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 December 13, 2016 Migration Policy Institute: The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States
“While the United States has long been a top destination for the world’s best and brightest, it has fallen short when it comes to fully tapping the skills and training… -
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 November 30, 2016 Montana Budget & Policy Center: Introduction to Who Pays Montana’s Taxes
Chart 1 outlines the three main state and local taxes – income, property, and sales/excise—and how the cost of these taxes is distributed among taxpayers. Both property and sales/excise taxes are regressive. Conversely, income taxes are progressive.
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ITEP Work in Action November 30, 2016 Montana Budget & Policy Center: Montana’s Individiual Income Tax
Prior to the tax cuts implemented in 2003, Montana had ten different income brackets, with each higher income bracket paying a slightly larger share of their income in taxes (Appendix… -
ITEP Work in Action November 1, 2016 Maine Center for Economic Policy: Moving Maine Students to the Head of the Class
“This November, Maine voters will consider a ballot initiative (Question 2) that rolls back recent tax breaks for the wealthy and dedicates this revenue toward additional state level resources for… -
ITEP Work in Action October 4, 2016 New Jersey Policy Perspectives: Transportation-Funding Deal Endangers New Jersey’s Future & Fails the ‘Tax Fairness’ Test
After a months-long stalemate, New Jersey’s three most powerful policymakers announced late last Friday that they’d come to an agreement on investing in the state’s transportation networks. As part of… -
ITEP Work in Action September 30, 2016 Montana Budget & Policy Center: A Montana Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Approximately 83,000 Montanans received the federal EITC in 2014. If Montana established a state EITC, these same working families would receive additional support through boosted wages and would be better able to meet their family’s needs. Additionally, low-income families receiving a state EITC would face a reduced tax burden.
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ITEP Work in Action September 26, 2016 Policy Matters Ohio: Testimony: Tax Cuts, Flat Tax Aren’t the Answer
Overall, the top 1 percent, who made more than $360,000 a year in 2014, received an average annual tax cut of $20,000 from the major tax changes between 2005 and 2014 (that doesn’t include last year’s cuts). On average, Ohioans in the bottom 60 percent of the income spectrum (making $54,000 or less) are paying slightly more.
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ITEP Work in Action August 18, 2016 West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy: Modernizing West Virginia’s Marijuana Laws
“Over the last two decades, states across the country have modernized their marijuana laws to reflect the growing evidence that doing so will help reduce criminal justice costs, help treat… -
ITEP Work in Action July 30, 2016 Montana Budget & Policy Center: The Montana We Could Be
In Montana, the higher a household’s income, the lower share of that income it tends to pay in state and local taxes [see Chart 1]. One reason for this is that people who make less money end up paying a larger share of their income in local sales taxes and property taxes.
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ITEP Work in Action May 18, 2016 Michigan League for Public Policy: Review tax expenditures to help fix Michigan’s broken revenue stream
“Michigan has a budget problem, and simply put, there just isn’t enough money to go around. Michigan has experienced crisis after crisis—the Great Recession, nearly record-high unemployment, municipal financial emergencies,… -
ITEP Work in Action May 17, 2016 West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy: New Revenues to Balance the Budget Don’t Have to be Regressive
“Last week, Governor Tomblin finally issued the call for the legislature to come back into a special session to balance the FY 2017 budget. The special session will begin today,… -
ITEP Work in Action May 13, 2016 Oklahoma Policy Institute: New bill would devastate a key tax credit for Oklahoma working families
“Yesterday, a letter signed by more than 150 Oklahoma clergy was delivered to lawmakers and Governor Fallin, urging them not to slash key tax credits for working families to fix… -
ITEP Work in Action May 5, 2016 Hope Policy Institute: Who Really Benefits: Why Large Tax Cuts Don’t Benefit Working Families and Communities
“Large tax reductions proposed at a time when Mississippi already is cutting important public investments due to a lack of revenue would erode the state’s ability to create jobs and… -
ITEP Work in Action May 5, 2016 Louisiana Budget Project: The federal deduction needs reform
“There are two key questions confronting Louisiana officials as they grapple with the most serious budget crisis in a generation: How much new tax revenue does Louisiana need in order… -
ITEP Work in Action May 2, 2016 Connecticut Voices for Children: Impact of the Governor’s, Republican, and Democrat Proposed FY 2017 Budget on Children and Families
“Following hundreds of millions in dollars of cuts to health, human services and education to close a billion dollar budget hole in Fiscal Year 2016 (FY 16), lawmakers are once… -
ITEP Work in Action April 16, 2016 Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Georgia Work Credit Could Get Families a Better Deal at Tax Time
As Georgians put the finishing touches on their returns to meet today’s income tax filing deadline, one benefit many are missing out on is a tax credit that states can… -
ITEP Work in Action April 15, 2016 Oklahoma Policy Institute: High-income surcharge would help solve budget emergency
“The evidence is now undeniable that Oklahoma is facing a full-fledged emergency. With each passing day, the toll of budget cuts on Oklahoma families, schools, businesses, and communities becomes more… -
ITEP Work in Action April 15, 2016 Hawaii Appleseed: State of Poverty 2016
“In April 2016, the Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice released a report entitled “The State of Poverty in Hawai‘i: How Hawai‘i’s Residents Are Faring Post-Recovery.” The report… -
ITEP Work in Action April 15, 2016 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: A Fiscal Policy Agenda for Stronger State Economies
“With most state legislatures now in session, policymakers are making fiscal policy decisions that will profoundly affect future economic opportunities in communities across the country. States face a fundamental choice:… -
ITEP Work in Action April 12, 2016 Policy Matters Ohio: Wealthy not paying fair share of state and local taxes
“State and local taxes support schools, fix potholes, keep the snow plowed, the justice system running and the water clean. Economic prosperity depends on these public services. The wealthiest families… -
ITEP Work in Action April 11, 2016 North Carolina Budget and Tax Center: North Carolina’s “Tax Swap” Gives Biggest Breaks to the Wealthiest, Undermines Public Investments for All
“Efforts to rely more on the state sales tax and less on the income tax to support public services have shifted tax obligations to less affluent North Carolinians, while saving… -
ITEP Work in Action April 11, 2016 Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: PA Should Raise Needed Revenues in Fair Ways: Short- and Long-term Approaches to Fixing Pennsylvania’s Unfair Tax System
This briefing paper analyzes several options for raising revenue for the Pennsylvania state budget which would fall much less on middle- and low-income families than the existing Pennsylvania state… -
ITEP Work in Action April 6, 2016 Iowa Policy Project: $8.9 million revenue boost with immigration reform
“A new report projects a 24 percent increase in state and local tax revenues from undocumented immigrants in Iowa if they were granted permanent legal residence.” Read full report -
ITEP Work in Action April 5, 2016 West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy: Your Guide to the State Budget
“The state budget directly affects everyone living in West Virginia. It is the one law that makes state government function. It defines how we plan to use our resources to…