Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

ITEP Work in Action  

Every Texan: Texas Taxes Are Upside-Down. Big Tax Cuts Don’t Help.

March 18, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

Texas’ tax system is upside-down. When it comes to funding our public services, schools, and state and local governments, Texans with lower incomes are expected to pay more than their fair share. Read more.

ITEP Work in Action  

Every Texan: Current Border Militarization Operations Are a Wasteful Attempt at Deterrence

January 31, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

There is little return to show on past border militarization investments. Beginning in 2021, the Governor launched a multi-year campaign called Operation Lone Star that, in part, allowed his Trusteed Programs office to distribute billions of dollars in grants to once resource-starved border communities. SB 1 prepares to double down on this failed investment with […]

ITEP Work in Action  

Every Texan: Proposition 3 Will Maintain Texas’ Extreme Wealth Inequality

October 21, 2023 • By ITEP Staff

We all benefit when everyday Texans, regardless of where we live or what we look like, have a fair opportunity to prosper. Contrarily, a state tax system designed to favor the ultra-wealthy undermines all of us. In Texas, the wealth gap is so extreme that 66 billionaires living in the state own more wealth than 70% […]

ITEP Work in Action  

Washington Examiner: Think tank: Texas Isn’t a Low-tax State if You’re Poor

October 23, 2018 • By Carl Davis

Carl Davis for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: [ M]any states traditionally considered to be “low-tax states” are actually high-tax for their poorest residents. The “low tax” label is typically assigned to states that either lack a personal income tax or that collect a comparatively low amount of tax revenue overall. But a focus on these measures can cause lawmakers to overlook the fact that state tax systems impact different taxpayers in very different ways, and that low-income taxpayers in particular often do not experience these states as being even remotely “low tax.”

ITEP Work in Action  

CPPP: The Staggering Unfairness of Our State Tax System

October 19, 2018 • By ITEP Staff

Here’s one way to think about it: Families at the top of the income ladder receive 20 percent of all personal income in Texas, but pay only 8.5 percent of all state and local taxes. Families at the bottom of the scale receive only three percent of all income, but pay 5.7 percent of all taxes.

ITEP Work in Action  

Center for Public Policy Priorities: The National Dream Act: What’s at stake for Texas?

December 18, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

Researchers estimate that approximately 177,000 young Texas immigrants are potentially eligible for DACA, and they currently contribute a total of $241 million to local and state taxes annually through sales and excise taxes, property taxes and income tax. Without the national Dream Act, Texas can expect to lose at least $79 million in state and […]

ITEP Work in Action  

Dallas Fed: Texas Taxes: Who Bears the Burden?

September 26, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

...Overall, the state’s tax system is less equal across income quintiles than the national average. A key reason is the state’s reliance on the sales tax, which as a share of income is 8.6 percent for those in the bottom quintile but only 2.2 percent in the top quintile...

ITEP Work in Action  

Center for Public Policy Priorities: The Best Choice for a Prosperous Texas: A Texas-Style Personal Income Tax

January 15, 2013 • By ITEP Staff

The quality of life in Texas depends on our producing a well-educated workforce that can meet the demands of a global economy. A strong and vibrant public education for all Texas children is an essential precondition for a prepared workforce and a prosperous, competitive economy. In fact, providing public education is one of the constitutionally […]

ITEP Work in Action  

Center for Public Policy Priorities: Who Pays Texas Taxes?

January 14, 2013 • By ITEP Staff

The Comptroller has just released her biennial study of the fairness of the Texas tax system, Texas Exemptions and Tax Incidence,1 which demonstrates conclusively that low-and moderate-income Texas families bear a disproportionate share of state and local taxes. Read the Original Full Report

ITEP Work in Action  

Center for Public Policy Priorities: Who Pays Texas Taxes

January 14, 2013 • By ITEP Staff

Our quality of life in Texas depends on our public structures-including public education, child health services, and transportation infrastructure–maintained by Texas tax dollars, A good tax system would not only provide adequate revenue to maintain these structures, but would also match the share of taxes paid with the share of income earned by each Texas […]