ITEP Work in Action
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 […]
Minnesota Budget Project: Governor Dayton’s Proposed Supplemental Budget Makes Investments In Education, Health And Human Services, Economic Development, Saves For The Future
May 16, 2018
Governor Mark Dayton released his FY 2018-19 supplemental budget proposal today, focused on making strategic investments to support Minnesota’s economic success, prioritizing working Minnesotans in responding to the federal tax bill, and leaving some of the state’s projected surplus unspent “to cushion against risk.”
Michigan League for Public Policy: The Looming Danger of Tax Cut Triggers in Michigan
May 15, 2018
New analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) uses current year and two-year forecasts to calculate the impact that a 0.1 or 0.25 rate reduction in the Personal Income Tax (PIT) could have on taxpayers and state revenue. The data shows that any reduction in the PIT actually shifts the tax load further to low-income Michiganders.
New Jersey Policy Perspectives: DACA Recipients Contribute $59 Million Per Year in Taxes
May 15, 2018
The ITEP study found that New Jersey’s young immigrants eligible for DACA contribute $59 million in state and local taxes each year, the seventh highest level of all fifty states. These contributions would increase by $38 million per year – the sixth most of all states – if all of those eligible for DACA enrolled […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Idaho Primary Election Fiscal Policy Guide
May 11, 2018
This guide provides a brief summary of proposed tax changes put forth by the candidates. Estimates of the distributional impact on Idaho taxpayers and state revenue and provided by the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy.
Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Tax Plan Facts vs. Spin
May 5, 2018
As Iowa lawmakers consider the agreed-upon tax plan developed by Republican leadership and Governor Reynolds, sharp differences are clear from earlier proposals by the Governor and the House Ways and Means Committee.
Center for Tax and Budget Accountability: Cutting Taxes for the Middle Class and Shrinking the Deficit
April 30, 2018
According to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, Illinois ranks as the fifth-most-regressive state and local tax system in the country — and the most regressive in the Midwest. In Illinois, the top one percent of income earners pay just 4.6 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while the middle 20 percent of workers pay more than double that, coming in at 10.8 percent of income, and the bottom 20 percent of earners have almost three times the tax burden of the wealthiest, coming in at 13.2 percent.
Beacon Journal/Ohio.Com Editorial Board: Agenda For The Governor’s Race
April 30, 2018
In one week, Democratic and Republican voters will choose their candidates for the November election. That includes the selections for governor, the job coming open after eight years with John Kasich. The governor has his achievements, most notably, the Medicaid expansion. His tenure also frames a worthy debate for this campaign. Fortunately, Innovation Ohio and Policy Matters Ohio, two think tanks, highlighted that discussion last week in unveiling their report “A Winning Economic Agenda for Ohio’s Working Families.”
Iowa Fiscal Partnership: IFP’s Tax Policy Kit
April 29, 2018
IFP's Tax Policy Kit offers resources for the public, advocates and policy makers who want to better understand the stakes — and sort away the spin — on state tax debates.
Vox: Arizona Teacher Walkout: How 3 Decades of Tax Cuts Suffocated Public Schools
April 26, 2018
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey tried to avert the strike by promising a 20 percent raise over the next three years — a promise that some say is tied to overly optimistic growth projections. But it’s important to understand why Arizona teachers aren’t just happy with a raise, and why their demands include restoring education funding […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: New Tax Law Shifts from the Wealthy to Kentuckians of Color and Economically Distressed Regions of State
April 20, 2018
In the waning days of the 2018 General Assembly, legislators passed House Bill 366 (HB 366), a regressive tax reform package that gives a tax break to the wealthiest but asks more of everyone else, especially low-income Kentuckians. In addition to widening income disparities, these changes will exacerbate existing racial and geographic inequality in our state.
New Mexico Voices for Children: Celebrate Democracy- It’s Tax Day!
April 17, 2018
While it’s easy to tick off a list of the things we enjoy that are paid for out of our taxes, paying taxes is really a moral duty that we all participate in. It is a contract that we honor collectively because it’s the way we invest in our communities. In fact, some research shows that Americans […]
Maine Center for Economic Policy: Comparing the Democratic and GOP tax bills
April 17, 2018
Because of the federal tax overhaul spearheaded by President Trump and Congressional Republicans, the Maine Legislature is considering two competing proposals to change its own tax code. Lawmakers face a stark choice: Will Maine double down on the lopsided tax policy set at the federal level, which favors those at the top at the expense […]
On Tax Day, a Look at How Federal Tax Changes Impact Arkansans
April 17, 2018
Taxes allow us to invest in public programs that help everyone, but recent federal tax cuts are shifting those dollars to the Arkansans who need it least. Those tax cuts are expensive–to the tune of $1.5 trillion dollars over 10 years. Nearly a third of Arkansas’s total operating budget is made up of federal revenue. This means that on top of federal budget changes, our state budget will also be forced to make cuts to things that Arkansas kids and families rely on today, like parks, community colleges, and firefighters.
NC Budget and Tax Center: North Carolina’s Upside Down Tax Code
April 16, 2018
Tax season comes to a close this week, and Tax Day serves as a good time to reflect on who pays taxes in North Carolina. The income tax is, naturally, at the foremost of our minds, but often ignored as one of the best tools to align our tax code with taxpayers’ ability to contribute […]
New Jersey Policy Perspectives: Undocumented Immigrants Pay Taxes: County Breakdown of Taxes Paid
April 16, 2018
While undocumented immigrants in New Jersey now face greater threats from the federal government than ever before, new data at the state and county level released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy make clear that the Garden State’s undocumented immigrants are an important economic benefit to this immigrant-rich state. Read more here
The Chronicle: Value Teachers, Unions to Better Education
April 16, 2018
It is not a coincidence these movements took place in Republican-led states in which tax cuts take precedence over funding education. An example is Kentucky House Bill 366, which would cut taxes of the state’s wealthiest residents while increasing taxes of low-wage earners, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
Washington Post: Kentucky’s Tax Cut for the Top 5 Percent Survives Despite Governor’s Veto
April 13, 2018
Republicans in Kentucky's state legislature overturned Gov. Matt Bevin's (R) vetoes of their tax overhaul and budget plan Friday, capping a dramatic confrontation between members of the same party that has also seen thousands of teachers descend on the state Capitol in protests for better pay.
Washington State Budget & Policy Center: Five Essential Truths About Our State Tax Code
April 12, 2018
Unfortunately, many myths permeate the public discourse about our state tax code. At the Washington State Budget & Policy Center, we are committed to making sure you know the truth about that tax code – and the real solutions that must be enacted in Olympia to make it work for everyone. Because it is a tax code that doesn’t live up to our values. It isn’t set up to invest in our communities in the short and long term. And it is set up to favor corporations, special interests, and the ultra-wealthy over everyday Washingtonians. As a result, the tax…
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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