Blog
State Rundown 10/22: Despite Obstacles, Progressive Taxes Define 2026
• By ITEP Staff
As more states move to raise revenue and tax the rich, anti-tax lobbyists and lawmakers are hard at work to undo that progress. Despite pushback, important conversations around needed revenue continue.
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.
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.
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.
States Should Be Doing More About Corporate Tax Avoidance. New Mexico’s Tax Conformity Law Shows How.
• By Carl Davis
On top of declining to fold large federal business tax cuts into state law, New Mexico also took the monumental step of hardening the state’s corporate tax base against offshore profit shifting.
Governor Should Put New Mexico’s Tax Interests First
• By Amy Hanauer, Amber Wallin
By decoupling from three misguided federal corporate income tax cuts under the One Big Beautiful Bill, plus taking steps to curb unfair corporate tax avoidance, SB 151 would raise and safeguard more than $120 million annually.
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.
State Rundown 1/7: New Year, New Opportunities for Progressive Revenue
• 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.
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.
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.
How Much Would Every Family in Every State Get if the Megabill’s Tax Cuts Given to the Rich Had Instead Been Evenly Divided?
• 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.
Trump Megabill Will Give $117 Billion in Tax Cuts to the Top 1% in 2026. How Much In Your State?
• 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?
• 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.
State Rundown 4/16: No Vacation from Spring Tax Breaks as Bills Advance
• By ITEP Staff
While students and families are enjoying spring break vacations, legislative sessions are still in full swing. And some are poised for a spring tax break season as proposals advance with major implications for the sustainability of state budgets.
IRS Cooperation with ICE Will Damage Public Trust, Putting Tax Revenues in Jeopardy
• 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.
Celebrating 50 Years of the Earned Income Tax Credit
• By Neva Butkus
This week, we celebrate 50 years of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the impact it's had on millions of workers and families. In 2023 alone, the latest year of available data, the federal EITC alongside the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit lifted 6.4 million people and 3.4 million children out of poverty.
State Rundown 3/26: Lawmakers Navigate Shortfalls, Potholes, and Pitfalls
• 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 […]
Wide-Ranging 2025 State Tax Debates Come into Focus
• By Aidan Davis
In the face of immense uncertainty around looming federal tax and budget decisions, many of which could threaten state budgets, state lawmakers have an opportunity to show up for their constituents by raising and protecting the revenue needed to fund shared priorities. Lawmakers have a choice: advance tax policies that improve equity and help communities thrive, or push tax policies that disproportionately benefit the wealthy, drain funding for critical public services, and make it harder…
Turning IRS Agents to Deportation Will Reduce Public Revenues
• 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.
State Rundown 1/22: Tax Policy, Affordability, and Where It Misses the Mark
• By ITEP Staff
As state legislative sessions ramp up many lawmakers discuss their prioritization of affordability of necessities like food and housing as they craft their legislative agendas. Arkansas, Mississippi and Utah are looking to reduce or fully exempt groceries from their state sales taxes. Meanwhile, multiple proposals to reduce property taxes are making their way around state […]
State Rundown 1/15: Tax Debates Heat Up Despite Winter Weather
• By ITEP Staff
While frigid temperatures expected across a large swath of the country, major tax proposals are heating up in the states. Governors are giving their State of the State addresses and state lawmakers have begun to convene for 2025. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced plans to expand the state’s Child Tax Credit earlier this year and has since announced nearly $1 billion in income tax cuts. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore unveiled a new tax proposal…
State Tax Policy Should Adopt the Principles of ‘Black Women Best’
• By Brakeyshia Samms
Focusing policy analysis on Black women illustrates how Black women have long shouldered the shortcomings of the economy and clearly points to solutions that work for all. Black women are at their best when they are financially secure, healthy, and free – and our economy is at its best when all people can thrive and benefit.
State Rundown 10/24: Tricks, Treats, and Tax Policy
• By ITEP Staff
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is proposing a regressive tax reform package that would enact a flat personal and corporate income tax while expanding the state’s sales tax base and eliminating certain exemptions to make up for a portion of the lost revenue. West Virginia continues to chip away at its personal income tax, one of the state’s few progressive revenue options. And advocates in New York are rallying around a package of progressive tax legislation…
2024 State Tax Ballot Questions: Voters to Weigh in on Tax Changes Big and Small
• By Jon Whiten
As we approach November’s election, voters in several states will be weighing in on tax policy changes. The outcomes will impact the equity of state and local tax systems and the adequacy of the revenue those systems are able to raise to fund public services.
Five Tax Takeaways from 2024 State Legislative Sessions
• By Aidan Davis
Major tax cuts were largely rejected this year, but states continue to chip away at income taxes. And while property tax cuts were a hot topic across the country, many states failed to deliver effective solutions to affordability issues.
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