Blog - State Policy
627 posts
Not-So-Free Kick: How the 2026 FIFA World Cup Will Cost Cities Millions
December 5, 2025 • By Page Gray
Preparations are underway for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Sixteen cities across North America will host its matches, and tickets are already on sale or, by this point, sold out. Missouri’s Department of Revenue caught our attention the other day when it reminded fans that it won’t charge sales tax on tickets for the World […]
States are increasingly facing difficult choices as revenues stagnate and deficits come clearer into focus.
Conforming to the ‘No Tax on Tips’ Gimmick Just Got Riskier and Costlier for States
November 25, 2025 • By Nick Johnson
An unknown number of workers who previously were assumed to be ineligible for the tax break may nonetheless claim it.
State Rundown 11/24: States Say ‘No Thank You’ to Federal Tax Cuts Reducing State Revenue
November 24, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
Lawmakers in two more states have wisely said “no thank you” to federal tax cuts that would have flowed through to their state tax codes and undermined funding for their priorities
State governments are rushing to offer billions of dollars in subsidies to data center construction, apparently without understanding their full costs.
State Rundown 11/13: States Tackle Impending Deficits, Pennsylvania Secures an EITC
November 13, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
Revenue forecasts look increasingly grim as states anticipate shortfalls due to the slowing economy and impacts of the new federal tax law.
State and Local Policymakers Can Resist Austerity Even Amid Historic Federal Retreat
November 6, 2025 • By Kamolika Das
The progressivity of the federal tax code has been waning. State and local policymakers should respond by protecting their revenue bases, promoting equity, and safeguarding vulnerable communities from harmful budget cuts.
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.
States Begin Decoupling from Flawed ‘QSBS’ Tax Break
November 6, 2025 • By Nick Johnson, Sarah Austin
A costly tax break for wealthy venture capitalists is drawing some critical attention from state policymakers.
Despite being an off-year election, voters made a call for shared public investments at the polls.
States across the nation are debating how best to respond to costly new federal tax cuts.
Why States Shouldn’t Go Along With OBBBA’s Corporate Tax Breaks: A Practical Guide
October 27, 2025 • By Nick Johnson, Michael Mazerov
States should immediately decouple from four costly corporate tax provisions in the new federal tax law.
State Rundown 10/1: State and Local Governments Doing the Opposite of Shutting Down
October 1, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
State and local officials are staying very busy by considering a dizzying amount of reversals.
State Rundown 9/18: Lawmakers Confront Revenue Loss from Federal Policy Changes
September 18, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
Some states are trying to avoid revenue loss while others are welcoming it and doubling down.
Child Poverty Remains Unacceptably High, New Federal Changes Unlikely to Move Needle
September 16, 2025 • By Neva Butkus
By not extending the 2021 temporary Child Tax Credit expansion, federal lawmakers have allowed the number of children and families in poverty to increase and remain unnecessarily high.
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.
State Rundown 9/4: Colorado Tackles Offshore Corporate Tax Avoidance, Paves Way for State Conformity Best Practices
September 4, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
Despite an increasingly bleak state revenue outlook, state lawmakers across the country continue to prioritize regressive tax cuts.
Colorado Lawmakers Help Fill Trump-Induced Shortfall by Tackling Offshore Corporate Tax Avoidance
August 26, 2025 • By Matthew Gardner, Marco Guzman
As the Trump megabill blows holes in state budgets, Colorado is leading with reforms to curb offshore tax avoidance and roll back wasteful corporate subsidies.
SALT in the Wound: New Tax Law’s Limit on State Tax Deductions Exempts Some of the Very Wealthiest
August 21, 2025 • By Matthew Gardner
The new tax law enacted last month found a temporary compromise on the level of the cap, boosting it to $40,000 through 2029, but failed to fix a loophole that allows some rich taxpayers with good accountants to completely avoid the cap
State Rundown 8/20: States to Face Serious Conformity, Revenue Issues as Summer Ends
August 20, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
While tax news has slowed as summer comes to an end, there are rumblings beneath the surface that could be an inauspicious sign of the times ahead for states and state budgets.
Trump’s Tax Law Clobbers State Budgets. Now’s the Time to Prepare.
August 13, 2025 • By Amy Hanauer
The Trump megabill hands the richest 1% a trillion-dollar windfall while gutting funding for health care, education, and disaster relief — leaving communities to pick up the pieces. State and local leaders must step up, tax the wealthiest fairly, and safeguard the essentials that keep America healthy, educated, and safe.
Mississippi’s Path to Income Tax Elimination Hinders Racial and Economic Equity
August 7, 2025 • By Vanessa Woods
Mississippi policymakers this year took a big step to worsen the state’s racial income and wealth divides by passing a radical plan to eventually eliminate the state’s income tax.
How Maryland’s Tax Reforms Advance Racial and Economic Equity
August 7, 2025 • By Vanessa Woods
Maryland is taking aim at income and racial disparities through a revised personal income tax. By raising taxes on high earners and cutting them for most households across racial and ethnic lines, the state is proving that progressive tax policy can drive both equity and revenue.
As states prepare for the revenue loss and disruption resulting from the federal tax bill, tax policy is being considered in legislatures across the country.
The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is an important tool to fight child poverty and help families make ends meet. When designed well, it can also make tax systems less regressive. As of 2020, only six states had CTCs. Today, 15 states have CTCs, with many credits exceeding $1,000 per qualifying child.
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