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As many legislative sessions end, lawmakers are revealing their priorities.
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 […]
Local Governments Are Increasingly Strapped: 2026 Will Bring New Challenges and New Opportunities
January 21, 2026 • By Kamolika Das
2025 saw an intensification of state and local tax fights across the country, as well as growing experimentation with local-option taxes, levies, fees, and tourism taxes aimed at keeping budgets afloat while also navigating political constraints imposed by state legislatures.
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 governments are rushing to offer billions of dollars in subsidies to data center construction, apparently without understanding their full costs.
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.
Trump’s Tax Law Clobbers State Budgets. Now’s the Time to Prepare.
August 13, 2025 • 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.
State Rundown 7/24: States Begin Preparing for Federal Megabill Fallout
July 24, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
All eyes in statehouses in recent weeks have been on federal budget negotiations, and now that the “megabill” has passed, they are focused in on their own budgets in search of ways to cope with the enormous consequences coming their way. All states will see fewer federal dollars flowing through their coffers, higher needs due […]
How Much Would Every Family in Every State Get if the Megabill’s Tax Cuts Given to the Rich Had Instead Been Evenly Divided?
July 14, 2025 • By Michael Ettlinger
If instead of giving $117 billion to the richest 1 percent, that money had been evenly divided among all Americans, we'd each get $343 - or nearly $1,400 for a family of four.
State Rundown 7/8: State Tax Cuts Continue Despite Federal Megabill Passing
July 8, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
The last states are wrapping up legislative sessions, and some are crossing the finish line with major income tax cuts.
Trump Megabill Will Give $117 Billion in Tax Cuts to the Top 1% in 2026. How Much In Your State?
June 30, 2025 • By Michael Ettlinger
The predominant feature of the tax and spending bill working its way through Congress is a massive tax cut for the richest 1 percent — a $114 billion benefit to the wealthiest people in the country in 2026 alone.
How Much Do the Top 1% in Each State Get from the Trump Megabill?
June 30, 2025 • By Carl Davis
The Senate tax bill under debate right now would bring very large tax cuts to very high-income people. In total, the richest 1 percent would receive $114 billion in tax cuts next year alone. That would amount to nearly $61,000 for each of these affluent households.
With Fiscal Uncertainty Looming, Louisiana Senate Did the Right Thing on Tax Bills
June 27, 2025 • By Neva Butkus
If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. This is exactly what Louisiana Senators did when they rejected two tax-cut bills that would have created a billion-dollar shortfall in the coming fiscal years.
State legislatures are enjoying a relatively quiet period right now, though it is merely a temporary calm before the storm of the federal tax and budget debate begins raging again.
State Rundown 6/5: States Wrap Sessions, Some Prepare for Fiscal Uncertainty
June 5, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
States use the final hours of their legislative sessions to address deficits and preserve revenue in preparation for the times ahead.
State Rundown 5/21: Big and Not-So Beautiful Tax Cut Bills Abound in States
May 21, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
As a sprawling, regressive tax bill continues to take shape at the federal level, many states are moving forward with major tax cut proposals of their own.
State Rundown 5/15: State Tax Debates Carry On in the Midst of Chaotic Federal Tax Landscape
May 15, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
Even as most major headlines have been about the ever-changing landscape of federal tax policy, the latest “ideas of the week," and now the House tax bill, state tax policy continues to be a priority for lawmakers.
State Rundown 5/1: State Tax Debates Wrapping Up, and Just Beginning
May 1, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
The rampant uncertainty this year extends far beyond the national economy and federal policy, as many state legislatures are declaring their tax and budget debates finished, and just getting started, sometimes in the same breath.
IRS Cooperation with ICE Will Damage Public Trust, Putting Tax Revenues in Jeopardy
April 10, 2025 • By Marco Guzman
Attempts by the Department of Homeland Security to secure private information from the IRS on people who file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is a violation of federal privacy laws that protect taxpayers. It is also a change that could seriously damage public trust in the IRS, which could jeopardize billions of dollars in tax payments by hardworking immigrant families.
Residents and state lawmakers across the country are pushing back against anti-tax measures and are looking for ways to protect revenue and advance proposals that would raise revenue in progressive ways. This comes at a time when federal policy brings significant risks for state tax revenue.
State Rundown 3/26: Lawmakers Navigate Shortfalls, Potholes, and Pitfalls
March 26, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
State lawmakers around the country are navigating a range of potential hazards this week. Leaders in Maryland and Washington are facing budget holes but are smartly working to get out of them through progressive taxes on those with the most ability to pay. Both North Dakota and Washington state are looking to fill literal potholes […]
Turning IRS Agents to Deportation Will Reduce Public Revenues
February 11, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Jon Whiten
The Trump Administration’s plan to turn IRS agents into deportation agents will result in lower tax collections in addition to the harm done to the families and communities directly affected by deportations.
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