Category: Personal Income Taxes

Carl Davis
Research Director

May 17, 2017

Investors and Corporations Would Profit from a Federal Private School Voucher Tax Credit

A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and AASA, the School Superintendents Association, details how tax subsidies that funnel money toward private schools are being used as profitable tax shelters by high-income taxpayers. By exploiting interactions between federal and state tax law, high-income taxpayers in nine states are currently able […]
Dylan Grundman O'Neill
Senior Policy Analyst

May 4, 2017

Nebraska Vote Is Latest Defeat for Tax-Cut “Trigger” Gimmick

Nebraska lawmakers had a long and contentious tax-cut debate this session but ultimately chose the wise path and rejected attempts to give a massive tax cut to the wealthy at the expense of the state’s schools, other public services, low- and middle-income families, and property tax payers. Tax cut efforts in Nebraska last year ended […]
Dylan Grundman O'Neill
Senior Policy Analyst

May 1, 2017

Time to Repeal State Deductions for Federal Income Taxes

Three of the biggest needs facing state policymakers right now are new revenues to fund their priorities in the face of budget shortfalls and federal funding cuts, ways to insulate those revenue streams from unpredictable tax changes at the federal level, and approaches to meet these needs without leaning even more heavily on low- and […]
Carl Davis
Research Director

April 25, 2017

Income Tax Offers Best Bang for the Buck in Alaska

Earlier this month the Alaska House of Representatives voted 22-17 in favor of implementing a personal income tax for the first time in over 35 years. Gov. Bill Walker praised the bill shortly after passage, citing its ability to “provide a steady source of funding for essential services like public education and state troopers,” and […]
Carl Davis
Research Director

February 6, 2017

Dodging Tough Fiscal Decisions with State Tax Cut Triggers and Phase-Ins

The most challenging problem that tax-cutting state lawmakers face is dealing with the budgetary tradeoffs that tax cuts require. Should education spending be reduced? Should investments in infrastructure be halted? Should the state cut back on transfers to local governments and require them to pick up the slack? Or should other taxes and fees be […]
Aidan Davis
State Policy Director

February 2, 2017

What to Watch in the States: Further Attempts to Weaken or Eliminate Progressive Taxes

This is the third installment of our six-part series on 2017 state tax trends. The introduction to this series is available here. As we described last week, many states are gearing up for challenging budget debates this year. But the need to address revenue shortfalls has not stopped lawmakers in many states from pursuing harmful […]