ITEP Work in Action
Reason Foundation: A Cigarette Tax Increase Would Undermine Nebraska’s Fiscal Stability and Harm Consumers
February 6, 2026
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy confirms that “cigarette tax revenues grow more slowly than the cost of almost any public service that could be funded using these taxes” and that “[s]tates that use these taxes to fund public services may be disappointed in the long run.” Read more.
FACT Coalition: New Transparency Requirements Reveal Low U.S. Taxes, Continued Use of Tax Havens by Major American Corporations
February 4, 2026
For the first time ever, U.S. corporate annual reports now include more granular disclosures of cash tax payments and other tax metrics. We can clearly see the fruit of Congress repeatedly showering tax giveaways on large corporations: major American companies often pay more tax in other countries than they do at home. How American is the world’s […]
Economic Progress Institute: Hundreds of Millions in Lost Revenue: The Cost of Rhode Island’s Personal Income Tax Changes
February 3, 2026
The findings demonstrate that tax changes over the past two decades—including the introduction and reduction of the flat tax and the shift from a five-bracket system with a top rate of 9.90 percent to today’s three-bracket system with a top rate of 5.99 percent—have disproportionately benefited the highest-income filers while steadily draining state revenue. The […]
Testimony: ITEP’s Carl Davis on Federal/State Tax Conformity at Pair of Vermont Committee Hearings
February 3, 2026
ITEP Research Director Carl Davis testified on the impact of the 2025 tax law on Vermont on January 15, 2026 at the Vermont House Ways & Means Committee and the Vermont Senate Committee on Finance. See the slide deck here Watch the videos here (House) and here (Senate) See all of our resources on conformity […]
Cato Institute: Immigrants’ Recent Effects on Government Budgets: 1994–2023
February 3, 2026
Our analysis in this paper shows that immigrants generated a fiscal surplus of about $14.5 trillion from 1994 to 2023, that the average immigrant is much less costly than the average US-born American, and that immigrants impose lower costs per person on old-age benefit, education, and public safety programs. Read more.
Testimony: ITEP’s Brakeyshia Samms Explains How Property Tax Circuit Breakers Could Help Evanston, Illinois
February 2, 2026
The prepared testimony below was delivered by ITEP Senior Analyst Brakeyshia Samms to the Illinois Committee on Housing and Community on January 20, 2026.
Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice: A Fairer Tax Code for a Thriving Hawaiʻi
February 2, 2026
Hawaiʻi stands at a crossroads. The path we choose now will define our islands for generations. We can either accept a future of diminishing public goods and deepening inequality, or we can choose to build one of shared prosperity and collective resilience. Read more.
Testimony: ITEP’s Sarah Austin Urges Washington House Finance Committee to Decouple from Venture Capital Tax Break
January 28, 2026
The prepared testimony below was delivered by ITEP Senior Analyst Sarah Austin to the Washington House Finance Committee on January 27, 2026. For more on the tax break in question, check out our October 2025 brief. Chair Berg, Vice Chair Street, and members of the House Finance Committee, My name is Sarah Austin, I’m a […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Proposed Income Tax Cuts in Massachusetts Would Benefit Households with Highest Incomes and Force Deep Public Cuts
January 27, 2026
The proposed ballot question to cut the Massachusetts state income tax would not just force deep cuts to investment in public programs and infrastructure. Its benefits are also highly skewed towards households with the highest incomes. Read more.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: States Should Adopt the Wealth Proceeds Tax to Raise New Revenue
January 26, 2026
States are facing considerable fiscal pressures from the fallout of recent federal policies, including the harmful Republican megabill enacted in July 2025. Read more.
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Overview of Georgia’s Budget for Amended Fiscal Year 2026 and the Full 2027 Fiscal Year
January 26, 2026
Between Gov. Brian P. Kemp’s first full fiscal year (FY) budget as governor and his eighth and final budget for FY 2027, state spending has increased by nearly $11 billion to $38.5 billion. Governor Kemp’s AFY 2026 and FY 2027 budget proposals recognize that Georgia can use its historic level of resources to fill long-awaited […]
North Carolina Department of Commerce: The Hidden Cost of Child Care Gaps in North Carolina’s Economy
January 20, 2026
Lack of access to affordable, high-quality child care is a barrier to labor force participation for working parents in North Carolina and affects our state’s economy. Read more.
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies: State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession
January 20, 2026
State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession is the product of a collaborative effort drawing on the expertise of Joint Center staff, fellows, and trusted external partners. Contributors include colleagues from United for a Fair Economy, the Center for Economic Policy Research, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and the Onyx […]
New Jersey Policy Perspective: Five Budget Time Bombs Facing the Next Governor
January 16, 2026
Without sustainable and equitable revenue sources, incoming governor Mikie Sherrill is inheriting a state budget full of fiscal threats. Read more.
Washington Governor’s Office: Governor Ferguson Announces Support for Millionaires’ Tax
January 6, 2026
Washington ranks next to last for fairness and equality in our tax system — meaning those who make the least pay much larger shares of their income than those with the most resources. Washington families whose income is in the bottom 20% pay 13.8% of their total income in taxes, while those whose income is […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: In New Poll, Kentuckians Say Income Tax Cuts Aren’t Helping
January 5, 2026
Kentucky’s legislative leaders have made reducing the state’s individual income tax rate their top priority in recent years. Lawmakers have repeatedly acted on that, reducing the rate several times and costing the state billions annually that could have been invested in kids and families. Read more.
Public Assets Institute: State of Working Vermont 2025
January 5, 2026
In many ways, 2025 has been a year like no other. Federal actions affecting the state have been fast and furious: freezing grants, eliminating housing supports, withholding or slashing food benefits and heating assistance, decimating healthcare access both by cutting Medicaid and ending enhanced insurance premium tax credits. All of this adds up to hundreds of […]
NC Budget & Tax Center: Jan. 1: Tax cuts for the rich in NC — still no state budget
January 5, 2026
The New Year will bring little certainty to everyday North Carolinians. State legislators have failed to use the policy tools available to them to address rising costs for the basics, from food to child-care to housing. Read more.
Maine Center for Economic Policy: Tax Conformity Decisions Will Shape Maine’s Future (Part 1: Maine Shouldn’t Fall for Policy Gimmicks)
December 22, 2025
Policy gimmicks in HR 1 disguise its true nature as a huge tax giveaway to the ultra-wealthy and big corporations — Maine should not compromise the future well-being of its residents to give tax breaks to the rich. Read more.
Every Texan: Highest Tax Rates in the State Fall on Texans of Color
December 19, 2025
The income groups paying the highest tax rates in Texas are disproportionately Hispanic and Black, whereas the lowest-taxed group (the wealthiest 5%) is predominantly white. Read more.
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: DC Tax Credits for Households with Low Incomes Will Reduce Child Poverty by One-Fifth
December 19, 2025
This November, the DC Council significantly increased economic security for approximately 78,000 children and their families through legislation that restores the District’s Child Tax Credit (CTC) and strengthens the DC Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Read more.
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: A State Budget for an Affordable Kentucky: Preview of the 2026–2028 Budget of the Commonwealth
December 17, 2025
The Kentucky General Assembly will perform its most important job — crafting a two-year state budget that funds education, health, social services and other critical needs. But unlike recent years, when pandemic-era stimulus created robust revenue growth, lawmakers are now facing a serious budget crunch due to the loss of federal funds, a weakening economy […]
The Milbank Quarterly: The 2021 Child Tax Credit and Children’s Health and Well-Being: Evidence From a National Longitudinal Study
December 16, 2025
Evidence suggests the 2021 temporary Child Tax Credit expansion reduced material hardship and improved parental mental health. This expansion was also associated with improvements in child behavioral health. Read more.
Nevada Law Journal: Nothing to Gain: The Disparate Impact of the Capital Gains Tax Preference on Women and Persons of Color
December 16, 2025
This article provides a brief history of the capital gains preference, examines statistical income and wealth disparities based on gender and race, and proposes solutions to reduce the negative impact of the capital gains preference that leaves behind women and persons of color. Read more.
Senators and House Members Warn Treasury Against Delivering Retroactive Tax Break to Billionaire Corporations
December 15, 2025
Billionaire corporations have engaged in a lobbying blitz with the Treasury to obtain a retroactive R&E carveout from the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax. Lawmakers are urging the Treasury not to further rig the tax code in favor of billionaire corporations. Read more.
Advocates and policymakers at the state and federal levels rely on ITEP’s analytic capabilities to inform their debates on proposed tax policy changes. In any given year, ITEP fields requests for analyses of policies in 25 or more states. ITEP also works with national partners to provide analyses of federal tax policy proposals. This section highlights reports that use ITEP analyses to make a compelling case for progressive tax reforms.
Institute on Taxation
and Economic Policy
ITEP is a non-profit, non-partisan tax policy organization. We conduct rigorous analyses of tax and economic proposals and provide data-driven recommendations to shape equitable and sustainable tax systems.
Subscribe to ITEP Emails
Tax research and policy news in your inbox.
Promote Fair Tax Policy
Your gift to ITEP promotes tax justice. With your help, we do research that supports taxing millionaires and billionaires, taxing big corporations and raising revenue for the things our people, our communities and our planet need.
Together, we can create a country with more economic justice, more racial justice, more climate justice… and more tax justice.