Citations
ITEP's Citations Research Priorities
Rep. James E. Clyburn: Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” Steals from the Poor, Gives to the Rich
September 18, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
The Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that in 2026, South Carolina’s wealthiest 1%—those making over $782,500 a year—will receive an average tax cut of $68,260, while the lowest-income residents, earning under $23,200, will face an average tax increase of $30, in addition to steep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. Read more.
Bloomberg: Did You Pay Your ‘Fair Share’ of Federal Income Tax This Year?
March 31, 2022
And according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the impact would have a definite geographic tilt. The states where more than 40% of residents would face tax increases are largely in the South, including Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Georgia, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Florida. read more
The Journal News: Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Anti-Trump Tax Plan Crumbling in Face of IRS Regulations
September 11, 2018
Similar programs give state tax credits on 100 percent of the donations in states such as Alabama, Georgia, Arizona and South Carolina. It’s a system that has proved profitable for savvy taxpayers, said Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more
CNBC: Cutting SALT–It Could Be the Last Day for This Tax Saving Strategy
August 24, 2018
There are 18 states with private school voucher tax credits, including programs in Arizona, Alabama and South Carolina. A number of them offer credits to contributing taxpayers on a dollar-for-dollar basis. “In a perverse situation, you donate $100 and you get back $137 in the form of state tax credits and deductions,” said Carl Davis, […]
Bloomberg: New Yorkers Have Four Days to Try to Beat SALT Cap
August 24, 2018
Residents of states that have had charitable tax break programs in effect for some time, such as Georgia and South Carolina, that benefit hospitals or schools, will probably have an easier time writing checks before the new rules go into effect, said Steve Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “The reality […]
The Oregonian: Trump Administration Moves to Stop Oregon, Other States from Circumventing New Tax Law
August 23, 2018
Treasury said it expects that only about 1 percent of all U.S. taxpayers would see a reduction of their tax credits for donations to a private-school voucher fund. Several states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Montana and South Carolina — allow taxpayers who donate to private-school funds to get a 100 percent credit against their state […]
Fox Business: Higher State Taxes, Not OPEC, Boosting Gas Prices
July 5, 2018
In July, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee were among seven states that raised their gas taxes Opens a New Window. . At least 27 states have raised or updated their gas taxes since 2013, according to a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Opens a New Window. . California – where drivers pay some […]
Wall Street Journal: As Treasury Targets Workarounds to Tax Law, Impact May Extend Beyond High-Tax States
June 27, 2018
Tax experts say the federal government will find it difficult if not impossible to write rules to stop the workarounds in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut without also limiting existing tax credits in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and elsewhere. According to a recent paper from law professors, 33 states currently have more than 100 […]
Charleston Post-Courier: An Abuse of Charitable Giving?
January 14, 2018
Under the new law, some wealthy South Carolinians may actually make a 37 percent profit, risk-free, by making charitable contributions to Exceptional SC, a nonprofit fund created by the state Legislature to administer scholarships to students with disabilities attending private schools. That’s according to a recent report by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. South Carolina has […]
NPR: This Tax Loophole for Wealthy Donors Just Got Bigger
December 29, 2017
One of the changes, according to the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, which advocates for a “fair and sustainable” tax system, allows far more wealthy donors in 10 states to turn a profit through “donations” to private school scholarships. Yes, you read that right. If your income is high enough, you can actually make […]
The Epoch Times: Trump Targets Amazon Over Sales Tax and Retail Jobs
August 23, 2017
More than half of items sold on Amazon are coming through third-party retailers, according to a CNBC report. These retailers can benefit from Amazon’s facilities or payment system, but they are not required to collect sales tax. It is still a pending issue and a meaningful revenue loss for states, said Carl Davis, research director […]
Scripps News Service: Money Diverted from Public Schools?
June 26, 2017
All the programs basically work this way: Individuals and businesses make cash or stock donations to scholarship granting organizations. The organizations award scholarships to qualifying families with K-12 students, primarily children in failing public schools or whose families’ income meets the state’s poverty threshold. Students can then attend a private or religious school of their […]
American Prospect: How States Turn K-12 Scholarships Into Money-Laundering Schemes
March 3, 2017
This article was originally published in The American Prospect. By Carl Davis Politicians have long had a knack for framing policy proposals, however controversial, in terms that make them more palatable to voters. This is why unpopular tax cuts for the wealthy are often sold as plans to “invest” in America or to stimulate “growth.” […]
Chattanooga Times Free-Press: Tennessee House GOP pursues anything-but-gas-tax-increase plans for road funding
January 26, 2017
According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, five states have not implemented an increase in their gas tax rates since the 1980s or earlier: Alaska, Oklahoma, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. That’s longer than any of the 45 other states. Read more
USA Today: These states will hike gas taxes ahead of record 4th of July travel
June 30, 2016
“Despite the fluctuations, most states have also gone years without changing their rates, according to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Sixteen states have gone at least two decades without a gas-tax increase, according to the study. Five of those states have seen an increase since at least the 1980s: Alaska, […]
CNBC: Pothole season brings little new funding to fix them
April 5, 2016
Other states, including Indiana, South Carolina and West Virginia, have considered similar moves. But so far, those measures haven’t gotten very far, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a tax research group. “Legislators in all three states embraced partial solutions or punted entirely, preferring short-term fixes at the expense of other […]
USA Today: Study: 58,000 U.S. bridges found to be ‘structurally deficient’
February 22, 2016
“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy counts nine states seriously considering motor fuel tax increases: Alabama, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, and South Carolina. “Most of the gas tax increases under discussion right now would help restore at least some of the purchasing power they lost while being frozen in time […]
Tulsa World: Julie DelCour: Measuring Up: ‘DOTs’ hope for a ‘Road to Damascus’ moment
February 22, 2016
“Last year, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reported that 20 states have gone a decade or more without an increase in their gasoline tax rate; 15 states had gone two decades or more. And five states, including Oklahoma, had not seen an increase in their gasoline tax rate since the 1980s or earlier. […]
The Spokesman Review: Idaho tax balance too much for GOP?
October 5, 2015
“At this point, you’ve got to wonder why anyone would still harp about cutting taxes in Idaho. For one thing, the state is hardly overtaxed. Whenever the State Tax Commission looks at tax burdens, it finds Idaho’s near the bottom. By one recent measure, the state is ranked 49th out of the 50 states and […]
Slate: Don’t Fall for Back-to-School Tax Holidays
August 14, 2015
If shoppers are simply shifting their spending to save on taxes, that means the states are losing revenue. That’s certainly the position of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think tank that estimates the popular break will cost the states offering it $300 million this year. “Revenues lost through sales tax holidays […]
CNBC: Is Your State a Gas Tax Winner–Or Loser?
July 22, 2015
As states from Connecticut to California scramble to find money to fix crumbling highways, Congress once again is expected this week to put a short-term patch on the nearly insolvent federal highway trust fund. To make up the shortfall, Congress has transferred more than $53 billion from other tax revenue over the past five years, […]
TI News Daily: Some States Prefer Transportation Over Tax relief
July 8, 2015
To meet infrastructure needs, several states have had to increase other taxes, such as gasoline taxes. These states include Idaho, Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, Kentucky, Utah and South Dakota. Four of these states are currently finalizing infrastructure funding increases or are still discussing infrastructure funding raises. “A lot of states realized they couldn’t put […]
Huffington Post: How Some States Are Trying To Fix Their Crumbling Infrastructure
July 6, 2015
Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said efforts to raise state taxes to pay for roads and bridges exploded this year. In 2013 and 2014, four states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Wyoming) increased their gas taxes, while Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island indexed the gas tax to either […]
Kansas City Star: TheChat: Kansas Evaluates Impact of the Raucous 2015 Session
June 17, 2015
The fallout from the 2015 session continues. ▪ “It’s clearly a cautionary tale for other states to have in mind.” — Matthew Gardner, executive director of the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, on how Kansas’ experience with tax cuts, and their resulting budget problems, is discouraging other states from following suit. For example, […]
New York Times: Kansas Tax Cutting Model Tarnished by Sales Tax Increase
June 15, 2015
Matthew Gardner, executive director of the left-leaning, Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said Kansas’ experience makes it more difficult for other states to pursue aggressive income tax cuts. In South Carolina, Republican Gov. Nikki Haley couldn’t pass income tax cuts even after declaring, “We are not doing what Kansas did.” “It’s clearly a […]
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