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335 posts
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.
His 900-word New York Times op-ed identifies some sensible federal tax reform ideas that would create a fairer, more sustainable tax system.
State Rundown 12/17: Tax Policy ‘Naughty or Nice’ List Has Late Entrants
December 17, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
With a little over a week left, some states are solidifying their spots on the tax policy “naughty or nice” list.
No, Scott Bessent: States Aren’t Taking Away Anyone’s Tax Cuts
December 11, 2025 • 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.
property tax debates are taking place throughout the nation.
State Rundown 11/24: States Say ‘No Thank You’ to Federal Tax Cuts Reducing State Revenue
November 24, 2025 • 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
State Rundown 11/13: States Tackle Impending Deficits, Pennsylvania Secures an EITC
November 13, 2025 • 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.
Trump Goes Outside the Law to Give Even More Tax Cuts to the Wealthy
November 12, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
Trump's Treasury is overstepping far beyond its constitutional role by giving unlegislated tax cuts to the wealthy.
State and Local Policymakers Can Resist Austerity Even Amid Historic Federal Retreat
November 6, 2025 • 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.
In 2025, Voters Said Yes to Public Resources and Community Investments
November 6, 2025 • 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.
Despite being an off-year election, voters made a call for shared public investments at the polls.
States across the nation are debating how best to respond to costly new federal tax cuts.
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.
Leaving Billions on the Table: Trump-Induced Brain Drain Leaves the IRS Struggling to Prevent Corporate Tax Avoidance
September 25, 2025 • By Matthew Gardner
The IRS's capacity to prevent big multinational corporations from avoiding income taxes is facing a generational crisis.
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.
The Trump Megabill Hands the Rich a Gift — and Sends the Bill to Young Americans
August 21, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
Trump's megabill directs most benefits to the wealthy, while leaving younger generations with higher taxes, more debt, and fewer opportunities. For Millennials and Gen Z, it means reduced public investment and an economy less likely to work in their favor.
SALT in the Wound: New Tax Law’s Limit on State Tax Deductions Exempts Some of the Very Wealthiest
August 21, 2025 • 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
State Rundown 8/20: States to Face Serious Conformity, Revenue Issues as Summer Ends
August 20, 2025 • 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.
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 Tax Action in 2025: Amid Uncertainty, Tax Cuts and New Revenue
July 28, 2025 • By Aidan Davis, Neva Butkus, Marco Guzman
Federal policy choices on tariffs, taxes, and spending cuts will be deeply felt by all states, which will have less money available to fund key priorities. This year some states raised revenue to ensure that their coffers were well-funded, some proceeded with warranted caution, and many others passed large regressive tax cuts that pile on to the massive tax cuts the wealthiest just received under the federal megabill.
Refundable tax credits were a big part of state tax policy conversations this year. In 2025, nine states improved or created Child Tax Credits or Earned Income Tax Credits.
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.
The endlessly debated cap on deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) has emerged in the GOP megabill largely unscathed—despite the efforts of Republican lawmakers from “blue” states. Those lawmakers are correct that the cap reduces the bill’s tax cuts for their wealthy constituents more than for those in other states. The megabill, however, is so loaded up with other provisions that result in a dramatic tax cut for the richest 1 percent in every state.
As federal aid ends and economic uncertainty grows, local governments face tough budget choices. Now is the time for localities to protect vulnerable residents and build stronger, more equitable fiscal foundations.
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