Montana could become the first state in the nation to eliminate residential and commercial property taxes in exchange for creating a new 2.5 percent statewide sales tax…
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 January 24, 2019 Law360: Montana Mulls Statewide Sales Tax To Replace Property Taxes
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ITEP Work in Action January 23, 2019 NC Policy Watch: Report: Corporations Are Stiffing North Carolina on $373 Million in State Taxes
It turns out that state leaders can ensure that companies pay the proper amount of taxes on income generated from business conducted in their jurisdictions, but existing tax codes at… -
ITEP Work in Action January 22, 2019 Time to restore fairness to the personal income tax and break the boom-or-bust cycle
Our citizen legislators have lots of choices to make when they meet for the annual legislative session every January – how to prioritize spending on public services like education, health care and public safety, which laws to enact, and whether to make changes to our state’s tax code.
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ITEP Work in Action January 17, 2019 Beacon Journal/Ohio.com Editorial Board: How Ohio’s Tax System Puts a Heavier Burden on the Poor
The Institute for Taxation & Economic Policy performed the analysis for Policy Matters. Consider that those Ohio families with annual incomes below $19,000 paid an average 12.3 percent of their… -
ITEP Work in Action January 16, 2019 Missouri Budget Project: Senate Tax Bills Provide Unfair Giveaways, Leave Communities Reeling
An analysis by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy found that 91% of the tax cut would flow to the wealthiest 20% of Missourians.
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ITEP Work in Action January 15, 2019 Maine Center for Economic Policy: The Prosperity Budget
Where State of Working Maine 2018 investigated the nature of work in the modern economy and made recommendations to reaffirm our values of fairness and respect in the workplace, the… -
ITEP Work in Action January 14, 2019 MassBudget: 14 Options for Raising Progressive Revenue
People in Massachusetts seek to live in communities that provide a high quality of life for their family and neighbors. We value good schools, police and fire protection, libraries and… -
ITEP Work in Action January 11, 2019 Policy Matters Ohio: New Research Underlines Need to Overhaul State Tax Code
Ohio’s upside-down tax system takes an especially heavy toll on black and Latino residents. That’s the finding of new research from the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy (ITEP), a… -
ITEP Work in Action January 2, 2019 Arizona Center for Economic Progress: Wrong Priorities: It Doesn’t Make Sense to Give a Tax Cut to the Rich While Arizona Asks Children in Public Schools to Wait
Arizona stands to gain $130 million to $230 million in General Fund revenues if it conforms the Arizona tax code to the federal tax changes enacted in 2017. Rather than… -
ITEP Work in Action December 20, 2018 Economic Progress Institute: Rhode Island Standard of Need
The RISN calculates a household budget for families with two young children, and for single adults. The no-frills budget includes the costs of housing, food, transportation, health care, child care and other necessities including clothing, toiletries and telephone service. The RISN also demonstrates how work supports like food assistance, tax credits, and child care and health care subsidies help close the gap between income and basic need expenses. By taking all of these factors into account, the RISN provides a more realistic measure of the economic security of Rhode Islanders than the federal poverty level.
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ITEP Work in Action December 17, 2018 Voices for Utah Children: Response to Govenor’s Budget Recommendations FY2020
As a percent of income, 95% of Utah’s families pay more in sales and other local taxes than the top 5% of higher income families.
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ITEP Work in Action December 15, 2018 Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Increase the State Tobacco Tax for Healthier Georgia
Georgia could raise more than $400 million a year to make critical investments for the health and well-being of Georgia residents by raising the cigarette tax by at least $1 per pack. Georgia has the third-lowest state cigarette tax rate out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. At 37 cents per pack, it falls far below the national average of $1.72. Over the past decade, many states have increased tobacco tax rates as a way to raise new revenue while reducing smoking rates and the health care costs associated with smoking. Georgia has not increased its cigarette tax rate since 2003.
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ITEP Work in Action November 29, 2018 New Mexico Voices for Children: The Cliff Effect: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
This report focuses on the cliff effect that occurs with the loss of child care assistance for New Mexico families. Losing child care assistance is especially detrimental to families because the cost of child care is so high. High-quality child care costs more than tuition and fees at New Mexico’s 4-year public universities, so it is an expense that even middle-income families struggle to meet. This report looks at the intensity of the child care cliff effect in New Mexico, as well as problems with income eligibility ceilings and co-pays, and offers policy solutions to these problems.
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ITEP Work in Action November 29, 2018 Public Assets Institute: A Fairer Tax System Would Help Working Families
The report looks at how well states distribute taxes based on family incomes. In most states lower-income families pay a higher percentage of their income in state and local taxes than those at the top. That’s the definition of a regressive tax system. Vermont’s is one of the least regressive in the country.
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ITEP Work in Action November 28, 2018 The EITC Boosts Opportunities for Communities of Color
State and local taxes play an important role in shaping economic opportunity. These tax revenues pay for the schools, roads, parks, and libraries that create a foundation for thriving communities. Yet we know that Virginia’s state and local tax system is upside down. In Virginia, households with low and modest incomes pay a higher share of their incomes toward state and local taxes than the highest-income households. In tax policy terms, this is known as a regressive system. And since historical and present-day barriers for communities of color have resulted in stark differences in income by race, this means these taxes particularly hit Black and Latinx families who are more likely to be paid low wages and struggle to make ends meet.
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ITEP Work in Action November 21, 2018 Voices for Illinois Children November Newsletter
The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released the sixth edition of its “Who Pays?” report on state tax systems. Voices’ policy analyst John Gordon detailed the findings of the report in a blog post. Illinois ranks #8 among ITEP’s “Terrible Ten” in terms of regressive state tax systems.
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ITEP Work in Action November 21, 2018 Wisconsin Budget Project: Wisconsin’s Tax System Requires the Least from Those Who Have the Most
Wisconsin residents with the lowest incomes pay about a third more of their income in state and local taxes than the wealthiest residents, according to new figures from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The poorest 20% of Wisconsin residents—a group with an average income of $14,700—pays 10.1 cents out of every $1 of their income in state and local taxes on average. In comparison, the richest residents of Wisconsin, who have an average income of $1.2 million, pay just 7.7 cents out of every $1 in income in state and local taxes.
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ITEP Work in Action November 16, 2018 Advancing Racial Equity With State Tax Policy
States and localities could do more to help undo the harmful legacies of past racism and the damage caused by continuing racial bias and discrimination. If state budget and tax policies were better designed to address these harms and create more opportunities for people of color, state economies would be more equitable and likely also would be stronger, which in turn could benefit many state residents of all backgrounds.
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ITEP Work in Action November 15, 2018 The Governor’s Proposed Personal Income Tax Cut: Who Wins and Who Loses?
Governor Asa Hutchinson proposed a personal income tax cut as part of his balanced budget plan for the 2019 legislative session, released on November 14.
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ITEP Work in Action November 15, 2018 Oregon Center for Public Policy: Oregon Can Raise $376 Million by Clamping Down on Offshore Corporate Tax Avoidance
Oregon can clamp down on multinational corporations shifting profits overseas, create a more level playing field for Oregon businesses, and raise millions in revenue by enacting “complete reporting” by large corporations. That law would make it difficult for multinational corporations to avoid Oregon corporate income taxes by artificially shifting profits earned in Oregon to subsidiaries located abroad.
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ITEP Work in Action November 15, 2018 Louisiana Budget Project: Tax Code Is Holding Louisiana Back
Years of efforts to reform Louisiana’s regressive and overly complicated tax code have run aground in the state Legislature. The result: Louisianans pay the second-highest sales taxes in the nation, while the tax code is riddled with costly exemptions and deductions. The state’s broken tax structure is a major reason why the state lurched from budget crisis to budget crisis over the last decade and has struggled to fund critical programs and services like higher education and health care. The Advocate’s editorial board shares its thoughts on the latest report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
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ITEP Work in Action November 12, 2018 Tax Proposals Target Benefits to Those at the Top, Corporations
The Arkansas Legislative Tax Reform and Relief Task Force’s recommendations would make the state’s tax system even more regressive than it already is. According to a new analysis by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and the Institute on Tax and Economic Policy, the net overall impact of the combined recommendations would actually raise taxes on the neediest Arkansans. At the same time, it would target a bigger share of the decrease to those with the highest incomes.
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ITEP Work in Action November 9, 2018 Louisiana Budget Project: Race Equity and Taxes in Louisiana
Louisiana’s upside-down tax structure means the highest income-earners pay less than the poorest families, when measured as a percentage of income. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s “Who Pays” report lays this out in careful detail, and the latest edition breaks down the tax distribution by race. The conclusion: Black households pay a higher percentage of their income in state and local taxes than white households. Louisiana has work to do to make the tax structure fairer and reduce racial inequalities.
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ITEP Work in Action November 5, 2018 Louisiana Budget Project: Louisiana’s Regressive Tax Structure
Poor and middle-income families in Louisiana pay state and local taxes at a higher rate than the wealthiest families. That’s the key takeaway from the latest state-by-state breakdown of tax distribution by income groups from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Louisiana’s tax structure is the 14th most regressive in the nation.
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ITEP Work in Action November 3, 2018 Idaho Press: Economic Study Finds That Poor Idahoans Pay More State and Local Taxes Than Rich Ones
The biggest drivers of the inequality in Idaho are the sales and property taxes. In every bracket of income measured by the Institute’s report, the amount that families paid in state and excise taxes went down as their total income increased. The lowest-earning 20 percent spent twice as much of their annual income on property taxes as the highest 20 percent, with an average of 3.3 percent paid on their property compared to 1.6 percent.