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21 posts
State Rundown 4/16: Tax Day, a New Millionaires’ Tax and Late Blooming State Tax Action
April 16, 2026 • By ITEP Staff
Yesterday was Tax Day, and with many state legislative sessions wrapping, some tax changes are gearing up or crossing over the finish line.
State Rundown 4/8: Budget and Tax Packages Take Shape as Sine Die Approaches in Many States
April 8, 2026 • By ITEP Staff
State legislative sessions are wrapping up, and final tax and budget packages are making their way to governors’ desks.
State Rundown 4/1: No Fooling Around Anymore in Washington, But Cruel Pranks in South Carolina
April 1, 2026 • By ITEP Staff
In Washington, Gov. Bob Ferguson and lawmakers decided to stop fooling around with one of the nation’s most upside-down tax codes and finally brought to life a new millionaires’ tax, the first new income tax created in a state since 1991.
State Rundown 3/18: New Mexico Enacts Most Significant Corporate Tax Reform of the Year
March 18, 2026 • By ITEP Staff
As states lawmakers continue to weigh their linkages to the federal tax code in light of the recent federal tax law, New Mexico provides a blueprint for limiting multinational corporate tax avoidance.
State Rundown 3/12: Washington Lawmakers Pass Millionaires’ Tax, Expand Working Families Tax Credit
March 12, 2026 • By ITEP Staff
Washington is on its way to making history after the legislature approved the “millionaires’ tax,” a 9.9 percent tax on income over $1 million. The bill, which is expected to raise more than $3 billion a year, making significant investments in public education and childcare, will also expand the Working Families Tax Credit – the […]
National Sausage Month isn’t until October, but now is the time of year when state lawmakers are really diving into their sausage-making processes, as separate legislative houses and oftentimes political parties send competing bills, budgets, and visions back and forth to grind out their differences.
Despite wintry conditions across much of the country, that hasn’t stopped state lawmakers from debating major tax policy changes.
State Rundown 1/22: Cautious Tone Noticeable in Most Statehouses
January 22, 2026 • By ITEP Staff
Most states are adopting a very cautious approach so far this year as legislators begin their sessions and governors make their annual addresses, thanks to ongoing economic uncertainty and federal retrenchment.
State Rundown 1/14: New Year Brings New Resolutions for Funding Key Priorities
January 14, 2026 • By ITEP Staff
State governors are beginning to lay out their top priorities as legislatures reconvene in statehouses around the country.
State Rundown 1/7: New Year, New Opportunities for Progressive Revenue
January 7, 2026 • By ITEP Staff
As we kick off a new year, several states are facing revenue shortfalls. Some lawmakers are approaching the challenge with sustainable and equitable solutions.
Taxing Transportation Is One Great Way to Reduce Carbon Emissions
November 12, 2024 • By Amy Hanauer
Federal, state, and local tax codes are important but underused tools that can create a more climate-resilient, less carbon-emitting America. A modernized tax code would stop subsidizing emissions and instead encourage lower-carbon design. Because cars and trucks produce roughly one-fourth of US greenhouse gas emissions, transportation taxation is a great starting point.
It’s unlikely that state gas tax holidays will meaningfully benefit consumers, and they come with risks for states’ infrastructure quality.
The Federal Gas Tax Holiday is Not a New Idea, Just a Bad One
February 17, 2022 • By Steve Wamhoff
The argument for suspending the gas tax, which would cost $20 billion, is weaker than ever.
It’s Been 10,000 Days Since the Federal Government Raised the Gas Tax
February 12, 2021 • By Carl Davis
10,000 days. More than 27 years. By next Tuesday that’s how long it will have been since the federal government last raised the gas tax. Over that time, vehicle fuel efficiency has improved by 25 percent and construction costs have grown 185 percent. And yet the federal gas tax has remained frozen at 18.3 cents per gallon, with its purchasing power shrinking by the day. The federal government has never gone this long without updating the nation’s gas tax rate.
Lawmakers should keep in mind that transportation funding woes can be traced to the federal government’s extremely outdated gas tax rate, which has not been raised in more than 26 years—not even to keep up with inflation.
Gas Taxes Rise in a Dozen States, Including an Historic Increase in Illinois
June 27, 2019 • By Carl Davis
On July 1, 12 states will boost their gasoline taxes and 11 will boost their diesel taxes. The reasons for these increases vary, but they’re generally intended to fund maintenance and improvement of our nation’s transportation infrastructure–a job at which Congress has not excelled in recent years.
Ohio now enjoys the distinction of being the 30th state to raise or reform its gas tax this decade, and the third state to do so this year, under a bill signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine. While state tax policy can be a contentious topic, there has been a remarkable level of agreement on the gasoline tax. Increasingly, state lawmakers are deciding that outdated gas taxes need to be raised and reformed to fund infrastructure projects that are vital to their economies. These actions are helping reverse losses in gas tax purchasing power caused by rising construction costs…
Gas Taxes Have Gone Up in Most States, but Decades-Long Procrastinators Remain
May 21, 2019 • By Carl Davis
The upcoming Memorial Day weekend marks the start of the traditional summer driving season. In most states, summer road-trippers are paying more gas tax than they did a few years ago and are benefiting from smoother and safer roads as a result. In total, 30 states have raised or reformed their gas taxes in the last six years.
Gas Taxes Rise in Seven States, Including an Historic Increase in Oklahoma
June 26, 2018 • By Carl Davis
A rare sight is coming to Oklahoma. The last time the Sooner State raised its gas tax rate, the Berlin Wall was still standing, and Congress was debating whether to ban smoking on flights shorter than two hours. Fast forward 31 years, and Oklahoma is finally at it again. On Sunday, the state’s gas tax rate will rise by 3 cents and its diesel tax rate by 6 cents. Both taxes will now stand at 19 cents per gallon—still among the lowest in the country. But Oklahoma isn’t the only state where gas taxes will soon rise.
A Gas Tax Hike Is the Obvious Answer to Infrastructure Funding
February 14, 2018 • By Steve Wamhoff
As part of his budget plan released Monday, President Trump offered an infrastructure proposal that he describes as a $1.5 trillion 10-year surge in infrastructure investments. The details of the proposal explain that the federal government would put up only $200 billion of this total, which the administration claims will be offset with cuts in other spending. Even this relatively meager funding amount is illusory because it would clearly be financed by cutting other federal spending — including infrastructure investments.
Gas Taxes Will Rise in 7 States to Fund Transportation Improvements
June 28, 2017 • By Carl Davis
Summer gas prices are at their lowest level in twelve years, which makes right now a sensible time to ask drivers to pay a little more toward improving the transportation infrastructure they use every day. Seven states will be doing this on Saturday, July 1 when they raise their gasoline tax rates. At the same time, two states will be implementing small gas tax rate cuts.
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