An analysis of all the tax breaks in Wisconsin from 2011 through 2016 by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found the average tax reduction was $10,015 for the top 1 percent of taxpayers, and $1,806 for the next 4 percent of taxpayers versus $379 for the middle 20 percent of taxpayers and just $175 for the bottom 20 percent of taxpayers.
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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media mention February 14, 2019 Urban Milwaukee: Republicans Discover the Middle Class
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media mention February 14, 2019 Maine Free Press: Mills Budget Provides More School Funding, Fails to Fully Fund Revenue Sharing & Keeps LePage’s Tax Cuts
The liberal-leaning Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) praised Mills for her support for Medicaid expansion, but criticized the proposal for failing to reverse LePage’s income tax cuts for the wealthy. Last year, MECEP and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released a report that found that tax cuts passed during the LePage administration will cost the state $864 million in revenue this biennium. About half of the tax breaks went to the top 20 percent of earners while the bottom 20 percent received less than 5 percent of the benefit, the analysis found.
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ITEP Work in Action February 11, 2019 MassBudget: Why Highest Incomes in Massachusetts Receive Most Tax Benefits from Charitable Deduction
Our Commonwealth does best when all people experience rising prosperity. But for several decades, the wealth and income of the top 1 percent of households has grown briskly while others… -
ITEP Work in Action February 6, 2019 Maine Center for Economic Policy: To Fund Shared Prosperity, We Must End LePage-Era Tax Cuts for the Wealthiest
For years under Gov. Paul LePage, budget-busting tax cuts robbed our state of the revenue we need to build a stronger, fairer economy. Tax cuts delivered windfalls to the wealthiest… -
ITEP Work in Action February 5, 2019 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 directing those additional revenues to better prepare for the next economic downturn or toward increased investments in our public schools, SB1143 and HB2522 will direct the additional revenues toward a tax cut that will benefit the wealthiest Arizonans.
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ITEP Work in Action February 5, 2019 Montana Budget & Policy Center: House Bill 300: Sales Tax Proposal Makes Montana’s Taxes More Regressive and Reduces State Revenue
Replacing property taxes with a sales tax is both impractical and unfair for Montana families. HB 300 would make Montana’s tax system more regressive, increasing the taxes paid by families… -
ITEP Work in Action January 31, 2019 Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: Tax Cut Bill Filed: Plan Revised But Not Fixed
An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows that the benefits of this proposal are even more heavily skewed towards the richest taxpayers than the previous… -
ITEP Work in Action January 24, 2019 West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: Fixing the Social Security Tax Bill with a Bottom-Up Tax Cut for Working Families
The fact that so few West Virginians pay income tax on their Social Security benefits should tell us that this is not a middle-class tax cut. As the graph and… -
ITEP Work in Action January 24, 2019 Law360: Montana Mulls Statewide Sales Tax To Replace Property Taxes
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…
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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.