ITEP Work in Action
West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: Income Tax Elimination is a Poor Growth Strategy
February 20, 2017
Unfazed by a $600 million looming budget deficit, plans by some lawmakers to reduce or eliminate West Virginia’s state income tax — which would mostly benefit the wealthiest residents — and replace it with a sales tax hike are unlikely to produce the economic growth supporter’s claim. Instead it would dramatically shift tax responsibilities from […]
Evidence Counts: Replacing Income Taxes with a General Consumption Tax is Radical and Regressive (SB 335)
February 20, 2017
Senate leadership introduced SB 335 which would abolish the personal income tax and sales and use tax, phase out the corporate income tax, lower the severance tax, and replace these taxes with an 8 percent broad-based general consumption or sales tax. While it is unclear whether this tax shift would be revenue neutral, it would dramatically […]
West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: What Would Eliminating the Income Tax Mean for West Virginia?
February 17, 2017
Eliminating the income tax is a strategy that has been tried over and over in other states with little or nothing to show, other than revenue erosion that brings cuts in support for schools, transportation and other true building blocks of broad prosperity. A better course for West Virginia would be to reform the tax […]
Maine Center for Economic Policy: Testimony in Opposition to Governor’s Proposed Budget, Parts D, E, and F
February 17, 2017
These proposed tax changes would stand in the way of building thriving communities and a strong Maine economy. There is a direct correlation between state resources and the ability to be proactive in making the kind of investments that lay the foundations for a strong economy. Cutting taxes for the rich at the expense of everyone […]
Open Sky Policy Institute: Income tax bills good for wealthy and non-residents
February 16, 2017
Forty percent of Nebraskans would see tax increases under LB 452 Low- and middle-income earners pay more of their incomes in sales taxes than income taxes. This is reflected in Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) data that show LB 452 – which includes a sales tax expansion — would raise taxes on average […]
West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: Replacing Income Tax with Sales Tax is a Boon for the Wealthy
February 15, 2017
Scale back income tax exemptions – Every taxpayer regardless of income receives a $2,000 exemption for each dependent. Phase it out between $150,000-$200,000, and eliminate it for those over $200,000, and it would increase revenue by an estimated $10 million. PowerPoint presentation available here
Kansas Action for Children: KAC Testimony to the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee in Support of Senate Concurrent Resolution 1604
February 15, 2017
The high food sales tax hurts Kansas families. Food is a basic necessity for Kansas’ families. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the state’s increasing reliance on sales tax hurts Kansas’ poorest residents. The lowest 20% of income earners in Kansas pay an average of 11.1% of their income in state and […]
West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: Income Tax Cuts and Shifting to Sales Tax a Poor Strategy for Growing West Virginia’s Economy
February 15, 2017
Even though faced with a $600 million budget deficit, some West Virginia lawmakers are proposing reducing or eliminating the state’s income tax, and replacing that lost revenue with an increase in the sales tax. This plan is unlikely to produce the economic growth, instead it dramatically shifts tax responsibility responsibilities from the wealthy onto low […]
ITEP Testimony Regarding Kansas Senate Bill 188
February 14, 2017
ITEP analysis of Kansas tax changes enacted between 2012 and 2015 shows the state lost over $1 billion in revenue annually from changes to its personal income tax, including lowering income tax rates and exempting business pass-through income from taxation (see Figure 1). While the state subsequently made up some of these revenue losses through […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Kasich plan continues tax shift
February 14, 2017
Governor John Kasich’s new tax proposal would further reinforce the shift in Ohio’s state and local tax system in favor of affluent residents and against those with lower or middle incomes. Under the plan, Ohioans who made under $56,000 last year – those in the bottom three-fifths of the income spectrum – on average would […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Ohio Nees a Strong Income Tax
February 10, 2017
Ohio’s income tax is the only major tax that is based on ability to pay. This principle was embraced by the founders of our democracy, such as Thomas Jefferson, as well as by the intellectual father of capitalism, Adam Smith. As your taxable income goes up, you pay a higher rate; for instance, income between […]
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: Revenue: Where DC Gets Its Money
February 9, 2017
The DC government collects revenue in a variety of ways from its residents, businesses, and the federal government. These revenues are used to fund the wide array of services provided by the District, from schools to health care to libraries to road construction. The DC government collected about $10.5 billion in revenue in fiscal year […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Kasich Budget Shifts Taxes Again
February 7, 2017
New analysis for Policy Matters Ohio by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, a national nonprofit research institute with a sophisticated model of the state and local tax system, shows the governor’s tax plan raises taxes for many Ohioans. It reduces state income tax rates and cuts the number of brackets from nine to five.
ITEP Testimony Regarding Kansas Senate Bill 2237
February 7, 2017
ITEP analysis of Kansas tax changes enacted between 2012 and 2015 shows the state lost over $1 billion in revenue annually from changes to its personal income tax, including lowering income tax rates and exempting business pass-through income from taxation (see Figure 1). While the state subsequently made up some of these revenue losses through […]
Maine Center for Economic Policy: Upside-down tax plan, missed opportunity, and unnecessary and harmful cuts in the governor’s budget proposal
February 2, 2017
At a time when Maine families are falling out of the middle-class, when experienced workers need new skills to secure good paying jobs in a modern economy, and when state infrastructure is in need of improvement and expansion, the state budget presents an opportunity to solve shared problems and return our quality of life to […]
The Sycamore Institute: Tennessee State Budget Primer
February 2, 2017
It is our pleasure to present to you the Sycamore Institute’s first Tennessee State Budget Primer. We hope this report – the information, the graphics, and the discussion – will demonstrate our commitment to putting reliable data and research in the hands of our state leaders, policymakers, and the general public. Below you will find […]
South Dakota Budget and Policy Institute: HB 1182 Raising teacher salaries – how much would taxes change for your household?
February 2, 2017
The combination of property tax savings and sales tax increases will affect each household differently. Raising sales tax by 1/2 cent will raise about $107 million dollars. And decreasing property tax will cost about $40 million dollars. But how much will your household pay to support the change? You can figure that out by answering two questions.
Florida Policy Institute: Florida’s Shadow Budget Needs Greater Scrutiny
February 2, 2017
Silent spending, in the form of numerous kinds of tax breaks, costs Florida billions of dollars in lost revenue a year. Unlike money spent through the state budget process, this “shadow budget” is not routinely examined to see if it is meeting worthwhile goals or promoting a stronger economy. This is money that is spent […]
Florida Policy Institute: A Citizens Guide to Florida’s Budget
February 2, 2017
Florida is known worldwide as a vacation destination, but those of us who live here know that the way Florida takes in and spends money affects every aspect of our lives. From now until 2030, people age 60 and older will account for most of Florida’s population growth, representing 56.9 percent of the gains. Adequate […]
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Refugees, Immigrants Important to Kentucky and the Economy: An Overview of the Research
February 1, 2017
From the promise to build a wall paid for by tariffs on Mexican imports and uncertainty about what will happen to DACA (which allows undocumented immigrants whose parents brought them to the U.S. as children to apply for a renewable reprieve from deportation), to a 120-day ban on refugee admissions and an indefinite ban for […]
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Georgia Stands to Lose Millions from Crackdown on Young Immigrants
February 1, 2017
The potential for harsher federal immigration policies under the new presidential administration poses special concern for young Georgians whose parents brought them to the United States as children. A new federal crackdown threatens to wreak havoc in the lives of tens of thousands of young Georgians who now enjoy some limited legal protections that allow […]
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Young Immigrants Vital to Georgia’s Workforce, Healthy Economy
February 1, 2017
Potential harsher federal immigration policies under the new presidential administration pose special concern for young Georgians whose parents brought them to the United States as children. A new federal crackdown threatens havoc for tens of thousands of young Georgians who now enjoy some limited legal protections which allow them to work, go to school and […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: House Bill 67
January 30, 2017
The Idaho Legislature is considering a proposal that would cut top income tax and corporate tax rates. The bill will also eliminate the income tax on the first $750 of taxable household income. This proposal would substantially reduce Idaho’s general fund revenue. Estimates of the impact range from $51 million to $56 million. A majority […]
New Mexico Voices for Children: NM’s Working Families Tax Credits
January 30, 2017
As a group, those who claim the EITC and WFTC pay a large share of their incomes in taxes. In fact, in addition to the federal payroll taxes they pay, New Mexico’s lowest-income households pay a larger share of their income in state and local taxes than the households in every other income group. Those […]
Washington State Budget & Policy Center: Creating a Safeguard Rebate Is Key to Equitable Property Tax Reform
January 30, 2017
This is the fourth in a series of schmudget blog posts about property taxes in Washington state and the role they play in funding basic K-12 education. Any reform to the Washington state property tax code to help pay for schools must also take steps to make the tax code more equitable. In conjunction […]
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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