Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

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706 posts
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States Can Create or Expand Refundable Credits by Taxing Wealth, Addressing Federal Conformity

• By Zachary Sarver

Many states already recognize the potential of these credits to boost low- and moderate-income households. Other states should follow suit.

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Texas Property Tax Plan Mimics California’s Damaging Prop 13

• 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.

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State Rundown 12/17: Tax Policy ‘Naughty or Nice’ List Has Late Entrants

• By ITEP Staff

With a little over a week left, some states are solidifying their spots on the tax policy “naughty or nice” list.

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No, Scott Bessent: States Aren’t Taking Away Anyone’s Tax Cuts

• By Nick Johnson

It’s wildly inappropriate for a U.S. Treasury Secretary to lean on states to adopt or not adopt specific federal provisions in their own state tax codes.

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State Rundown 12/10: ‘Tis the Season to Reclaim Lost Revenue

• By ITEP Staff

property tax debates are taking place throughout the nation.

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State Rundown 12/3: Property Tax Cuts and Deficits

• By ITEP Staff

States are increasingly facing difficult choices as revenues stagnate and deficits come clearer into focus.

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Conforming to the ‘No Tax on Tips’ Gimmick Just Got Riskier and Costlier for States

• By Nick Johnson

An unknown number of workers who previously were assumed to be ineligible for the tax break may nonetheless claim it.

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State Rundown 11/24: States Say ‘No Thank You’ to Federal Tax Cuts Reducing State Revenue

• 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

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States Are Opening a Pandora’s Box of Data Centers

• By Page Gray

State governments are rushing to offer billions of dollars in subsidies to data center construction, apparently without understanding their full costs.

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State Rundown 11/13: States Tackle Impending Deficits, Pennsylvania Secures an EITC

• 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.

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State and Local Policymakers Can Resist Austerity Even Amid Historic Federal Retreat

• 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. 

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In 2025, Voters Said Yes to Public Resources and Community Investments

• 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.

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States Begin Decoupling from Flawed ‘QSBS’ Tax Break

• By Nick Johnson, Sarah Austin

A costly tax break for wealthy venture capitalists is drawing some critical attention from state policymakers.

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State Rundown 11/5: Voters Say “Yes!” to Public Investments

• By ITEP Staff

Despite being an off-year election, voters made a call for shared public investments at the polls.

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State Rundown 10/27: As Temperatures Cool Tax Policy Heats Up

• By ITEP Staff

States across the nation are debating how best to respond to costly new federal tax cuts.

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Why States Shouldn’t Go Along With OBBBA’s Corporate Tax Breaks: A Practical Guide

• By Nick Johnson, Michael Mazerov

States should immediately decouple from four costly corporate tax provisions in the new federal tax law.

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State Rundown 10/1: State and Local Governments Doing the Opposite of Shutting Down

• By ITEP Staff

State and local officials are staying very busy by considering a dizzying amount of reversals.

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State Rundown 9/18: Lawmakers Confront Revenue Loss from Federal Policy Changes

• By ITEP Staff

Some states are trying to avoid revenue loss while others are welcoming it and doubling down.

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Child Poverty Remains Unacceptably High, New Federal Changes Unlikely to Move Needle

• 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.

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Making the Wealthy Pay their Fair Share is the Way to Preserve Vacation Towns

• 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.

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State Rundown 9/4: Colorado Tackles Offshore Corporate Tax Avoidance, Paves Way for State Conformity Best Practices

• By ITEP Staff

Despite an increasingly bleak state revenue outlook, state lawmakers across the country continue to prioritize regressive tax cuts.

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Colorado Lawmakers Help Fill Trump-Induced Shortfall by Tackling Offshore Corporate Tax Avoidance 

• By ITEP Staff

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.

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SALT in the Wound: New Tax Law’s Limit on State Tax Deductions Exempts Some of the Very Wealthiest

• By ITEP Staff

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

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State Rundown 8/20: States to Face Serious Conformity, Revenue Issues as Summer Ends

• 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.

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Trump’s Tax Law Clobbers State Budgets. Now’s the Time to Prepare.

• By ITEP Staff

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.