Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

Evidence Counts: What is the Impact of the “Compromise Tax Proposal” on the Budget and Working Families?

April 24, 2017

Earlier this week, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy examined the fiscal impact of the proposed compromise tax plan between Governor Justice and Senate leadership that will influence how the budget is finalized. It appears House leadership is saying “nope” to this plan and it is unclear how the plan would close the state’s […]

Louisiana Budget Project: Most would get tax cut under Gov. John Bel Edwards’ tax plan

April 19, 2017

Louisiana is $440 million short of the revenue needed to fund state government at current levels in next year’s budget. The problem gets much worse in the 2018-19 fiscal year, when more than $1.3 billion in temporary taxes are due to expire – creating a “fiscal cliff” that would require drastic cuts to state services […]

California Budget & Policy Center: California Should Do More to Raise Awareness of the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC)

April 18, 2017

The California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), established in 2015, is a refundable state tax credit that helps low-earning workers and their families make ends meet and build toward economic security.[1] Yet, fewer than 1 in 5 visitors to county human services offices who were likely eligible for this new tax credit had heard of […]

North Carolina Justice Center: Prosperity Watch (Issue 72, No 3): Tax cuts since 2013 reinforce racial and ethnic exclusion

April 18, 2017

Changes to North Carolina’s tax system in recent years have had an impact on the level of available revenue for public investments and shifted tax responsibility among taxpayers. BTC analysis has already noted how the tax chances since 2013 have delivered a significant share of the net tax cut to the state’s highest income earners […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: What Good Tax Reform Looks Like

April 17, 2017

In contrast, HB 263 would ask more of those at the top and less of low- and middle-income people who currently pay a larger share of their income in taxes. To further help with inequities, the bill would create a state level Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – an effective poverty-fighting tool that supports work […]

Oregon Center for Public Policy: Undocumented Workers Pay Millions in Oregon Taxes and Would Pay Millions More Under Immigration Reform

April 17, 2017

Undocumented Oregonians pay taxes. The millions in taxes they pay to help fund schools and other public services that strengthen Oregon’s economy. Oregon would collect even more tax revenue under comprehensive immigration reform that would open a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. Under such a scenario, these immigrant Oregonians and aspiring citizens would contribute […]

Public Assets Institute: Meeting Vermonters’ needs in Fiscal 2018 and beyond

April 17, 2017

Elected leaders acknowledge investments are needed to clean up Lake Champlain, provide families with child care financial assistance, and make higher education more affordable. But progress has been slow in making these investments. And to balance the budget they make cuts—to Reach Up benefits for the poorest families, to affordable housing programs, to key policy […]

Open Sky Policy Institute: Amid budget woes, plan calls for tax cuts for the wealthy

April 17, 2017

LB 461, the tax-cut package put forth by the Revenue Committee, is first and foremost an income tax cut for wealthy Nebraskans and the proposal does little to truly address property tax relief. In fact, LB 461 is fundamentally flawed in a way that makes it more likely to exacerbate, not help, Nebraska’s reliance on […]

California Budget & Policy Center: This Tax Day, Celebrating a Tax Credit That Broadens Prosperity

April 14, 2017

With Tax Day — the deadline for filing personal income taxes — coming up next Tuesday, it’s a good time to reflect on the purpose of our tax system. As we pointed out in Who Pays Taxes in California?, tax policy is not only a means to an end, allowing us to collectively generate the […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Taxing Groceries in Kentucky Would Hurt Low-Income Families, Weaken Revenue Growth

April 12, 2017

Lower-income families therefore receive the most benefit from the exemption for groceries. Repealing it would disproportionately increase the share of income they pay in taxes, making Kentucky’s tax system more regressive than it already is.

The Progressive Pulse: Undocumented immigrants pay their fair share of taxes, too

April 12, 2017

Tax Day is just around the corner, and this year is no different than any other for countless undocumented immigrants filling tax forms in North Carolina. Current rhetoric on immigration often overlooks the important contributions undocumented immigrants make to our communities as neighbors, workers, and taxpayers. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy recently released […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Testimony Supporting H.B. No. 7316 – An Act Concerning Evaluation of Business Assistance and Incentive Programs H.B. No. 7313 – An Act Imposing a Surcharge on Income Derived From Investment Management

April 11, 2017

At Connecticut Voices for Children, we view the state budget as the clearest statement of Connecticut’s policy priorities. We believe that these priorities should advance long-term inclusive economic prosperity, equity of opportunity, and support for our most vulnerable residents. We believe that an effective revenue system can advance these core priorities by adhering to five […]

Keystone Research Center: Who Pays for Property Tax Elimination?

April 6, 2017

Across all Pennsylvania families, property tax elimination would increase taxes by $334 per family. While property taxes would fall by an average of $1,685 per family, sales and income taxes would rise by over $2,000 on average per family. Moderate-income families (earning between $22,000 and $63,000), many of who live in rural areas, would see […]

Senator Jeff Flake: Tax Rackets: Outlandish Loopholes to Lower Tax Liabilities

April 5, 2017

“With a top rate of 40 percent, the U.S. has the highest corporate tax rate in the world.9 Yet, many corporations have not paid any federal income taxes for years.10” Read more here

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Undocumented Immigrants Contribute $37 Million Toward Investments in Kentucky Each Year

April 3, 2017

Undocumented immigrants living in Kentucky pay $36.6 million in state and local taxes each year, according to a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. These substantial tax contributions should be acknowledged as lawmakers consider the economic and social impact of immigration policy and enforcement in the U.S. – including a recent […]

New Jersey Policy Perspectives: Undocumented Residents Pay $587 Million a Year in NJ Taxes

April 3, 2017

New Jersey’s undocumented immigrants contribute $587 million in state and local taxes, the sixth highest level of all the states. And those contributions would increase by $73 million – the eighth most of all states – under comprehensive immigration reform. These are the key Garden State findings in a new 50-state study released today by […]

Fiscal Policy Institute: Economic Contribution, Taxes Paid, and Occupations of Unauthorized Immigrants in New York State

April 3, 2017

There is a widespread misconception that unauthorized immigrants do not pay taxes. Yet, a careful national study prepared by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy—and coreleased in New York by the Fiscal Policy Institute with this report—finds that unauthorized immigrants currently pay $1.1 billion in state and local taxes in New York. Read more […]

NC Policy Watch: What you need to know as the state Senate moves to cut taxes yet again

April 3, 2017

The North Carolina Senate is moving ahead yet again – perhaps as early as this afternoon – with a new proposal to further reduce state taxes and the revenues they generate to fund essential public structures and services. While the plan is billed as “a billion dollar middle class tax cut,” a closer look at […]

The Progressive Pulse: New analysis: Most of NC senate’s “middle class” tax cut would actually flow to the wealthy

April 3, 2017

BTC’s analysis of SB 325 uses a more robust model developed by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a non-profit, non-partisan organization. ITEP’s microsimulation tax model calculates tax revenue yield and incidence, by income group, of federal, state and local taxes. The model is used in states across the country to analyze state […]

Evidence Counts: Senate Tax Plan Creates Big Budget Hole, Shifts Tax Load Onto Working Families (Updated)

March 31, 2017

Last Wednesday, the Senate passed Senate Bill 409 that makes sweeping changes to the state’s tax system that decrease personal income and severance taxes while increasing sales taxes.  Similar to previous Senate tax proposals,  SB 409 shifts the tax load onto working families to pay for tax cuts for wealthier West Virginians. On top of […]

The Progressive Pulse: Why cutting taxes for business again makes no sense

March 31, 2017

When businesses pay their share of taxes, North Carolina is able to invest in the things that build thriving communities and a prosperous economy – things like good schools, roads, public health and a clean environment. The Senate’s tax plan, Senate Bill 325, includes a tax cut for businesses that goes against this proven principle.  […]

Evidence Counts: Tax Reform Might Improve WV’s Business Tax Climate, Sound Familiar?

March 29, 2017

Today, the House will vote on HB 2933, the latest version of “tax reform” in the state. HB 2933 would broaden the sales tax base, lower the sales tax rate to 5%, and create a flat 5.1% income tax rate. The bill would drastically increase West Virginia’s already regressive tax system. The vast majority of […]

Evidence Counts: House and Senate Tax Proposals Shift Tax Load Onto Working Families (Updated)

March 26, 2017

The House and the Senate have advanced two similar tax bills that make substantial changes to the state’s personal income and sales tax, which account for over 75 percent of state general revenue fund collections. Both of these bills will shift the tax load from the wealthy onto working families. It is unclear how either […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Tiny Fraction of Wealthiest Kentuckians Gain from Tax Cuts in Health Repeal

March 23, 2017

The House plan to repeal healthcare reform, known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA), provides a tax cut to the wealthiest people while reducing the number of Americans with health coverage by an estimated 24 million, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Because Kentucky has relatively few high earners, we benefit even less from the […]

Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: The Fair Share Tax to Support Public Investment in Pennsylvania

March 23, 2017

This paper puts forward a plan, which we call the Fair Share Tax, that would take a major step toward fixing Pennsylvania’s broken tax system and raise the revenues we need to invest in the public goods that are critical to creating thriving communities and individual opportunity in our state: education, infrastructure, protection for our […]

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.