The Commonwealth once again claims its spot in the “Terrible 10” most unfair tax structures in the nation. The lowest 20% of income earners in the state pays more than double (2.3 times) their share of family income on state and local taxes than the top 1%.
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.
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ITEP Work in Action October 23, 2018 Third and State: Pennsylvania’s Terrible Tax Code Asks More of You as You Make Less: Hitting Community’s of Color Especially Hard
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ITEP Work in Action January 27, 2018 Third and State: Fact Check: Undocumented Immigrants like the Dreamers are not a Drag on State and Local Governments
A recent study by the Institute on Tax and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows that the estimated 137,000 undocumented immigrants in Pennsylvania pay our state and local governments almost $135 million… -
ITEP Work in Action April 6, 2017 Keystone Research Center: Who Pays for Property Tax Elimination?
Across all Pennsylvania families, property tax elimination would increase taxes by $334 per family. While property taxes would fall by an average of $1,685 per family, sales and income taxes… -
ITEP Work in Action March 23, 2017 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: The Fair Share Tax to Support Public Investment in Pennsylvania
This paper puts forward a plan, which we call the Fair Share Tax, that would take a major step toward fixing Pennsylvania’s broken tax system and raise the revenues we… -
ITEP Work in Action January 10, 2017 Third and State: Undocumented Immigrants Already Paying Billions in State/Local Taxes
Just this week, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released a comprehensive report on the state and local tax contributions of undocumented immigrants. In the public debate about immigration… -
ITEP Work in Action January 10, 2017 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Who Pays For An Increase in the PIT to 4% on Income From Wealth
Legislators are currently working to find the revenues necessary to fund the appropriations bill that passed the House and Senate this week. They are finding it difficult to agree on… -
ITEP Work in Action January 6, 2017 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: A Fair Share Tax Plan for Pennsylvania
“One barrier to raising revenues is the reluctance of legislators on both sides of the aisle to place additional taxes on Pennsylvania’s poor and middle-class. That reluctance is well motivated.… -
ITEP Work in Action April 11, 2016 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: PA Should Raise Needed Revenues in Fair Ways: Short- and Long-term Approaches to Fixing Pennsylvania’s Unfair Tax System
This briefing paper analyzes several options for raising revenue for the Pennsylvania state budget which would fall much less on middle- and low-income families than the existing Pennsylvania state… -
ITEP Work in Action December 7, 2015 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Expanding the Sales Tax in an Equitable Way
“There is good reason to worry about the sales tax falling heavily on low-income families. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the lowest-income 20% of Pennsylvania families… -
ITEP Work in Action November 30, 2015 Third and State: Unintended Consequences? Property Tax Elimination Increases Taxes on the Middle Class to Reduce Taxes for High Income Families
“Let’s start with the impact of property tax elimination on different groups of taxpayers. While we have not examined the tax incidence of the current SB 76 bill, the Institute… -
ITEP Work in Action November 18, 2015 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Who Pays For An Increase in the Sales Tax: Analysis of the Tax Incidence of an Increase in the Sales Tax from 6% to 7.25%
Gov. Wolf and legislative leaders are currently negotiating over the terms of a plan to cut property taxes which would be financed by an increase in the state sales tax… -
ITEP Work in Action March 3, 2015 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Better Choices Coalition Releases 19 Ideas to Make Pa.’s Tax System Fairer
“A recent study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy named Pennsylvania the sixth most unfair state and local tax system for low- to moderate-income families. The recommendations we… -
ITEP Work in Action January 21, 2015 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Who Pays? Pa.’s Tax System Grows More Regressive: Low-Income Pay Highest Share of Income in Taxes
Pennsylvania’s ranking worsened on a biennial report card measuring the fairness of state and local taxes, according to a study released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy… -
ITEP Work in Action April 15, 2014 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: What Our Taxes Support and Why We Need to Close Loopholes
With the deadline for filing state and federal tax returns upon us, the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center has put together the following resources to help you understand what your… -
ITEP Work in Action March 20, 2014 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Pa. Companies Like PPL, Heinz Paid Little or Nothing in State Income Taxes
Many profitable Fortune 500 companies including Pennsylvania-based PPL, H.J. Heinz, Airgas, Allegheny Technologies, Hershey, and Comcast are paying little or nothing in state income taxes thanks to loopholes, tax breaks,… -
ITEP Work in Action February 27, 2014 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Many Profitable Corporations Pay Little or No U.S. Income Taxes
A comprehensive five-year study of 288 highly profitable Fortune 500 companies finds that 111 of them, including six based in Pennsylvania, paid no federal corporate income tax in at least… -
ITEP Work in Action January 15, 2013 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: The Common Good: What Pennsylvania’s Budget and Tax Policies Mean to You
Public investments make a difference. Your tax dollars combine with everyone else’s to educate our children, keep our communities safe, move people to work over roads and transit systems, and… -
ITEP Work in Action January 14, 2013 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Responsible Growth: Protecting the Public Interest with a Natural Gas Severance Tax
Currently, Pennsylvania is the only major fossil fuel-producing state that does not levy a mineral extraction, or severance, tax to recover some of the costs borne by citizens and to… -
ITEP Work in Action January 14, 2013 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Keeping Score: More Pennsylvania Businesses are Losers Under the Single Sales Factor
Budget negotiators are considering adopting the Single Sales Factor (SSF)1, a targeted tax break promoted by a small group of Pennsylvania corporations. The SSF would cost the Pennsylvania Treasury around… -
ITEP Work in Action January 14, 2013 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Sales Taxation of Admission to Cultural Events Across the U.S.
The 2009-10 Pennsylvania state budget agreement announced in principle by the lawmakers includes a proposal to eliminate the sales tax exemption currently in place for admissions to cultural events (live… -
ITEP Work in Action December 17, 2012 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Bill Won’t Close Tax Loopholes But Will Erode Quality of PA Schools and Services
“The debate over House Bill 2150 made clear that this bill was never about closing corporate tax loopholes. Instead, it will put in place a billion dollars in corporate tax…