Just Taxes Blog by ITEP


  • February 8, 2017

    State Rundown 2/8: Lessons of Kansas Tax-Cut Disaster Taking Hold in Kansas, Still Lost on Some in Other States

    This week we bring news of Kansas lawmakers attempting to fix ill-advised tax cuts that have wreaked havoc on the state’s budget and schools, while their counterparts in Nebraska and Idaho debate bills that would create similar problems for their own states, as well as tax cuts in Arkansas that were proven unaffordable within one […]
  • Carl Davis
    Carl Davis
    Research Director
    February 6, 2017

    Dodging Tough Fiscal Decisions with State Tax Cut Triggers and Phase-Ins

    The most challenging problem that tax-cutting state lawmakers face is dealing with the budgetary tradeoffs that tax cuts require. Should education spending be reduced? Should investments in infrastructure be halted? Should the state cut back on transfers to local governments and require them to pick up the slack? Or should other taxes and fees be […]
  • Carl Davis
    Carl Davis
    Research Director
    February 2, 2017

    What to Watch in the States: Gas Tax Hikes and Swaps

    This is the second installment of our six part series on 2017 state tax trends. The introduction to this series is available here. State tax policy can be a divisive issue, but no area has generated more agreement among lawmakers across the country than the need to raise new revenues to fund infrastructure improvements. The […]
  • Aidan Davis
    Aidan Davis
    State Policy Director
    February 2, 2017

    What to Watch in the States: Further Attempts to Weaken or Eliminate Progressive Taxes

    This is the third installment of our six-part series on 2017 state tax trends. The introduction to this series is available here. As we described last week, many states are gearing up for challenging budget debates this year. But the need to address revenue shortfalls has not stopped lawmakers in many states from pursuing harmful […]

  • February 1, 2017

    State Rundown 2/1: 2017 State Tax Debates Getting Real

    This week’s Rundown brings news of tax cuts passed in Arkansas and advanced in Idaho, proposals to exempt feminine hygiene products from sales taxes in Nevada and Michigan, revenue shortfalls forcing tough choices in Louisiana and Maine, and more governors’ state of the state addresses and budget proposals setting the stage for yet more tax […]
  • Carl Davis
    Carl Davis
    Research Director
    January 30, 2017

    And Then There Were Six: Amazon Expands Its Sales Tax Collection

    UPDATE: After this post was published, Amazon announced that it will begin collecting sales tax in Oklahoma on March 1. This post has been updated to reflect this development. The nation’s largest Internet retailer has made an about-face on its sales tax policy, making consumers’ ability to evade sales tax on online purchases a little […]
  • Lisa Christensen Gee
    Lisa Christensen Gee
    Director of Special Initiatives
    January 27, 2017

    What to Watch in the States Series: Tax Policy 2017

    Over the next few weeks we will be blogging about what we’re watching in state tax policy during 2017 legislative sessions. In this “What to Watch in the States” series, we will look at the following: State responses to short- and long-term revenue deficits Boosting funding for infrastructure, though sometimes at the expense of other […]
  • Carl Davis
    Carl Davis
    Research Director
    January 26, 2017

    A Visual Tour of Who Pays State & Local Taxes

    While it can be hard to look away from the important federal policy debates occurring right now in Washington D.C., state lawmakers across the country will also be debating consequential fiscal policy changes in 2017 that will deserve close scrutiny. The context of those debates will vary by state: from coping with major revenue shortfalls, […]
  • Meg Wiehe
    Meg Wiehe
    Deputy Executive Director
    January 26, 2017

    An Overview of State Tax Trends in 2017

    Since the 2007-2009 economic crisis, rising income inequality and the role our public policies play in aiding or easing this trend have been an ongoing part of the public discourse. In spite of what we know about the growing gap between the rich and the rest of us, federal and state policymakers continue to sell […]
  • ITEP Staff
    January 26, 2017

    Tax Justice Digest: A Visual Tour of Who Pays, 2017 State Tax Trends

    In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately.  New! A Visual Tour of Who Pays State and Local Taxes To help inform 2017 statehouse debates, ITEP […]

  • January 25, 2017

    State Rundown 1/25: Revenue Shortfalls and How to Avoid Them

    This week brings more news of states facing budget crunches, a new state looking to eliminate income taxes, and plans to raise gas taxes to fund transportation projects.  Be sure to check out the What We’re Reading section for a look at how repealing federal health reform could add to those crunches and a review […]
  • Carl Davis
    Carl Davis
    Research Director
    January 25, 2017

    47 Years Later, Alaska Considers Playing Catch-Up with its Motor Fuel Tax

    Alaska Gov. Bill Walker recently proposed tripling the gasoline and diesel tax rates paid by Alaska motorists to generate funding for the state’s infrastructure. In a different state, tripling the motor fuel tax might be a radical policy change. But Alaska’s tax has not been updated since 1970 and because of those 47 years of […]
  • ITEP Staff
    January 19, 2017

    Tax Justice Digest: Kansas again, state budget woes, and corporate tax cuts

    In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately.  Trickle-down policies did not and will not work In December, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback told the Wall Street Journal that […]
  • Richard Phillips
    Richard Phillips
    Senior Policy Analyst
    January 18, 2017

    Trump Plan to Give Billions in Tax Breaks to Multinational Corporations May Have Bipartisan Support

    There are a lot of troubling components of the tax reform packages being proposed by President-Elect Donald Trump and the House GOP, but one that especially stands out is the push to give companies a tax break on the earnings they are holding offshore. Unfortunately, proposals rewarding the nation’s most egregious tax dodging multinational corporations […]
  • Lisa Christensen Gee
    Lisa Christensen Gee
    Director of Special Initiatives
    January 18, 2017

    Kansas State of the State: Worlds Apart

    Back in December, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback gave an interview with the Wall Street Journal and suggested President-elect Trump should follow his state’s example and cut taxes as well as spending. The sheer gall of the suggestion belies the fact that Kansas’s tax cuts have resulted in credit downgrades, lack of adequate funding for essential […]

  • January 18, 2017

    State Rundown 1/18: Revenue Woes Piling Up Faster Than Solutions

    This week we continue to track revenue shortfalls, governors’ budget proposals, and other tax news around the country, finding most proposals to be focused on slashing taxes and reducing public investments despite public opinion and economic research showing the benefits of well-funded state services and progressive tax policies. — Meg Wiehe, ITEP State Policy Director, […]
  • Richard Phillips
    Richard Phillips
    Senior Policy Analyst
    January 17, 2017

    Congress Shouldn’t Defy Public Opinion and Good Policy by Cutting Taxes for Corporations and the Wealthy

    Members of Congress have floated fundamental changes to the tax code for years, but last week marked a ramping up of these efforts as Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan met with President-elect Donald Trump and his advisors to discuss how to move forward with tax reform in 2017. Plans floated by the incoming […]
  • Richard Phillips
    Richard Phillips
    Senior Policy Analyst
    January 17, 2017

    State of Play: The Coming Debate Over the Ryan and Trump Tax Plans

    If the incoming Trump Administration and Republican-lead Congress have their way, fundamental changes to the tax code are afoot. The most important similarity between the Ryan and Trump tax plans are dramatic reductions in the corporate tax rate and across-the-board tax cuts whose benefits primarily flow to the richest Americans. Because of their potentially catastrophic […]

  • January 11, 2017

    State Rundown 1/11: State Legislative Sessions Kick Off Amid Uncertainty

    This week brings still more states looking for solutions to revenue shortfalls, multiple governors’ State of The State addresses, important reading on counter-transparency and local-preemption efforts, and more.  — Meg Wiehe, ITEP State Policy Director, @megwiehe A Nebraska legislator this week diagnosed the state’s $900 million revenue shortfall in plain terms, describing it as “self-inflicted […]

  • January 4, 2017

    State Rundown 1/4: Revenue Shortfalls, Gas Tax Changes Dominate Early Debates

    This week we bring you updates on major revenue shortfalls looming in Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, as well as gas tax changes taking effect in some states and being debated in others. — Meg Wiehe, ITEP State Policy Director, @megwiehe Oklahoma lawmakers are weighing options to close the state’s $870 million shortfall. Up for discussion are […]
  • Jenice R. Robinson
    Communications Director
    August 24, 2016

    The Little-Known Effect of State Tax Changes: More or Less Money to the Federal Government

    The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) this week published a new policy brief whose conclusions may be surprising to those who don’t spend their days analyzing the intersection of state and federal tax policy. The brief, How State Tax Changes Affect Your Federal Taxes, outlines how the “federal offset,” or the deductibility of […]
  • Jenice R. Robinson
    Communications Director
    August 9, 2016

    Tim Cook’s Disingenuous Argument to Justify Apple’s $215 Billion Offshore Cash Hoard

    Tim Cook is a persuasive CEO. In a wide-ranging interview published earlier this week in the Washington Post, he discussed his vision for the company, thoughts about leadership succession, and humbly admitted he has made mistakes. So it would be very easy to view as reasonable his declaration that Apple will not repatriate its offshore […]
  • Aidan Davis
    Aidan Davis
    State Policy Director
    August 3, 2016

    Fiscal Policy Shake-up Comes to Energy States

    The sharp decline in oil prices since summer 2014 has allowed consumers to save hundreds of dollars annually at the pump, but it also has left some energy producing states clamoring to come up with policy ideas to make up for lost revenue.
  • Dylan Grundman O
    Dylan Grundman O'Neill
    Senior Analyst
    June 24, 2016

    Weird New Jersey Tax Debates Continue

    The New Jersey Legislature is considering a proposal to increase the state’s gas tax but at the same time some lawmakers are insisting that that tax increase be paired with tax cuts for the wealthiest New Jerseyans. Perhaps most bizarre is that the state is considering providing a tax cut for retirement and pension income (a move that would benefit the best-off state residents) while also weighing cuts to the revenue that funds state pensions.
  • Carl Davis
    Carl Davis
    Research Director
    May 26, 2016

    New Research Shows Millionaires Less Mobile than the Rest of Us

    A new study released today provides the best evidence yet that progressive state income taxes are not leading to any meaningful amount of “tax flight” among top earners.

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