Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

Enid News & Eagle: A Low Tax State for Only Some Oklahomans

October 23, 2018

While Oklahoma has a reputation as a low tax state, poor and middle-income Oklahomans are actually paying a greater share of their income in taxes than the national average, while the richest 5 percent of households — with annual incomes of $194,500 or more — pay less.

Washington Examiner: Think tank: Texas Isn’t a Low-tax State if You’re Poor

October 23, 2018

Carl Davis for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: [ M]any states traditionally considered to be “low-tax states” are actually high-tax for their poorest residents. The “low tax” label is typically assigned to states that either lack a personal income tax or that collect a comparatively low amount of tax revenue overall. But a focus on these measures can cause lawmakers to overlook the fact that state tax systems impact different taxpayers in very different ways, and that low-income taxpayers in particular often do not experience these states as being even remotely “low tax.”

Beacon Journal/Ohio.Com Editorial Board: A Taxing Matter Goes Missing in the Governor’s Race

October 22, 2018

It follows that low- and middle-income Ohioans pay a higher share than the national average, and wealthy Ohioans pay a lower share. To a degree, that is expected in view of the vastly larger incomes of wealthy Ohioans. At the same time, the state would be well served by altering the shares to make the state and local system more fair, to reflect how new income in recent years, even decades, has flowed largely to households at the highest income rungs.

NorthJersey.com: 2018 Elections: Candidates Taking Wait-and-See Approach to SALT Deductions

October 22, 2018

A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-partisan think tank, found that a majority of New Jersey taxpayers in every income group will pay less taxes next year than they did in 2017 as a result of last year’s federal tax-code overhaul. The cap is expected to affect those in high-income brackets the most. Thousands of New Jersey homeowners rushed to prepay their 2018 taxes in December to take advantage of bigger deductions on their 2017 returns before the cap took effect.

NC Policy Watch: North Carolina’s Tax Code Isn’t Helping the State’s Growing Inequality

October 22, 2018

Despite claims by the architects of North Carolina’s failed tax-cut experiment, policy choices since 2013 have not ensured that middle and low-income taxpayers are paying lower shares of their income in state and local taxes. Instead the richest taxpayers—whose average income is more than $1 million—continue to pay 33 percent less in state and local taxes as a share of their income than taxpayers who have averages incomes annually of $11,000, a threshold that aligns with deep poverty.

Idaho Statesman: Poor Idahoans Pay Largest Share of Taxes, Study Finds

October 22, 2018

Low-income Idahoans were hit hardest by property and sales taxes, ITEP reported. The lowest-earning segment spent 3.3 percent of income on property tax and 6 percent of income on sales and excise taxes (the latter are sometimes known as “sin taxes”).

Tulsa World: Political Notebook: Report Says Oklahoma’s State and Local Taxes Among the Most Regressive in the Nation

October 21, 2018

Oklahoma’s state and local taxes are among the most regressive in the country, according to a report released last week by the Institute on Taxation and Policy.

KTVB: Idaho Tax Analysis

October 20, 2018

Study finds lower income Idahoans paying higher tax rates than those with higher incomes.

CPPP: The Staggering Unfairness of Our State Tax System

October 19, 2018

Here’s one way to think about it: Families at the top of the income ladder receive 20 percent of all personal income in Texas, but pay only 8.5 percent of all state and local taxes. Families at the bottom of the scale receive only three percent of all income, but pay 5.7 percent of all taxes.

WVTF: Study: State Taxes Have Disproportionate Impact On Lower Income Virginians

October 19, 2018

Virginians who make the least amount of money pay 40 percent more taxes as a percent of their income than the wealthiest Virginians. That’s according to a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which says Virginia’s tax code is upside down.

WOWK TV: Tax Issues in West Virginia

October 19, 2018

WOWK TV - Sean O'Leary, of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, talks to Mark Curtis about a new report that shows there's room improve West Virginia's upside-down tax system.

FOX13 SLC: Middle Income Utahns Bear Brunt of State and Local Tax Burden

October 19, 2018

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released a report showing how every state and the District of Columbia use tax policy in regressive and progressive ways. Their conclusion: all but five states and the District of Columbia have regressive systems, meaning they favor the wealthy over middle and/or low-income earners.

Eagle Pass Business Journal: Report: Low-Income Taxpayers Pay Most in Connecticut

October 19, 2018

The report, by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Connecticut Voices for Children, found the state’s lowest-income earners pay 41 percent more of their income in taxes than wealthier residents. According to Jamie Mills, director of fiscal policy and economic inclusion at Children’s Voices of Connecticut, taken as a whole the tax system in the Nutmeg State is upside down – because, as in many other states, the tax on personal income is only part of total tax revenue.

Florida Phoenix: New Study Says Florida Has the 3rd Most Unfair State and Local Tax System in US

October 19, 2018

Florida is the third largest state in the country, and according to a new report, has the third-most unfair state and local tax system in the U.S. That data comes from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonpartisan, nonprofit tax policy organization.

New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute: Report Shows Higher Effective Tax Rates for Residents with Low Incomes

October 18, 2018

Most New Hampshire residents with lower incomes pay a higher percentage of the money they earn in state and local taxes than residents with higher incomes do. In a new report released yesterday, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy conducted evaluations of state and local government tax systems in each of the 50 states and modeled their impacts on non-elderly residents. The report concludes that 45 states have tax systems that ask a greater percentage of the incomes of those with low earnings than those with the highest incomes.

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: New Report Shows Kentucky’s Tax System Worsens Income Inequality

October 18, 2018

In Kentucky, the income inequality that exists between our poorest and wealthiest residents is magnified by the structure of our tax system. And thanks to the new tax law enacted by the 2018 General Assembly, that problem is getting worse.

West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: West Virginia’s Upside Down Tax System Grows Inequality

October 18, 2018

State and local tax systems can be effectively used to boost economic opportunity, create broadly shared prosperity and build equitable state economies. But in most states, including West Virginia, tax systems are upside down and are making inequality worse, as a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows.

Seattle Met: Report: Washington State Taxes Are Still the Most Inequitable in the Country

October 18, 2018

In Washington state, the less money you make, the larger your percentage of income goes toward taxes. A study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released on Wednesday concludes that Washington state still has the most regressive taxes in the U.S., meaning the poorest households pay a disproportionate amount of taxes compared to the richest households in the state.

NJ Spotlight: New Jersey’s Tax System Ranked Among Fairest in the Country

October 18, 2018

A report on the fairness of state and local tax policy that was released yesterday by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy ranked New Jersey among the U.S. states with the most equitable tax systems. Read more

Message-Inquirer: Tax Study Explores ‘Who Pays?’ in Kentucky

October 18, 2018

A new study from a national economic policy research group suggests Kentucky’s tax structure has become less equitable since the last General Assembly's tax reform legislation, putting more tax obligation on poor and middle-class Kentuckians.

Providence Business Journal: Study Finds the Wealthy Pay a Lesser Share of Their Income Taxes in R.I.

October 18, 2018

The greater your income in Rhode Island, the less of it you pay in state and local taxes, a new study finds. The top one percent of Rhode Islanders [those making more than $467,700 a year] pay 7.9 percent of their income in total state and local taxes, while the bottom 20 percent [those earning less than $21,700 a year] pay 12.1 percent of their income in such taxes.

KRWG: Lowest-Income Taxpayers in NM Pay 1.8 Times the Tax Rate Paid by the Richest New Mexicans

October 18, 2018

Commentary: A new study released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds that the lowest-income New Mexicans pay a state and local tax rate that is almost double what the state’s wealthiest residents pay as a share of their income.

Rutland Herald: In All Fairness

October 18, 2018

Anti-tax advocates across the country and in Vermont continue to push for policies that reduce tax rates for the wealthy and businesses, the report finds. However, a movement is growing in opposition to this agenda, as the public realizes that tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations mean less money to fund the things that benefit everyone: schools, parks and public spaces, infrastructure, public safety and other basic services.

NJ BIZ: Report: NJ’s Top Earners Pay Lower Tax Share Than Middle-Income Families

October 17, 2018

New Jersey’s top earners enjoy vastly more wealth than the majority of New Jersey residents but pay a much lower percentage of taxes than middle-income families in the state. That’s according to a nationwide analysis released Wednesday by New Jersey Policy Perspective and the Institution of Taxation and Economic Policy.

Big Island Now: STUDY: Hawai‘i’s Low-Income Taxpayers Carry 2nd Highest Tax Rate

October 17, 2018

The main cause of the heavy tax burden on those making the least in Hawaiʻi is the General Excise Tax (GET). Families in the lowest fifth spend 10.5% of their meager incomes on the GET, while the top 1% spend only 1.2% of their large earnings. In other words, those at the bottom spend 8.75 times more of their income on the GET than do those at the top.

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.