Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

OpenSky Policy Institute Webinar: Data Shows Child Tax Credits Benefit Hardworking Families

March 27, 2023

New evidence on child tax credits at the federal level has shown “stunning” results in lifting children out of poverty throughout the country and a state-level policy could continue that momentum, benefiting a broad range of families, panelists including ITEP State Policy Director Aidan Davis said in a February 8 webinar.

Washington State Supreme Court: Opinion Upholding Capital Gains Excise Tax

March 24, 2023

In 2021, the Washington Legislature enacted a capital gains tax, levied at a rate of seven percent on the sale or exchange of certain long-term capital assets. Read more. (See pages 4 and 11 for ITEP citations)

Massachussets Budget & Policy Center: Taking Measure of the Governor’s Tax Plan

March 21, 2023

Governor Healey’s tax relief proposal would reduce state revenue available for future investments by $986 million annually. Three proposed tax credits would be progressive, meaning the benefits for lower-income households would be a larger percent of their income than the benefits for higher-income houseolds..1 The Governor also proposes two highly regressive tax cuts, meaning richer, higher-income households would receive […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Testimony on HB 1 Before the House Ways and Means Committee

March 15, 2023

This bill proposes a substantial rewriting of Ohio’s property and personal income taxes. It is an overly complicated, poorly designed bill that does not achieve what the sponsor claimed it would. It represents a massive wealth transfer from Ohio’s communities to a wealthy few. It is based on unsound economic reasoning and, if passed, it […]

OpenSky Policy Institute: Policy Brief: Consumption Tax

March 3, 2023

The consumption tax proposal in LB 79 would require a rate of 22.1 percent to be revenue neutral, OpenSky analysis conducted with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy finds. This rate is nearly three times greater than what is proposed in the bill. Further, OpenSky estimates that if the consumption tax were to be […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Speaker’s #1 priority – Tax cut for the rich

February 23, 2023

One of Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens’ top-priority bills, House Bill 1, is a massive giveaway to the rich, and the first of two such proposals by leading Republicans in Ohio’s House. According to a new analysis by Policy Matters Ohio, HB 1 slashes funding to children and all manner of local services, does nothing […]

Minnesota Budget Project: Governor Walz Releases FY 2024-25 Budget Priorities

February 16, 2023

The Walz administration’s recently released budget proposal names as their priorities making Minnesota the best state for children, investing in the state’s economic future, and promoting the health and safety of Minnesotans. Read more.

Kansas Action for Children: Flat Tax: Simple Doesn’t Mean Smart

February 16, 2023

The state has seen increased revenue in recent years, with the state budget including millions of dollars in surplus revenue. The temporary, higher receipts have led to several tax cut proposals. Now, some politicians and special business interest groups are proposing to use lingering budget surpluses to tilt the tax code even further in their favor. […]

Oklahoma Policy Institute: The Needs of Everyday Oklahomans Outweigh Tax Cuts that Benefit the Wealthy

February 13, 2023

As Oklahoma’s 2023 legislative session begins, the perennial push for tax cuts that would shrink state revenue will likely return. In 2022, leaders of the Oklahoma House of Representatives championed tax cuts – primarily focusing on reducing the personal income tax, the corporate income tax, and the sales tax on groceries. Ultimately, the legislative session ended without any major […]

The White House: Fact Sheet: The Biden Economic Plan Is Working

February 6, 2023

President Biden has long believed that we must build the economy from the bottom up and middle out, not the top down. …  In 2020, 55 of the largest corporations that were profitable paid $0 in federal income tax. To end that unfairness in the tax code, President Biden signed into law a 15 percent minimum tax […]

Hawaiʻi Budget & Policy Center: Closing the Capital Gains Loophole

February 1, 2023

Eliminating the preferential tax treatment of capital gains income will increase tax fairness and help fund our future. Read more.

New Jersey Policy Perspective: How an Expanded Child Tax Credit Would Help More Hard-Working New Jersey Families

January 31, 2023

Doubling the maximum credit amount would help hundreds of thousands of children and their families pay for basic needs. Read more.

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Reducing the Income Tax Will Weaken the Commonwealth

January 25, 2023

House Bill 1 in the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly is the next step in a legislative effort to phase down and even eliminate Kentucky’s income tax. This policy path is quite likely the most dangerous ever considered in the modern history of the commonwealth. It marches toward elimination of the source of 41% of state […]

Open Sky Policy Institute: Major Tax and Education Plans Would Quickly Drain Flush State Coffers

January 23, 2023

The cost of high-profile K-12 finance and tax packages introduced this week would entirely consume the projected $1.9 billion that lawmakers have to enact new legislation in the current two-year budget cycle and then some. Read more.

The Commonwealth Institute: Support Virginia Families Through a Commonwealth Kids Credit

January 17, 2023

True economic prosperity means that families are doing well and have the resources and opportunity to thrive. By coming together, people in Virginia have won an improved Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), increased minimum wage, and expanded workers rights in recent years — policy wins that lift families up. Yet more must be done to […]

Better Wyoming: Want to Slow Wyo’s Boom-and-Bust Cycle? Tax Jackson.

January 6, 2023

According to a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), Wyoming has several options to generate new tax revenue from our ultra-wealthy residents and decrease the state’s reliance on boom-and-bust fossil fuels—even while keeping taxes low on the middle class. All we need to do is tax Jackson. Read more.

Montana Budget & Policy Center: Tax Credits for Workers and Families

November 23, 2022

Montana has an opportunity to invest high state revenues to support families and individuals and improve our tax system. State tax credits targeted to those in most need of assistance help Montanans struggling to afford necessities. By expanding the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), establishing a refundable state Child Tax Credit (CTC), and passing […]

The Economic Progress Institute: Rhode Island Standard of Need

November 18, 2022

With scenic beaches, culinary and arts communities, higher education institutions, and a vibrant celebration of culture, Rhode Island can be a wonderful place to live and to raise a family. Yet many Rhode Islanders work at jobs with wages that pay too little to meet even the most basic living costs. They experience multiple barriers […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Increase Family Security and Expand Opportunity in Ohio

November 14, 2022

The expanded federal child tax credit (CTC) improved the lives of millions of children and families. We outline how a simple solution — direct payments to families with children — helped families pay for basic household expenses, relieved parents of stress, and made families more stable and secure. But now, because Congress failed to act, […]

Fiscal Policy Institute: Inequality in New York & Options for Progressive Tax Reform

November 11, 2022

Income statistics have long shown that the top earners in New York State earn relatively more than their counterparts elsewhere in the U.S. Income inequality alone, however, provides an incomplete picture of the wealthiest households’ economic resources. In order to understand real economic power, we have to look at households’ wealth (their total net assets). […]

Oregon Center for Public Policy: Wealth Inequality in Oregon Is Extreme

November 3, 2022

How extreme is wealth inequality in Oregon? So extreme that, together, three billionaires residing in the state have about twice the wealth as that of the entire bottom half of Oregonians. Read more.

Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission: Options to Make Virginia’s Individual Income Tax More Progressive

October 24, 2022

Though Virginia has substantially reduced taxes for low and lower-middle income filers, it could further reduce the tax burden for these filers and make the income tax even more progressive. Read more.

North Carolina Budget & Tax Center: Missing the Mark for North Carolina

September 28, 2022

Inflation isn’t just a pocketbook problem, it’s a budget problem as well. Governments feel the pinch of gas prices climbing higher, food becoming more expensive, and increased competition from private sector employers as well as most of the impacts of inflation that affect consumers and businesses. Unfortunately, the 2022-23 budget allows inflation to undermine the […]

Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: 2022 Special Legislative Session: Understanding Impacts of the Tax and Education Bill

September 1, 2022

State surpluses and strong revenue growth are leaving many states with a big opportunity this year. Idaho is no exception and is faced with options to advance policies that directly improve people’s lives in education, health care, housing, child care, transportation, and other budget areas. A 2022 Special Legislative Session bill that reduces taxes and […]

Maine Center for Economic Policy: New Tax Relief Plan Will Disproportionately Benefit Wealthy Seniors

August 30, 2022

This year, lawmakers included a tax change in the state’s budget that will significantly expand tax benefits for pension recipients in Maine. Beginning in 2023, pension recipients will be allowed to exempt up to $25,000 in pension income from state income taxes, and that amount will increase to $35,000 for tax years 2025 and after. […]

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.