ITEP Work in Action
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.
Florida Policy Institute: Challenges Ahead: What Census Data Reveals about the Wealth Gap and Uninsured Rate as Florida Braces for H.R. 1
October 9, 2025
The Census Bureau’s data provides a baseline for understanding the realities Floridians face. These reports show that while taxes and transfers play a measurable role in reducing inequality and limiting hardship, gains remain uneven — particularly for children. The passage of H.R. 1 threatens to widen these gaps by locking in benefits for the wealthiest […]
Florida Policy Institute: What Floridians Should Know About the FY 2025-26 Tax Package
July 11, 2025
Once again, policymakers are pursuing tax cuts and plan to pay for them with budget cuts. All the while, three-quarters of Florida prisons do not provide A/C; over 2.5 million Floridians are without health coverage; thousands of homebound adults and disabled individuals are stuck on long waitlists for home and community-based care; and the state’s affordable housing crisis continues.
Florida Policy Institute: 4 Things That Floridians Should Know About the US House Reconciliation Bill
May 27, 2025
As the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy notes, the top 1 percent of Floridians (those with income of more than $1.1 million annually) would receive an average tax cut of $86,320 in 2026. As a share of the tax cuts, in 2026, the top 1 percent would receive 25 percent of the total tax cuts.
Florida Policy Institute: Florida Budget Proposals in Brief (FY 2025-26): Tax and Revenue
May 3, 2025
The Legislature is at a standstill, with two seemingly competing visions for the future of taxes in Florida. On the one hand, the House of Representatives advanced House Bill (HB) 7033 with various changes to the state’s general sales tax, as well as changes to local tourist development taxes. Read more.
Florida Policy Institute: A Risky Proposition: Weakening Local Governments by Eliminating Property Tax Revenue
February 25, 2025
In Florida, the ability of local governments to raise revenue for operations is limited by the state constitution.[1] With the exception of fees, special assessments,[2] and the property tax, also known as an ad valorem tax, local governments are dependent on the Legislature and state laws for authority to levy other forms of taxation and raise revenue. Consequently, as a matter of fiscal management and local autonomy, the property tax is paramount. Considering recent policy proposals to eliminate property taxes (see Appendix), this brief explores the property tax, its role as a source of local fiscal autonomy, possibilities for reform, and the…
Florida Policy Institute: Deferring Dreams: The Costly Plan to Repeal Tuition Fairness for Florida Dreamers
January 31, 2025
Legislation[1] was introduced during the January 2025 special legislative session that would repeal Florida’s tuition fairness law.[2] This law, which passed with bipartisan support in 2014, requires that colleges, universities, and postsecondary institutions waive out-of-state tuition for certain undocumented students who graduated high school in the state.
Florida Policy Institute: Florida Should Welcome Immigrants
August 1, 2024
New research confirms that immigrants without a documented status still contribute economically, despite most not being eligible for any public services or benefits. Many immigrants without a documented status pay taxes — primarily via sales and excise taxes on purchases.[1] The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s (ITEP’s) latest report details the state and local taxes immigrants without a documented status contribute throughout the United States. Nationwide, ITEP finds that for every 1 million undocumented immigrant residents, revenue for public services increases by $8.9 billion.
Testimony of ITEP’s Marco Guzman Before the Nevada Assembly Committee on Revenue
April 10, 2023
For a video of Marco’s testimony, click here. Thank you, Assemblywoman Anderson, and thank you chairman and members of the Assembly for the opportunity to speak on the topic of Nevada’s state tax system. My name is Marco Guzman, and I am a Senior State Policy Analyst with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy […]
Florida Policy Institute: A Working Floridians Tax Rebate for a Stronger and More Equitable Florida
September 24, 2021
Floridians who are paid lower wages spend significantly more of their income on state and local taxes than those with high income. This is because the state lacks a personal income tax and relies mostly on the sales tax to raise revenue. The state’s upside-down tax code also exacerbates racial inequity because Floridians with low […]
Florida Policy Institute: Florida Policymakers Need to Reassess How the Minimum Wage is Enforced
March 4, 2021
Finally, the state budget could take a hit if wage theft persists. Sales tax revenue as an effect of higher minimum wages is particularly relevant to highlight in Florida. The state lacks a personal income tax and over 75 percent of its general revenue fund is comprised of sales tax revenue. General revenue supports critical […]
Florida Policy Institute: State Resolution Could Result in $1.47 Billion in Lost Wages for Young Workers and Foregone Sales Tax Revenue for Florida
March 3, 2021
Florida, lacking a personal income tax, relies on sales tax revenue to support critical areas like education and health and human services. More than 75 percent of Florida’s General Revenue Fund, which finances most of these vital services, is comprised of sales tax revenue. Furthermore, Florida households are the highest contributors to sales tax collections, […]
Florida Policy Institute: 2021 Legislature Must Prioritize Revenue-Raising Solutions, Not Budget Cuts, To Bolster Post-Pandemic Recovery
November 18, 2020
Through smart investments, it is possible to make up billions of dollars without cuts. FPI proposes initiatives to close corporate loopholes such as “combined reporting”— already implemented by 28 states and D.C.— and the “throwback rule”— adopted by 22 states and D.C. — that would generate more than $500 million in general revenue. Read more […]
Florida Policy Institute: Florida Would See an Extra $577 Million in Sales Tax Revenue Under Amendment 2
October 30, 2020
As Florida Policy Institute and many others have demonstrated, gradually increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026 would help lift households out of poverty and reduce pay inequities long experienced by women, people of color, and immigrants. Additionally, a new analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows that Amendment 2 […]
South Strong: Racial Equity and Taxes in Southern States
August 26, 2020
Southern states have a particularly egregious record on tax equity, rooted partly in racism. Lawmakers baked some of the most egregious and anti-democratic tax policies into southern state constitutions, such as supermajority requirements to raise taxes in Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana, income tax rate caps in North Carolina and Georgia, and the recent elimination of […]
Florida Policy Institute: Earned Income Tax Credit Crucial for Working Families
January 31, 2020
State EITCs are better targeted to people with low income than blanket tax exemptions, so they help to reduce the disproportionate impact of sales and excise taxes. According to new data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a state EITC at 30 percent of the federal credit would reduce the share of income […]
Florida Policy Institute: Amendment 5 Would Lock in the Regressive Policies and Abysmal Funding Levels that Perpetuate Inequality
October 23, 2018
Florida’s unfair tax system, which forces low-income residents to contribute the most as a share of their household incomes, along with the state’s worst-in-the-nation per-person investment in public services, would be locked in under Amendment 5.
Florida Phoenix: New Study Says Florida Has the 3rd Most Unfair State and Local Tax System in US
October 19, 2018
Florida is the third largest state in the country, and according to a new report, has the third-most unfair state and local tax system in the U.S. That data comes from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonpartisan, nonprofit tax policy organization.
Florida Policy Institute: Florida Has Third Most Unfair State and Local Tax System
October 17, 2018
Florida’s reputation as a “low-tax” state belies the reality that it is, in fact, a high-tax state for low- and moderate-income residents. Floridians with the lowest incomes — those earning less than $18,700 — contribute 12.7 percent of their incomes to state and local taxes, while the wealthiest top 1 percent — those with incomes of more than $548,700 — contribute just 2.3 percent of their income.
Politico Morning Tax: Desperately Seeking Clarity
October 17, 2018
MOST STATE TAX SYSTEMS REGRESSIVE: No state has more regressive taxes on its citizens than Washington, followed by Texas, Florida, South Dakota and Nevada, according to a distributional analysis of state tax systems that will be released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Most states take a larger share of income from low- and middle-income families than from wealthy families, it said. The 10 most regressive in the rankings tax their residents in the bottom 20 percent of the income scale at rates up to six times higher than the wealthy, while their middle-income families pay a rate up to…
Florida Policy Institute: Dream Act: What’s at Stake for Florida?
December 20, 2017
There are 72,000 young immigrants who were potentially eligible for DACA that call Florida home. They currently contribute a total of $78 million to local and state taxes annually through sales and excise taxes, property taxes and income tax. Read more here
Florida Policy Institute: The Growing Divide: Federal Tax Plan Would Give Massive Tax Cuts to Wealthy Floridians as the Poorest Americans Continue to Struggle
July 21, 2017
The federal tax plan broadly outlined by the current administration would do very little to create opportunities for Floridians struggling to make ends meet. Instead, the tax plan would provide massive tax cuts for Florida’s highest income earners, accordingly to a recent report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Broadly outlined, the plan is likely to make an already unfair tax system that favors the wealthy even worse.
Florida Policy Institute: New Report Finds Shortcomings in Florida’s Scholarship Tax Credit Program
May 19, 2017
State tax policies are undermining high-quality public education by redirecting public dollars for K-12 education toward private schools via tuition tax credits, according to a new report published by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and the School Superintendents Association (AASA). In the case of Florida, the scholarship tax credit program failed to […]
Florida Policy Institute: Florida’s Shadow Budget Needs Greater Scrutiny
February 2, 2017
Silent spending, in the form of numerous kinds of tax breaks, costs Florida billions of dollars in lost revenue a year. Unlike money spent through the state budget process, this “shadow budget” is not routinely examined to see if it is meeting worthwhile goals or promoting a stronger economy. This is money that is spent […]
Florida Policy Institute: A Citizens Guide to Florida’s Budget
February 2, 2017
Florida is known worldwide as a vacation destination, but those of us who live here know that the way Florida takes in and spends money affects every aspect of our lives. From now until 2030, people age 60 and older will account for most of Florida’s population growth, representing 56.9 percent of the gains. Adequate […]
Integrity Florida: Subsidizing Corporate Tax Dodgers
April 21, 2015
Thanks to the data provided by CTJ/ITEP, Integrity Florida found that all of the profitable Fortune 500 corporations headquartered in Florida paid state governments in the U.S. on average a lower corporate profits tax rate than Florida’s 5.5 percent rate between 2011 and 2013. Most of these corporations have received taxpayer-funded subsidy deals and government […]
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