing infrastructure, security and logistics.
In 2025, Voters Said Yes to Public Resources and Community Investments
November 6, 2025 • By Rita Jefferson
Important tax measures were on the ballot this week, and the outcomes are clear: many voters support new state and local spending to support critical services in their communities.
Making the Wealthy Pay their Fair Share is the Way to Preserve Vacation Towns
September 10, 2025 • By Rita Jefferson
Rhode Island lawmakers created a new surcharge on second homes worth more than $1 million as part of the budget enacted this spring.
As federal aid ends and economic uncertainty grows, local governments face tough budget choices. Now is the time for localities to protect vulnerable residents and build stronger, more equitable fiscal foundations.
As the Washington, D.C. region heads toward a likely recession, local policymakers will need to look to new revenue sources to help lessen the pain. In D.C., lawmakers ought to adopt a simple reform that would raise substantial revenue and make the District’s business tax system fairer.
Sweeping Federal Tax and Spending Changes Threaten Local Governments
June 3, 2025 • By Kamolika Das
Given this environment, local leaders must do what they can to preserve and strengthen progressive revenue tools, advocate for expanded local taxing authorities and flexibility, and push their state leaders to decouple from harmful federal tax changes.
Philadelphia Mayor’s Proposal to Cut Business Taxes is Illogical and Imprudent
April 7, 2025 • By Kamolika Das
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s proposal to cut the city’s business income and receipts tax (BIRT), based off the Philadelphia Tax Reform Commission’s recommendation, is illogical and imprudent. This is more than the city spends each year on homelessness services, public health, the streets department, and countless other programs that directly benefit residents.
Learn from Prop 13 History to Avoid Repeating Past Mistakes
February 26, 2025 • By Rita Jefferson
Worries about housing costs and property tax bills are leading people to check the history books for solutions, but there’s a danger that they’ll repeat past mistakes. If anti-tax lawmakers carelessly weaken property taxes as they did in the 1970s, as they did with California’s Proposition 13, they will undercut public finances, making municipalities, school districts, and other special districts worse off.
Policymakers Unwisely Propose Cutting Property Taxes in Favor of Sales Taxes
January 14, 2025 • By Rita Jefferson
Lawmakers across the country are taking aim at property taxes with a new strategy: raising sales taxes instead. Doing so would create a regressive tax shift that puts unfair burdens on renters and reduces the strength of local government revenues.
On Election Day, Voters Across the Country Chose to Invest in Their States & Communities
November 19, 2024 • By Kamolika Das
On election day, voters across the country — in states red and blue and communities rural and urban — approved a wide range of state and local ballot measures on taxation and public investment. The success of these measures clearly shows that voters are willing to invest in public priorities that feel tangible and close to home.
2024 Local Tax Ballot Measures: Voters in Dozens of Communities Will Shape Local Policy
October 17, 2024 • By Rita Jefferson
Next month, voters across the country will weigh in on many local ballot measures that will have a profound effect on the adequacy of our local tax systems and whether cities and communities can fund public needs. These are in addition to statewide ballot questions, many of which have local implications this year.
Many cities, counties, and townships across the country are in a difficult, or at least unstable, budgetary position. Localities are responding to these financial pressures in a variety of ways with some charging ahead with enacting innovative reforms like short-term rental and vacancy taxes, and others setting up local tax commissions to study the problem.
Tax History Matters: A Q&A with Professor Andrew Kahrl, Author of ‘The Black Tax’
April 24, 2024 • By Brakeyshia Samms
In his new book, The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America, Professor Andrew Kahrl walks readers through the history of the property tax system and its structural defects that have led to widespread discrimination against Black Americans.
These Three Local EITCs Are Boosting Family Incomes at Tax Time
April 10, 2024 • By Andrew Boardman
This tax season more than 800,000 households in New York City, Maryland's Montgomery County, and San Francisco are set to receive a boost through local refundable EITCs. These credits put dollars directly into the pockets of low-income households, equipping families with resources to better make ends meet and invest in their futures. In turn, they can help build stronger, fairer, and more resilient communities.
Ahead of the ‘Bring Chicago Home’ Vote, Remember That Local Mansion Taxes are Tried and Tested
March 14, 2024 • By Andrew Boardman, Kamolika Das
As Chicago and other localities look for ways to shore up resources for critical public investments, it's important to remember that over a dozen cities and counties have already benefited from policies like mansion taxes.
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.
Three Localities are Boosting Communities with Refundable EITCs; Others Should Follow Suit
October 30, 2023 • By Kamolika Das
Most states already offer their own Earned Income Tax Credits, typically matching a certain percentage of residents’ federal EITC, but this is still a rarity among localities.
2023’s State and Local Tax Ballot Measures: Voters to Weigh in on Property Taxes, Wealth Taxes, and More
October 24, 2023 • By Jon Whiten
Even in this slow year for candidate elections, the decisions that voters in states and cities make could strengthen or weaken revenue for needs in their communities and could change how taxes are distributed across the income spectrum. In the places where tax fairness is on the ballot, much is at stake.
States and Localities are Making Progress on Curbing Unjust Fees and Fines
July 18, 2023 • By Andrew Boardman
Too many state and local governments tap legal-system collections, rather than adequate tax systems, to fund shared essentials like public safety and education. But a growing number of states and localities are choosing a better approach. Momentum for change has continued to build in 2023, with no fewer than seven states enacting substantial improvements.
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.
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.
From dedicating new taxes to fund climate action and public health to vacancy and “mansion” taxes, many local leaders are already exploring ways to make their tax systems more progressive and sustainable. ITEP is committed to helping local leaders and advocates build on this work by advancing knowledge about local tax solutions.
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