Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

Center for Public Policy Priorities: The National Dream Act: What’s at stake for Texas?

December 18, 2017

Researchers estimate that approximately 177,000 young Texas immigrants are potentially eligible for DACA, and they currently contribute a total of $241 million to local and state taxes annually through sales and excise taxes, property taxes and income tax. Without the national Dream Act, Texas can expect to lose at least $79 million in state and […]

Minnesota Budget Project: 4 Reasons DACA should be restored ASAP

December 18, 2017

DACA results in increased economic activity in our communities and increased tax revenues. DACA recipients in Minnesota contribute an estimated $15 million in state and local taxes annually. Read more here

Fiscal Policy Institute: Dream Act: What’s At Stake for New York

December 1, 2017

There are 76,000 young immigrants who were potentially eligible for DACA that call New York home. They currently contribute a total of $115 million to local and state taxes annually through sales and excise taxes, property taxes and income tax. Read more

Senate Tax Plan Harms Low- and Middle-Income Kentuckians to Pay for Giveaways to Those at the Top

November 21, 2017

Senators will return to Capitol Hill next week after the Thanksgiving recess for a potential vote on their revised plan. According to estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), the bottom 60 percent of Kentuckians, who make an average of $37,500 a year, will actually face more taxes from the plan with an average increase of $80 in 2027.

National Priorities Project: What Else Could a Tax Cut for the Richest 1% Buy? A 50-State Perspective

November 14, 2017

According to estimates by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act introduced in the House of Representatives would disproportionately benefit the richest 1 percent of Americans. 

Arizona Center for Economic Progress: Just Like the House GOP Plan, the Senate GOP Tax Plan Is Another Handout to the Wealthiest Households and Large Corporations

November 14, 2017

Newly published data shows that the new Senate GOP tax plan isn’t much better than the House GOP tax plan for the middle-class, small businesses, and lower-income Americans. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analysis (https://itep.org/senatetaxplan/) shows that on average, the top 5% of Americans will receive around 50% of the tax cuts. Read […]

Arizona Center for Economic Progress: With Further Analysis Completed, It’s Time to Call the GOP Tax Plan What it Is: Welfare for the Wealthy

November 6, 2017

A 50-state analysis of the House tax plan released last week reveals that in Arizona the wealthiest 1% of Arizonans will receive the greatest share of the total tax cut in year one and their share would grow through 2027. And during that 10-year window, the value of the tax cut gets smaller and smaller for every […]

Michigan League for Public Policy: Immigrant families in Michigan: A state profile

October 18, 2017

Michigan immigrants also contribute millions in tax revenue each year, and in doing so help pay for important public programs and infrastructure in the state. In 2015 for example, undocumented immigrants in Michigan paid approximately $86.6 million in state and local taxes. Young undocumented immigrants also contribute their share in taxes. In 2015, DACA-eligible immigrants […]

Commonwealth Institute: Average Virginian Families Provided a Pittance from GOP-Trump Tax Plan, Top 1% Would See Windfall

October 17, 2017

Who in Virginia would benefit from the type of tax cuts proposed by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans? New analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released in October shows that nearly 80 percent of all of the tax cuts in Virginia would go to the top 1 percent–households with an average of income of $1.7 million...

Wisconsin Budget Project: What the Trump Tax Plan Means for Wisconsin Taxpayers, in Six Charts

October 17, 2017

The tax plan being advanced by President Trump and Republican members of Congress would mostly benefit the extremely rich, despite initial claims by proponents that it would be targeted at members of the middle class...Using data from an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, we have prepared six charts that show how the Trump-GOP tax framework would affect Wisconsin taxpayers:

Dallas Fed: Texas Taxes: Who Bears the Burden?

September 26, 2017

...Overall, the state’s tax system is less equal across income quintiles than the national average. A key reason is the state’s reliance on the sales tax, which as a share of income is 8.6 percent for those in the bottom quintile but only 2.2 percent in the top quintile...

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Reforming New Jersey’s Income Tax Would Help Build Shared Prosperity

September 15, 2017

Today, the most well-off New Jerseyans hold a greater share of the state’s income than they have in nearly a century, thanks to decades of unequal economic growth, creating an off-balance economy in which many middle- and lower-income New Jerseyans face barriers to economic opportunity. Recent tax policy changes have exacerbated this trend.

The Commonwealth Institute: We Need More than Wishful Thinking: A Closer Look at the Candidates’ Tax Plans

September 15, 2017

Issue platforms by the current candidates for Virginia governor, including Republican candidate Ed Gillespie, Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra, and Democratic candidate Ralph Northam, include proposals to modify or eliminate Virginia’s local business taxes, modify Virginia’s individual income tax, and eliminate the state portion of Virginia’s sales tax on groceries. All of these proposals would reduce local or state revenue collections.

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Reforming New Jersey’s Income Tax Would Help Build Shared Prosperity

September 12, 2017

These reforms would also make New Jersey’s tax system more equitable, but it would not undo the tax code’s upside-down nature, in which low-income and middle-class New Jerseyans pay greater shares of their incomes to state and local taxes than wealthy residents. With these changes, this inequity would be slightly evened out. The share paid by the top 1 percent would rise to 7.7 percent from 7.1 percent, but that would still be lower than any other group of New Jersey families.

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: The Trump Tax Plan: What Would It Mean for Arkansas?

September 5, 2017

Who benefits and who loses under the Trump tax plan? An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimates that Arkansas would fare worse under the plan compared to other states. Relative to our share of the U.S. population, we would be one of the 12 states receiving the lowest share of the total Trump tax cut.

New Mexico Voices for Children: The Trump Tax Plan Isn’t ‘Reform.’ Here’s Why:

September 1, 2017

In April the Trump administration released a sketchy outline of their half-baked ideas for tax changes. An analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) of that back-of-the-envelope ‘plan’ found that nearly half (48 percent) of Trump’s proposed tax cuts would go to millionaires. Millionaires make up only 0.5 percent of the U.S. population.

New Mexico Voices for Children: Trump Tax Plan Does Little for NM’s Middle Class

August 31, 2017

Average New Mexicans would not benefit much from President Trump’s tax reform proposal, which would give the biggest tax breaks to New Mexico’s millionaires. That’s according to a report released recently by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).

Institute for Policy Studies: Corporate Tax Cuts Boost CEO Pay, Not Jobs

August 30, 2017

To investigate this claim, this report is the first to analyze the job creation records of the 92 publicly held U.S. corporations that reported a U.S. profit every year from 2008 through 2015 and paid less than 20 percent of these earnings in federal income tax. Did these reduced tax rates actually lead to greater employment within the 92 firms? The data we have compiled give a definitive — and sobering — answer.

DC Fiscal Policy Institute, Maryland Center on Economic Policy, and The Commonwealth Institute: Triple Whammy: A Regional Sales Tax for Metro, Like Fare Hikes and Service Cuts, Would Fall Hardest on Struggling Families

August 28, 2017

A strong Metro system is important to all of us in the Washington region. And everyone agrees that the Metro system needs new resources to rebuild its health. But a regional sales tax—a widely discussed option—would be an unfair way to pay for it.

NC Policy Watch: In N.C., 42% of Trump’s proposed tax cuts would go to the few making more than $1 million

August 25, 2017

A newly released report confirms that the White House is not really interested in tax reform that helps “ordinary Americans”. Instead, under President Trump’s proposed tax cut plan, “ordinary Americans” will hardly benefit at all, as nearly half of Trump’s proposed tax cuts would go to people making more than $1 million annually.

Maryland Center on Economic Policy: Trump Tax Framework Would Give Away Trillions in Tax Breaks to Millionaires

August 24, 2017

The Trump administration and congressional leaders are gearing up to overhaul the federal tax code this fall. While many of the details remain fuzzy, one thing is clear: the administration’s top priority is to hand out big tax breaks to millionaires.

Budget and Tax Center: Costly Tax Cuts in New State Budget Continue Precarious Road Ahead for North Carolina

August 21, 2017

The new two-year state budget passed by lawmakers included another package of tax cuts that will further limit the amount of revenue available for public investments. The latest tax cuts will reduce annual available revenue by $900 million and, when combined with tax cuts passed since 2013, result in an estimated $3.5 billion in less annual revenue compared to the tax system that was in place prior to tax changes in 2013.

Maine Center for Economic Policy: Maine Millionaires Primary Recipients of Proposed Trump Tax Breaks 

August 17, 2017

New analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows Maine’s millionaires would get an average tax cut of $135,220 under President Trump’s proposed tax plan. Maine millionaires represent only 0.3 percent of all Maine households, yet would receive more than a quarter of all tax breaks.  

Indiana Institute for Working Families: Trump Tax Plan Would Shortchange Indiana, Middle Class & Working Families (But Would Let Them Eat Cake)

August 15, 2017

A new analysis of the Trump tax plan from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy shows that Indiana would only get an 87% share of tax cuts relative to the state’s ratio of the U.S. population. This is the 23rd-smallest share among states. In part because the plan is aimed at high-income households and Indiana is a poorer state, no matter how you slice it, Indiana gets shortchanged compared to the average state by Trump’s plan.

Florida Policy Institute: The Growing Divide: Federal Tax Plan Would Give Massive Tax Cuts to Wealthy Floridians as the Poorest Americans Continue to Struggle

July 21, 2017

The federal tax plan broadly outlined by the current administration would do very little to create opportunities for Floridians struggling to make ends meet.  Instead, the tax plan would provide massive tax cuts for Florida’s highest income earners, accordingly to a recent report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Broadly outlined, the plan is likely to make an already unfair tax system that favors the wealthy even worse.

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.