Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

Reforming Connecticut’s Tax System: A Program to Strengthen Working- and Middle-Class Families

January 15, 2020

Connecticut Voices for Children released a report that examined the state’s income and wealth inequality and the state’s regressive tax system that exacerbates these inequalities.

Center for American Progress: The TCJA 2 Years Later: Corporations, Not Workers, Are the Big Winners

December 19, 2019

Researchers at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) surveyed corporate financial reports for the first year that the TCJA was in effect and recently published their findings. Examining 379 profitable Fortune 500 companies, they found that the companies paid an average effective tax rate of just 11.3 percent on their U.S. income in 2018—slightly more than […]

Arizona Center for Economic Progress: More Money for Public Education Will Benefit Arizona Small Businesses

November 5, 2019

Most small business owners will continue to be taxed at some of the lowest personal income tax rates in the nation. Small business owners whose profits and wages from their businesses are high enough to be in the top 1% of income earners will still have the first $250,000 they earn as individual filers or […]

Budget & Tax Center: A Costly Cover for More Business Tax Cuts in NC

October 25, 2019

Analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that 27 percent of the total net tax cut from the increase in the standard deduction will actually go to the top 20 percent, while just 7 percent will go to the bottom 20 percent whose income leaves them in poverty each year. Read more

Urban Institute: Are States Betting on Sin? The Murky Future of State Taxation

October 1, 2019

“Sin taxes” are often viewed as budget saviors, though they play a rather small role in state budgets. Although states raise revenue from sin taxes, policymakers should be mindful of these taxes’ limitations. Absent policy changes (such as increased tax rates), long-term growth for sin tax revenue has often been weak and limited. Moreover, greater […]

The Half Sheet: Over 1 Million Virginia Taxpayers Expected to Miss Out on Refund Checks

September 11, 2019

If everything goes according to schedule, Virginia’s tax department will begin issuing $110 refund checks – $220 for joint filers – to Virginia taxpayers beginning next week and continuing through the first half of October. The checks are the result of tax legislation signed into law earlier this year. Unfortunately, not every tax filer will […]

MECEP: NEW REPORT: Maine reaches new milestone on the road to tax fairness

September 4, 2019

Starting in 2020 and for the first time in decades, the Mainers who earn the least will no longer pay a larger share of their income to state and local taxes than those who earn the most, according to a policy brief published today by the Maine Center for Economic Policy.

Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in Georgia: High Income Households Receive Greatest Benefits

August 12, 2019

This report offers the first comprehensive look at how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), in combination with Georgia’s enacted response, will impact the state budget and families at every level of income from 2020–2025. In partnership with Step Up Savannah and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a case […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Ohio Tax Shift Away From the Wealthy: The Pattern Repeats

August 8, 2019

The main tax measures in Ohio’s new budget bills will bring tax increases on average for lower- and middle-income taxpayers, while those at the top of the income scale on average will see cuts. Overall, the bottom 95% of taxpayers with annual income below $208,000 a year will average increases, while those in the top […]

CommonWealth: Before the T Derailed, its Funding Got on the Wrong Track

July 16, 2019

Overall, funding for the Commonwealth during the last two decades has relied increasingly on sales taxes and regressive user fees, while cutting income tax rates. As a result, we have an upside-down tax system. Effectively, these taxes and fees make lower-income Massachusetts residents pay a higher percentage (10 percent) of their income in state and […]

Arizona Center for Economic Progress: Using Increased Revenues from Conformity on More Tax Cuts is Fiscally Irresponsible

July 11, 2019

Arizona Should Use Increased Revenues to Prepare for Next Recession Instead of Giving Tax Cuts While a recession does not appear imminent, the current economic expansion began in June 2009 and in July will become the longest economic expansion in American history at 121 months. Given this and the impossibility of predicting when the next […]

The American Prospect: Without Congressional Input, Trump May Further Widen the Gap Between Rich and Poor

July 3, 2019

“This is just another tax break for rich people,” says Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economy Policy, who authored a blog post on the policy implications of such a proposal. But even addressing whether the proposal makes economic sense raises serious red flags. Read more

Policy Matters Ohio: Refundability Now

June 4, 2019

The federal credit is so effective that 29 states, including Ohio, have used it as a model for their own EITCs, calculating the state credit’s value as a percentage of the federal one. However, Ohio’s credit leaves out the most important part: refundability.

Connecticut Voices for Children: Impact of the FY 2020-2021 Appropriations and Finance Committee Budget and Revenue Proposals on Children and Families

May 23, 2019

The report recommends that state legislators and the Governor repeal the state’s Bond Lock, revise the volatility cap, and implement additional tax reforms that begin to correct the state’s regressive revenue system by asking more of the state’s wealthiest residents. Read more

Policy Matters Ohio: The Good and the Bad in the House Tax Plan

May 15, 2019

The tax plan approved by the Ohio House last week would sharply limit an income-tax break for business owners that costs more than $1 billion a year while providing few benefits to the Ohio economy. At the same time, it would eliminate the bottom two brackets of the income tax and cut rates by 6.6%. […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Voices from the Capitol: Countdown to the End of the Session

May 10, 2019

Staff experts from our national partners – Elizabeth McNichol of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Aidan Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy – joined Jamie Mills of Connecticut Voices for Children in submitting powerful testimony before the Finance Committee in support of a modest surcharge on capital gains earned […]

Maryland Center on Economic Policy: Improving the Child Tax Credit Would Benefit More than 700,000 Marylanders

May 7, 2019

Refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit make an important difference for working families, together bringing more than 100,000 Marylanders’ family incomes above the federal poverty line each year. Maryland has built on these successful policies by supplementing the federal Earned Income Tax Credit with a state credit and extending […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Testimony Supporting H.B. No. 7415

April 26, 2019

Smart state fiscal policies can play a critical role in building strong, equitable state economies. It is time we fix our tax laws to give working people and children a fair shot to get ahead by pursuing twin goals of assuring adequate revenues to support the programs and services vital to the well-being of our […]

Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: A Fair Share Tax Plan for Pennsylvania — 2019 Update

April 15, 2019

This paper puts forward the Fair Share Tax plan, a major step toward fixing Pennsylvania’s broken tax system and raising the revenues we need to invest in the public goods that are critical to creating thriving communities and individual opportunity in our state: education, infrastructure, protection for our air and water, and human services. The […]

Michigan League for Public Policy: The Cost-of-Living Refund

April 15, 2019

The Cost-of-Living Refund is an enhanced and modernized version of our state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Michigan’s current EITC—at just 6% of the federal credit—provides a huge help to working families struggling to make ends meet by boosting after-tax incomes, pulling Michigan families above the poverty line, and delivering long-lasting benefits to children in […]

The DC Line: – David Schwartzman: By Offsetting Federal Tax Cuts Locally, We Can Improve the Quality of Life for All DC Residents

April 10, 2019

Misha Hill of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has estimated that the top 20 percent income bracket of DC residents will receive almost $700 million in federal tax cuts this year, with most ($541 million) going to the top 5 percent (with incomes above $319,000 per year). The same study finds that […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Even with Modest Capital Gains Tax, Wealthiest Would Pay Average of $36,000 Less in Taxes After Trump Tax Cuts

April 10, 2019

Connecticut faces a $4 billion deficit over the Fiscal Years 2020-21 biennial budget. Without adequate revenues, painful budget cuts that could fall heavily on children and families are inevitable. Read more

Connecticut Voices for Children: A Balanced Approach to Revenues: Ensuring Fairness and Adequacy

April 10, 2019

As the General Assembly develops its biennial budget facing a $4 billion deficit, Connecticut Voices for Children urges legislators and the Governor to adopt a balanced approach by adopting revenue streams that enhance the fairness of our tax system while providing the adequate funds to sustain us today and to invest for tomorrow. Budget cuts […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Impact of the Governor’s FY 2020-2021 Budget on Children and Families

March 31, 2019

Connecticut’s long-term fiscal health and economic growth depend on policies that improve equity and support our most vulnerable families and children. Governor Lamont’s proposed state budget avoids additional major cuts to essential programs and services, though it is based on revenue proposals that fall most heavily on our lowest income taxpayers. It asks little of […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Connecticut’s Radical New Budget Rules: Locking in Decreased Investment in our State for the Next Decade

March 31, 2019

Faced with increasingly difficult decisions in crafting the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018-19 biennial budget, the Connecticut General Assembly found itself at an impasse. In order to break the log jam, the legislature included drastic measures in the final budget deal. It is increasingly clear that the long-term effects of these measures will be damaging to […]

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.