ITEP Work in Action
The Free Press: Think Tank Releases Blueprint to Fully Fund Education, Medicaid & Lower Property Taxes
September 20, 2018
Tax cuts passed by the Maine Legislature and Gov. Paul LePage over the past eight years will cost the state $864 million in revenue in the next biennium, according to an analysis by the Maine Center for Economic Policy and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. At the same time the state continues to ignore its legal obligations to fully fund education, Medicaid expansion and revenue sharing.
West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: Don’t Double Down on Failed Federal Tax Cuts
September 18, 2018
Extending most of these provision does more of the same and is a huge and alarming waste of resources. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economy Policy, if the individual tax provisions are extended to 2026 and beyond, the richest 1 percent – those making on average $762,000 – in West Virginia would receive an average tax cut of over $20,000. Meanwhile, the poorest 20 percent with an average income of $12,900 will see an average tax increase of $40.
WRAL: Meg Wiehe: Capping North Carolina’s top income tax rate isn’t good for our communities
September 4, 2018
ITEP Deputy Director Meg Wiehe writes for WRAL.com that it would be unwise to constitutionally cap the North Carolina state income tax rate, pointing out that school funding in the state is already down and faltering revenues in other states have led to teacher pay crises and strikes.
Keystone Research: The State of Working Pennsylvania 2018
August 30, 2018
“The State of Working Pennsylvania 2018,” Keystone Research Center’s 23rd annual review of the Pennsylvania economy and labor market finds that, nearly a decade into the current national economic expansion, many Pennsylvania workers are still waiting for a raise. The report points to three factors that help explain this.
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Clean Up the Tax Code to Invest in Our Commonwealth
August 22, 2018
To move our tax code in the right direction, Kentucky should rejoin 32 other states with a graduated income tax based on ability to pay. Income below $37,500 single/$75,000 married should still be taxed at 5 percent, between that point and $75,000 single/$150,000 married at 6 percent and above those incomes at 7 percent, phasing […]
Press Herald: Will Maine Referendum On Home Care Result In ‘Marriage Penalty’ Tax?
August 17, 2018
Aidan Davis, senior policy analyst at the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, wrote a letter to the Secretary of State’s Office on June 15 stating that the income threshold would be double for married couples filing jointly. “We found the language of the initiative to be clear in describing that individual (not household) […]
Itchy Tax Trigger Finger: Tax Foundation Says Aim Toward Foot
August 6, 2018
Accounting for all the possible curveballs the future economy might throw at our state is impossible. That’s why legislators bother coming together every year to assess our budget and make choices based on the best available, most current information. One dubious new style of tax change, “tax triggers”, attempts to base major future tax and revenue changes only on the information we have today. Tax triggers are dangerous and generally work by automatically kicking in a tax cut when revenue or some other metric reaches a certain level.
Indiana Institute for Working Families: The Status of Working Families in Indiana: 2018 Report
August 1, 2018
Indiana faces a choice of whether to continue down a southward-leading path of low-road policies, or to rebuild its economy for Hoosier families. By adopting a policy agenda for working families that improves Indiana’s jobs with higher wage and labor standards; strengthens protections for Hoosier families including repairing the safety net and crafting consumer and job safeguards; and increases economic mobility through improved access to education, rebalancing the state’s regressive tax and budget structure, and focusing economic development on strengthening Hoosier families and communities, Indiana can reclaim its place as a leader in the Midwest and in the nation.
Cleveland.com: Changes Needed in Ohio’s Tax Policy (Opinion)
July 15, 2018
The Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy has examined the major state tax changes since 2005. For the top 1 percent, who make at least $480,000 a year, the tax cuts average $40,790 annually. Middle-income Ohioans on average have not received a cut, while those in the poorest fifth, earning less than $22,000, got an average increase of $140.
American Federation of Teachers: A Decade of Neglect–Public Education Funding in the Aftermath of the Great Recession
July 15, 2018
“A Decade of Neglect: Public Education Funding in the Aftermath of the Great Recession,” details the devastating impact on schools, classrooms and students when states choose to pursue an austerity agenda in the false belief that tax cuts will pay for themselves.
Washington Post: N.J. Approaches a Government Shutdown as Democrats Feud Over Tax on Millionaires
June 28, 2018
New Jersey is just days away from a government shutdown over a plan to raise taxes on the rich that has divided Democrats and revealed the political difficulty of raising funds for the party's ambitious social spending goals.
Scene: Policy Matters Ohio Proposes State Income Tax Overhaul to Help Low- and Middle-Income Ohioans
June 26, 2018
After presenting the recommendations contained within a new report Tuesday morning, Policy Matters Ohio researcher director (and the report's lead author) Zach Schiller was asked whether or not Ohio, a "center-right state," would realistically support a tax code overhaul that proposed taxing Ohio's wealthiest at a higher rate.
Policy Matters Ohio: Overhaul: A plan to rebalance Ohio’s income tax
June 25, 2018
Policy Matters proposes the following changes to the state income tax […] This would generate almost $2.6 billion a year, including the cost of expanding the EITC, according to analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Read more here
Oklahoma Policy Institute: On Immigration Rhetoric, Consider the Facts
June 13, 2018
These undocumented Oklahomans currently contribute about $85 million in state and local taxes per year, according to our best estimates. They pay sales tax directly when they purchase goods and services, just like the rest of us, and they pay property taxes through owning a home or paying rent. Although they are not technically eligible […]
Oklahoma Policy Institute: To Improve Public Safety and Insurance rates, Allow Undocumented Oklahomans to Drive Legally
June 8, 2018
Oklahoma’s approximately 95,000 undocumented immigrants are a force in Oklahoma’s economy, accounting for about 1 in 30 members of the workforce and contributing roughly $85 million in state and local taxes annually. But despite their positive economic contributions, undocumented residents face arrest and/or deportation for doing something that many Oklahomans do every day: driving. Read […]
Center for American Progress: The 7 States Suing to End DACA Would Be Harmed by a Victory in Court
June 5, 2018
Through their employment, DACA recipients are contributors to their localities and states as wage earners and taxpayers. A 2017 state-by-state study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showed that the 1.3 million young undocumented immigrants receiving and immediately eligible for DACA contribute significantly to state and local taxes at an estimated $2 billion […]
Oregon Center for Public Policy: Legislature Leaves Oregon Largely Defenseless Against Corporate Abuse of Tax Havens
June 5, 2018
The repeal of Oregon’s tax haven law flowed from the legislature’s response to the far-reaching tax law passed by Congress at the end of 2017. The federal law required corporations to pay taxes, at a reduced rate, on more than $2 trillion in profits they held abroad. The federal tax law also put in place provisions intended to deter future shifting of corporate profits to avoid taxes.
The Commonwealth Institute: On Federal Tax Changes, Virginia Should Continue to Conform
June 4, 2018
Although some filers would pay more in state taxes under conformity, many of the highest-income filers – the top one percent – will receive large state tax cuts. This is in addition to also receiving a large federal tax cut. Recent analysis of the effects in Virginia shows that the top 1 percent will receive […]
NC Budget and Tax Center: Corporations over Carolinians?
May 31, 2018
Big corporations and wealthy executive have been on quite a run. Corporate profits are at historic levels,[1] stock prices are through the roof, and plush executive pay has become the norm. At the same time, corporate taxes have been slashed both here in North Carolina starting in 2013 and last December at the federal level. […]
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Arizona Proposal Would Finance School Funding Boost, Make Tax Code Less Regressive
May 30, 2018
The measure would also make Arizona’s tax code somewhat less regressive. Currently, the poorest 20 percent of households pay 12.5 percent of their annual income to state and local taxes — more than twice as much as the wealthiest 1 percent of Arizonans, who pay just 5.7 percent, according to the Institute on Taxation and […]
NC Budget and Tax Center: Revenue Options to Support Children’s Educational Success
May 30, 2018
The General Assembly legislative session begins on May 16, the same day teachers plan a day of action to highlight the unmet needs their students face in the classroom and their communities. While the evidence is quite clear that supporting children’s educational success can generate lifelong benefits for families and the broader economy[1], the NC […]
New Jersey Policy Perspective: Fast Facts: Proposed Tax Changes Would Bring More Balance to New Jersey’s Tax Code
May 24, 2018
The tax changes proposed in Gov. Murphy’s first budget would bring more balance to New Jersey’s tax code by raising taxes on the wealthiest one percent while reducing them for the lowest-income New Jerseyans.[1] Updating the tax code would also raise nearly $2 billion in new revenue for targeted investments in early education, public transit, health care and other essential public services.
NC Policy Watch: Governor Cooper recognizes North Carolina is in a hole, stops digging
May 22, 2018
Holding off on another round of tax cuts for the richest taxpayers and profitable corporations and keeping the increased standard deduction and lower rate for the majority of taxpayers will reduce the tax cuts given to the top 5 percent of taxpayers since 2013. Read more here
North Carolina Justice Center: New Report Looks at How Corporate Tax Cuts Have Hurt North Carolina
May 21, 2018
A new report on corporate income taxes looks at how corporate taxes have been slashed at the state and federal levels, provides evidence that wealthy shareholders are the prime beneficiaries of corporate tax cuts, and shows that corporate tax cuts have not solved North Carolina’s most pressing economic problems. Unless leaders in Raleigh change course, corporations could be in line for yet another tax cut next year if a rate cut to the corporate income tax moves ahead as currently scheduled.
Louisiana Budget Project: Black households would bear disproportionate burden of sales tax renewal
May 18, 2018
Lawmakers can address this imbalance by expanding Louisiana’s EITC. An increase of the state EITC from 3.5 percent to 7 percent of the federal EITC would offset a half-cent cent sales tax renewal for families in the bottom 40 percent of income earners. An EITC increase from 3.5 percent to 10 percent would offset a […]
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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