ITEP Work in Action
Washington Governor’s Office: Inslee signs economic justice legislation to help working families
May 4, 2021
Gov. Jay Inslee today signed an economic justice legislative package, including the Working Families Tax Credit and the capital gains excise tax, that starts the process of making Washington’s upside-down tax system fairer and more equitable. Read more
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: House Bill 389 and Idaho’s Property Tax Circuit Breaker
May 4, 2021
House Bill 389 is a complicated bill that would affect many different components of the Idaho property tax statute. Revenue from property taxes, both for real property and business personal property, support local public services – such as roads, courts, and schools. Property taxes are regressive, meaning they fall harder on lower-income Idahoans than others. […]
Arizona Center for Economic Progress: The flat tax falls flat for most Arizonans
April 28, 2021
The Arizona legislature is poised to permanently cut over a billion dollars in state revenues, the largest tax cut in the last three decades. This cut will make Arizona’s tax system more regressive than it is today with 91 percent of the tax cuts going to people in the top 20 percent of incomes. Read […]
Movement for Black Lives (M4BL): Restructure Tax Codes
April 28, 2021
The current taxation system exacerbates economic and racial disparities rather than generating sufficient revenue to be redistributed for the common good. Billionaires and corporations benefit from subsidies and tax breaks to accumulate wealth while avoiding taxation. Meanwhile low-income people and communities, who are disproportionately Black, are targeted for higher taxes and more aggressive enforcement of […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Analysis and Considerations Related to House Bill 380
April 26, 2021
The Idaho Legislature is considering a proposal that would reduce the number of income tax brackets from seven to five, cut income and corporate tax rates and provide a one-time tax rebate. HB380 is a revised version of HB332, with one significant change, the elimination of two tax brackets, which serves to make Idaho’s tax […]
New Jersey Policy Perspective: Blueprint to Secure a Just Recovery
April 24, 2021
In 2017, New Jersey Policy Perspective released the Blueprint for Economic Justice and Shared Prosperity. It charted a course forward for the state after decades of short-sighted policymaking that exacerbated racial disparities, spread economic inequality, and weakened our ability to address emergent problems. Now, as we begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, […]
Washington Center for Equitable Growth: Weekend reading: Inequities in U.S. taxation and homeownership edition
April 23, 2021
Homeowners of color who sell their homes receive lower prices due to such factors as reduced neighborhood school quality, but they pay the same property taxes because these factors are not incorporated into tax assessments. Black and Hispanic homeowners also face discrimination in assessment appeals. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy explains the regressivity […]
NC Policy Watch: NC needs to fix its tax code to secure a just recovery — for everyone
April 23, 2021
North Carolina’s current tax code asks the top to pay less as a share of their income than taxpayers with poverty-level incomes. By putting in place tax policies that would ask just 1 percent of North Carolinians to pay slightly more, North Carolina can invest in a more equitable, just recovery for everyone. Read more
Policy Matters Ohio: House Budget chooses tax cuts over more support for key public programs
April 15, 2021
The 2022-23 state budget presents Ohio lawmakers with an opportunity to rebuild communities so all people, no matter what they look like or how much money they have, can thrive and succeed. But instead of using all available options to support communities, the Ohio House Republican majority proposed a budget that would cut income taxes […]
California Budget & Policy Center: Promoting Racial Equity Through California’s Tax and Revenue Policies
April 15, 2021
Legacies of historical racist policies and ongoing discrimination in areas such as education, employment, and housing have barred many Californians of color from economic opportunities. As a result, Californians of color — particularly Black, Latinx, and American Indian Californians — are less likely to have high incomes and to have built enough wealth to be […]
NC Policy Watch: Some simple truths about the taxes corporations pay and Biden’s proposal blow the whistle on them
April 14, 2021
Discovery No. 1 one is that almost no major U.S. corporation, certainly not those that do business overseas, actually pays the 21% corporate tax rate, set by law. In fact, on average, Fortune 500 companies pay about half that much – 11.3% according to the non-profit Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy and Taxation, working […]
NC Policy Watch: New report: NC tax policy promotes racial inequities in numerous ways
April 14, 2021
North Carolina’s tax code and budget are wrought with such policy choices, which can result in racist outcome that worsen barriers to well-being for people and communities of color, according to new data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The greater tax load carried by Black, Indigenous, and Latinx residents has been […]
Arizona Center for Economic Progress: Arizona’s regressive tax policy contributes significantly to economic and racial injustice
April 13, 2021
Tax policy plays a role in the fight for economic and racial justice. The type of tax and how it is structured matters. A new report issued by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), Taxes and Racial Equity , explains how historical and contemporary policy choices have resulted in tax codes that maintain […]
North Carolina Justice Center: State Tax Policy Is Not Race Neutral
April 13, 2021
North Carolina’s tax code and budget are wrought with such policy choices, which can result in racist outcomes that worsen barriers to well-being for people and communities of color, according to new data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The greater tax load carried by Black, Indigenous, and Latinx residents has been […]
Oregon Center for Public Policy: A better reality for Oregonians requires flipping the tax system
April 7, 2021
As vaccines for COVID-19 make their way into the arms of Americans, a sense of normality feels within reach. But going back to normal is not what working Oregonians need. We need a reimagined sense of “normal” – one in which workers get paid living wages and the rich pay their fair share. When you […]
Louisiana Budget Project: Who Pays? Racial Injustice in Louisiana’s Tax System
April 5, 2021
Historic and current injustices – both in public policy and in society more broadly – have resulted in vast disparities in income across race and ethnicity in Louisiana. Unfortunately, our tax system plays an active role in worsening these disparities by asking those with the least to contribute the largest share of their income to […]
Inequality.org: Sales Taxes Widen the Racial Wealth Divide. States and Cities Have Far Better Options.
April 2, 2021
The public discourse over inequality and racial disparities has rightly shifted to how to dismantle structural challenges that create these gross inequities. Addressing racial disparities will require a concerted effort by government across all policy areas. A new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) offers some perspective on how state and […]
West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy: Senate Income Tax Cut Plan is More of the Same: Tax Cuts for the Wealthy, Tax Increases and Budget Cuts for Everyone Else
March 31, 2021
This week, the Senate Finance Committee took up HB 3300, the House’s income tax cut plan, and made significant changes before quickly passing it out of committee. Unlike the House plan, which phased out the income tax over time with no revenue offsets, the Senate’s plan is more similar to the governor’s proposal, making a […]
California Budget & Policy Center: American Rescue Plan Provides Assistance to Millions of Californians
March 30, 2021
This latest round of federal fiscal relief will help reduce hardship as a result of the pandemic, particularly for Californians with low incomes and people of color, and begins to set the stage for a more equitable economic recovery. This report outlines key provisions of the plan and what it means for Californians. Read more
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Analysis and Considerations Related to House Bill 332
March 18, 2021
The Idaho Legislature is considering a proposal that would cut income and corporate tax rates and provide a one-time tax rebate. Under the proposal, the tax benefits from this proposed legislation are heavily lopsided. Taking all provisions into account, households with very modest earnings would receive a $78 average tax cut, and the top 1 […]
One Voice Mississippi: Bill Analysis: House Bill 1439: Tax Proposal Moves State Away from a Better, More Equitable Mississippi
March 16, 2021
Mississippi’s House of Representatives recently passed House Bill 1439 (“the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2021”). The House passed the 300-page bill less than 24 hours after they introduced it with little debate and no fiscal note. The plan revives the recurring attempts of some lawmakers to cut state income taxes, but does much more. […]
Washington State Budget & Policy Center: Why Now Is the Time to Pass a Tax on Extraordinary Profits
March 8, 2021
Members of the Washington State Senate have an historic opportunity to create a more just state tax code while bolstering and sustaining our state’s fiscal and economic recovery long after federal recovery funds fade away. Senate Bill 5096 would create a new 7% excise tax on extraordinary profits from the sale of financial assets (capital […]
West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: Governor Justice’s Tax Plan Favors the Wealthy, While Creating Large Holes in the Budget
March 5, 2021
Governor Justice has finally unveiled his proposal to make sweeping changes to the state’s tax system, including a substantial cut to the state’s personal income tax, while raising a variety of sales and other taxes. The changes would be a dramatic shift in who pays state taxes in West Virginia, shifting the responsibility onto working […]
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: Tax Injustice: DC’s Richest Residents Pay Lower Taxes than Everyone Else
March 5, 2021
A tax system that adequately advances racial and economic justice must be progressive, requiring the richest people to pay a much higher share of their income in taxes than lower-income families who have little or no wiggle room in their family budget. Yet new findings from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a […]
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 […]
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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