Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

ITEP Work in Action

Policy Matters Ohio: The Great Ohio Tax Shift, 2026

February 20, 2026

ITEP’s analysis examines two categories of changes to the Ohio tax code: changes made to personal income taxes and changes made to other types of taxes. Read more.

Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center: Testimony Regarding an Act To Manage Federal Tax Changes in Massachusetts

February 19, 2026

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) proposes that the state opts out the five most costly federal corporate tax cuts made in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Read more.

Economic Policy Institute: Everything You Need To Know About “No Tax on Overtime”

February 19, 2026

The Trump administration has trumpeted this policy as a substantial victory for workers—in reality, it is not. Most workers will not benefit from this policy whatsoever. Read more.

The Cascadia Advocate: Five More Claims Against the Million-Dollar Earners’ Tax That Don’t Check Out: Debunking Republicans’ Opposition to SB 6346

February 19, 2026

Republican legislators yesterday leveled a barrage of familiar arguments against the Senate Democratic majority’s proposal to create a million-dollar earners’ tax. While these charges have been made before, repetition does not make an argument true. Read more.

Mackinac Center: Lawmakers Should Reject Sales Tax Holidays

February 19, 2026

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy argues that tax holidays may slightly reduce the regressive nature of sales taxes but produce minimal overall benefit. Read more.

Economic Policy Institute: Everything You Need To Know About “No Tax on Tips”

February 12, 2026

The 2025 Trump tax bill that created the tipped income deduction simultaneously enacted massive cuts to health care, energy, and food assistance programs that will cause tremendous harm for millions of low-income households, including some with tipped workers—all to finance tax cuts for the ultrawealthy. Read more. 

Center for American Progress: Overturning D.C.’s Tax Law Would Infringe on Common State Tax Practices and Threaten the District’s Budget and Fiscal Autonomy

February 12, 2026

Overruling the jurisdiction’s control of its own state tax code would deprive Washington, D.C., of $658 million in revenue, raise child poverty, and throw the tax-filing system into disarray. Read more.

Policy Matters Ohio: Ohio Should Not Conform to Federal Tax Policies That Reduce State Revenue

February 11, 2026

While the General Assembly should pass a conformity bill related to federal changes made in H.R. 1, Ohio should decouple from sections that reduce revenue without benefiting the state — and that primarily advantage the wealthiest Ohioans. Read more.

Reason Foundation: A Cigarette Tax Increase Would Undermine Nebraska’s Fiscal Stability and Harm Consumers

February 6, 2026

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy confirms that “cigarette tax revenues grow more slowly than the cost of almost any public service that could be funded using these taxes” and that “[s]tates that use these taxes to fund public services may be disappointed in the long run.” Read more.

FACT Coalition: New Transparency Requirements Reveal Low U.S. Taxes, Continued Use of Tax Havens by Major American Corporations

February 4, 2026

For the first time ever, U.S. corporate annual reports now include more granular disclosures of cash tax payments and other tax metrics. We can clearly see the fruit of Congress repeatedly showering tax giveaways on large corporations: major American companies often pay more tax in other countries than they do at home. How American is the world’s […]

Economic Progress Institute: Hundreds of Millions in Lost Revenue: The Cost of Rhode Island’s Personal Income Tax Changes

February 3, 2026

The findings demonstrate that tax changes over the past two decades—including the introduction and reduction of the flat tax and the shift from a five-bracket system with a top rate of 9.90 percent to today’s three-bracket system with a top rate of 5.99 percent—have disproportionately benefited the highest-income filers while steadily draining state revenue. The […]

Testimony: ITEP’s Carl Davis on Federal/State Tax Conformity at Pair of Vermont Committee Hearings

February 3, 2026

ITEP Research Director Carl Davis testified on the impact of the 2025 tax law on Vermont on January 15, 2026 at the Vermont House Ways & Means Committee and the Vermont Senate Committee on Finance.  See the slide deck here Watch the videos here (House) and here (Senate) See all of our resources on conformity […]

Cato Institute: Immigrants’ Recent Effects on Government Budgets: 1994–2023

February 3, 2026

Our analysis in this paper shows that immigrants generated a fiscal surplus of about $14.5 trillion from 1994 to 2023, that the average immigrant is much less costly than the average US-born American, and that immigrants impose lower costs per person on old-age benefit, education, and public safety programs. Read more.

Testimony: ITEP’s Brakeyshia Samms Explains How Property Tax Circuit Breakers Could Help Evanston, Illinois

February 2, 2026

The prepared testimony below was delivered by ITEP Senior Analyst Brakeyshia Samms to the Illinois Committee on Housing and Community on January 20, 2026.

Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice: A Fairer Tax Code for a Thriving Hawaiʻi

February 2, 2026

Hawaiʻi stands at a crossroads. The path we choose now will define our islands for generations. We can either accept a future of diminishing public goods and deepening inequality, or we can choose to build one of shared prosperity and collective resilience. Read more.

Testimony: ITEP’s Sarah Austin Urges Washington House Finance Committee to Decouple from Venture Capital Tax Break

January 28, 2026

The prepared testimony below was delivered by ITEP Senior Analyst Sarah Austin to the Washington House Finance Committee on January 27, 2026. For more on the tax break in question, check out our October 2025 brief.  Chair Berg, Vice Chair Street, and members of the House Finance Committee, My name is Sarah Austin, I’m a […]

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Proposed Income Tax Cuts in Massachusetts Would Benefit Households with Highest Incomes and Force Deep Public Cuts

January 27, 2026

The proposed ballot question to cut the Massachusetts state income tax would not just force deep cuts to investment in public programs and infrastructure. Its benefits are also highly skewed towards households with the highest incomes. Read more.  

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: States Should Adopt the Wealth Proceeds Tax to Raise New Revenue

January 26, 2026

States are facing considerable fiscal pressures from the fallout of recent federal policies, including the harmful Republican megabill enacted in July 2025. Read more.

Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Overview of Georgia’s Budget for Amended Fiscal Year 2026 and the Full 2027 Fiscal Year

January 26, 2026

Between Gov. Brian P. Kemp’s first full fiscal year (FY) budget as governor and his eighth and final budget for FY 2027, state spending has increased by nearly $11 billion to $38.5 billion. Governor Kemp’s AFY 2026 and FY 2027 budget proposals recognize that Georgia can use its historic level of resources to fill long-awaited […]

North Carolina Department of Commerce: The Hidden Cost of Child Care Gaps in North Carolina’s Economy

January 20, 2026

Lack of access to affordable, high-quality child care is a barrier to labor force participation for working parents in North Carolina and affects our state’s economy. Read more.

Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies: State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession

January 20, 2026

State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession is the product of a collaborative effort drawing on the expertise of Joint Center staff, fellows, and trusted external partners. Contributors include colleagues from United for a Fair Economy, the Center for Economic Policy Research, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and the Onyx […]

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Five Budget Time Bombs Facing the Next Governor

January 16, 2026

Without sustainable and equitable revenue sources, incoming governor Mikie Sherrill is inheriting a state budget full of fiscal threats. Read more.

Washington Governor’s Office: Governor Ferguson Announces Support for Millionaires’ Tax

January 6, 2026

Washington ranks next to last for fairness and equality in our tax system — meaning those who make the least pay much larger shares of their income than those with the most resources. Washington families whose income is in the bottom 20% pay 13.8% of their total income in taxes, while those whose income is […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: In New Poll, Kentuckians Say Income Tax Cuts Aren’t Helping

January 5, 2026

Kentucky’s legislative leaders have made reducing the state’s individual income tax rate their top priority in recent years. Lawmakers have repeatedly acted on that, reducing the rate several times and costing the state billions annually that could have been invested in kids and families. Read more.

Public Assets Institute: State of Working Vermont 2025

January 5, 2026

In many ways, 2025 has been a year like no other. Federal actions affecting the state have been fast and furious: freezing grants, eliminating housing supports, withholding or slashing food benefits and heating assistance, decimating healthcare access both by cutting Medicaid and ending enhanced insurance premium tax credits. All of this adds up to hundreds of […]

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.