Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

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State Rundown 9/10: States Brace for (and in Some Cases Embrace) Ballots and Budgets

• By ITEP Staff

States across the country will consider a host of ballot measures that could reshape the fairness and adequacy of their states’ tax systems, while other states are receiving budget forecasts that could further shape upcoming policy debates.

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Maryland Digital Advertising Ruling Shouldn’t Stop Other States from Considering Ad Taxes

• By Nick Johnson

Consumers are increasingly bombarded with advertisements based on our personal data. This explosion in targeted advertising is leading state policymakers to revisit the tax treatment of advertising, which has long been exempt from sales tax.

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2026 Sessions in Review: States Fund Tax Credits by Preserving, Raising Revenue

• By Aidan Davis

In a year of cautious uncertainty around current and ongoing revenues, many state lawmakers strengthened their tax credits for families and children.

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A Growing Number of States Are Taxing the Sale of Advertising

• By Nick Johnson

ITEP’s report on taxing advertising identifies some reasons why states are curtailing longstanding sales tax exemptions for the ad sector.

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States Can Raise Billions by Ending a Tax Giveaway to Big Tech

• By Nick Johnson

An advertising tax offers a way to raise significant money from a sector of the economy that has been getting a free ride for decades.

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State Rundown 5/14: Fund Priorities or Increase Shortfalls?

• By ITEP Staff

As many legislative sessions end, lawmakers are revealing their priorities.

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State Rundown 4/8: Budget and Tax Packages Take Shape as Sine Die Approaches in Many States

• By ITEP Staff

State legislative sessions are wrapping up, and final tax and budget packages are making their way to governors’ desks.

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State Rundown 4/1: No Fooling Around Anymore in Washington, But Cruel Pranks in South Carolina

• 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.

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State Rundown 3/26: Sobering Revenue Projections Keep States on Their Toes

• By ITEP Staff

This week, troubling revenue projections are making headlines, with many lawmakers scrambling to determine how the tax changes at the federal level, plus price hikes driven by national policy decisions, will impact their states.

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State Rundown 3/18: New Mexico Enacts Most Significant Corporate Tax Reform of the Year

• 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.

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State Rundown 3/12: Washington Lawmakers Pass Millionaires’ Tax, Expand Working Families Tax Credit

• 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 […]

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What Did 2025 State Tax Changes Mean for Racial and Economic Equity?

• By Brakeyshia Samms

The results are a mixed bag, with some states enacting promising policies that will improve tax equity and others going in the opposite direction.

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State Rundown 1/22: Cautious Tone Noticeable in Most Statehouses

• 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.

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Pennsylvania Just Gave Low-Income Workers a Tax Credit Boost. Now It’s Philadelphia’s Turn.

• By Kamolika Das

In the same way states are building upon federal tax credits, localities should consider building on state tax credits.

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2025: The Year in Tax Policy

• By ITEP Staff

From Congressional discussions over the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" to debates on property taxes, ITEP kept busy this year analyzing tax proposals and showing Americans across the country how tax decisions affect them.

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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 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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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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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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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.

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Mississippi’s Path to Income Tax Elimination Hinders Racial and Economic Equity

• 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.

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How Maryland’s Tax Reforms Advance Racial and Economic Equity

• 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.