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 February 1, 2017 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Refugees, Immigrants Important to Kentucky and the Economy: An Overview of the Research
From the promise to build a wall paid for by tariffs on Mexican imports and uncertainty about what will happen to DACA (which allows undocumented immigrants whose parents brought them… -
ITEP Work in Action January 10, 2017 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: A Preview of the 2016-2018 Kentucky State Budget
A comprehensive preview of the upcoming two-year Kentucky state budget confirms both a massive funding gap facing the state for the next two years and a need for reinvestment… -
ITEP Work in Action January 10, 2017 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: 2016 Kentucky Budget Primer
The Budget of the Commonwealth is a financial plan, enacted every two years by Kentucky’s General Assembly, that maps out our state’s investments in education, health, transportation, public safety,… -
ITEP Work in Action January 10, 2017 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Inheritance Tax Repeal Is Giveaway to the Top Kentucky Can’t Afford
Since 1906, Kentucky has relied on the inheritance tax to help pay for the good schools, infrastructure and other investments that strengthen the Commonwealth. A repeal of the inheritance… -
ITEP Work in Action December 13, 2016 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Those at the Top Would Get More Tax Breaks, Investments Would Suffer from Shift to Consumption Taxes
“The table below shows the impact, by income group, of two such hypothetical shifts. Notice that even when the shift is seemingly minor – one penny less on the dollar… -
ITEP Work in Action February 8, 2016 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Revenue Options that Strengthen the Commonwealth
“By generating new revenue to invest in the building blocks of our s.tate, good tax reform will make Kentucky stronger for all. This menu of tax reform options describes some… -
ITEP Work in Action October 21, 2015 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Reinstating Kentucky’s Tax on Extreme Wealth a Part of Making State Taxes Fair and Adequate
Kentucky loses an estimated $25 million a year because state lawmakers haven’t yet taken steps to recoup lost revenue from federal estate tax changes that essentially eliminated the state’s estate… -
ITEP Work in Action March 26, 2015 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Inaction on Gas Tax Will Drop Rate to Historically Low Levels
Good roads are critical to public safety and to Kentucky’s economy, especially in a state so dependent on manufacturing and distribution industries. Funding from the gas tax and other sources… -
ITEP Work in Action January 16, 2015 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Kentucky’s Upside Down Tax System Asks the Least of Those at the Top
In Kentucky, the wealthiest residents pay the lowest overall state and local tax rate as documented in a new edition of a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic… -
ITEP Work in Action May 22, 2014 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: State EITC Would Make a Regressive Tax System Fairer
Previous posts have described how a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would help working low-income Kentuckians make ends meet and reach every corner of the state. A state EITC… -
ITEP Work in Action March 20, 2014 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: While Kentucky’s Budget Faces More Cuts, Profitable Fortune 500 Companies Avoid Paying State Corporate Income Taxes
As Kentucky and other states struggle with tough budget decisions about essential public services, profitable Fortune 500 companies including Kentucky-based Yum Brands and Humana pay little to nothing in state… -
ITEP Work in Action February 10, 2014 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Measuring the Tax Plan Against Key Principles
Governor Beshear has released his tax reform proposal, and analysis and debate over the plan has begun. It’s important that this discussion keep in mind three principles that are needed… -
ITEP Work in Action February 7, 2014 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Tax Plan Misses Opportunity to Make Overall Tax System Fairer
The combined impact of the tax increases and tax cuts in Governor Beshear’s reform proposal would not help improve the regressive nature of Kentucky’s tax system, according to analysis of… -
ITEP Work in Action January 14, 2013 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Using the Federal Income Tax Cuts to Help Address Kentucky’s Budget Challenge
The federal tax compromise passed by Congress in December resulted in extensions to a number of tax changes set to expire and provided a large tax break to the wealthiest… -
ITEP Work in Action January 14, 2013 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Reforms Needed to Bring Greater Scrutiny to “Tax Expenditures”
Every year Kentucky loses billions of dollars in revenue through special tax preferences and breaks for individuals and businesses that are written into the tax code. Yet there is very… -
ITEP Work in Action January 14, 2013 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Farmer’s High-Risk Overhaul Creates Imbalance in Kentucky’s Tax System
House Bill 196, sponsored by Representative Bill Farmer, proposes to overhaul Kentucky’s tax system by eliminating income taxes on individuals and corporations while greatly expanding the sales tax base. The… -
ITEP Work in Action January 14, 2013 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Four Revenue Options that Should Be on the Table
The Kentucky legislature is debating ways to address the hole in the state’s Medicaid budget. The options under consideration include immediate across-the-board budget cuts as well as eventual cuts to… -
ITEP Work in Action January 14, 2013 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Extending Federal Tax Cuts Would Double the Deficit for the Benefit of the Wealthiest
Ten years ago, large federal tax cuts were signed into law by President Bush. Those cuts are now set to expire at the end of 2012. Extending them beyond that… -
ITEP Work in Action January 14, 2013 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: 2011 Revenue Results a Reminder of Importance of State Income Taxes
The $166 million in state revenues above projections for the fiscal year that just ended are helping prevent additional cuts to critical state services. They are also a reminder of… -
ITEP Work in Action December 17, 2012 Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Kentucky’s Income Tax: Protecting and Strengthening a Key to Growth
“The state individual income tax is essential to economic growth and quality of life in Kentucky and should be protected – even strengthened – as part of any tax reform…