Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

Open Sky Policy Institute: Some facts about LB 337 — the governor’s tax plan

January 30, 2017

Below are some facts regarding, LB 337, the governor’s income tax cut plan: The example middle-class Nebraska taxpayer used to roll out the plan would not receive a tax cut under LB 337. Once the standard deduction is applied, this taxpayer, who earns $29,831, would not pay the top tax rate on any income, and therefore would […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Common Sense Reform for Working Ohio

January 27, 2017

Tax modeling from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a national organization with a sophisticated model of the state tax system, shows that Ohio’s current EITC reaches only about 8 percent of the state’s neediest working families and 11 percent of middle income workers. A 20 percent, refundable, non-capped, EITC would extend the […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Tax Cuts Help Create Ohio’s Revenue Crunch

January 25, 2017

In 2015, the General Assembly approved a two-year budget lasting through this June that cuts taxes by nearly $1.9 billion. When legislators approved those cuts, Policy Matters Ohio asked a respected national policy group with a model of Ohio’s tax system to review them. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the top […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Tax Cuts Help Create Ohio’s Revenue Crunch

January 25, 2017

In 2015, the General Assembly approved a two-year budget lasting through this June that cuts taxes by nearly $1.9 billion. When legislators approved those cuts, Policy Matters Ohio asked a respected national policy group with a model of Ohio’s tax system to review them. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the top […]

Gov. Hutchinson’s low-income tax plan: A good start, but needs work

January 25, 2017

Governor Asa Hutchinson’s new tax cut proposal includes a break, at long last, for some of the lowest income working families in our state. The bones of this plan are good – it isn’t too expensive, and it includes a portion of the families making less than $21,000 a year who were left out of […]

Statement on Governor Hutchinson’s Low-Income Tax Plan

January 25, 2017

The following is a statement from Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: Read more here

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress: Questions and Answers About Arizona’s State Budget and Taxes 2017

January 24, 2017

State budgets and taxes are the foundation for achieving our common priorities that will lead to more quality jobs, a strong economy, and thriving communities. This publication provides information and analysis to help policymakers, community leaders, and community-based organizations make good decisions about Arizona’s state budget and taxes to reach those goals. These questions and […]

Washington State Budget & Policy Center: Closing the Tax Break on Capital Gains

January 20, 2017

A capital gain is the profit an individual receives from the sale of a financial asset. Currently, Washingtonians receive a tax break on the profits they make from the sale of high-end capital assets. This tax break contributes to our state having the most upside-down tax code in the nation, in which people with low […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Flat tax would mean more taxes for most

January 19, 2017

  Nearly three-quarters of Ohioans would pay more in state income taxes under flat-rate tax plans for which a joint legislative commission is developing an implementation plan. At the same time, the most affluent 1 percent of Ohioans would see tax cuts averaging $4,000 or more a year.  Nearly three-quarters of Ohioans would pay more […]

Maine Center for Economic Policy Releases Findings Related to Distributional Impacts of Governor LePage’s Budget Proposal

January 19, 2017

  MECEP finds that Governor LePage’s budget proposal includes an upside down tax plan that will lead to the following outcomes: Taxes will go up on average for Maine families with income below $92,000. This represents the bottom 80% of Mainers who will see an average tax increase of approximately $85. The top 1% of […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Revenue Options are Key to Addressing Budget Shortfalls and Supporting Thriving Communities

January 18, 2017

Long-term investments in children and families have been the cornerstone of the state’s prosperity. To preserve these investments and support long term economic health, a balanced approach to the upcoming biennial budget must include new resources. Read more here

Hawaii Tax Fairness Coalition: Tax Fairness Flyer

January 18, 2017

Hawaiʻi has the lowest wages in the nation after adjusting for our cost of living, which is the highest in the nation. We also place the 2nd highest tax burden in the country on our low-income households. Faced with this one-two-three punch, almost half of our state’s residents are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Read more here

Hawaii Tax Fairness Coalition:

January 18, 2017

Hawaiʻi ranks second nationally in how heavily we tax our low-income households. In fact, we are in the minority of states that actually pushes low-income people deeper into poverty with taxes. As a result, nearly half of our state’s residents live paycheck-to-paycheck. Read more here

Akransas Advocates for Children & Families: 6 ways to make 2017 more prosperous for all Arkansans

January 11, 2017

Legislators have just kicked off the 2017 legislative session, and ideas for big changes are buzzing around the Capitol. AACF will be on the ground advocating for bills that are best for kids and families in our state. In order to make Arkansas a better place for all of us, AACF hopes that this year: […]

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress: Arizona’s State Budget and Taxes: What Every Arizonan Needs to Know About Growing Our Economy

January 10, 2017

When all types of state and local taxes are combined—income, sales and property—families with incomes in the bottom fifth pay nearly three times what families in the top 1 percent do—$12.50 for every $100 of income compared to $4.58 for the highest income families and $8.20 for middle income families. Sales taxes make up the […]

The Economic Progress Institute: Rhode Island Standard of Need

January 10, 2017

  The Economic Progress Institute publishes the Rhode Island Standard of Need (RISN) to answer two fundamental questions: What is the cost of meeting basic needs for families and individuals in Rhode Island? How do state and federal work and income  supports help households meet the cost of basic needs? The RISN calculates a no-frills […]

Third and State: Undocumented Immigrants Already Paying Billions in State/Local Taxes

January 10, 2017

Just this week, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released a comprehensive report on the state and local tax contributions of undocumented immigrants. In the public debate about immigration policy, there are often gross inaccuracies about undocumented immigrants that are presented as facts. This important report provides state-by-state and national estimates on undocumented immigrants’ […]

Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Who Pays For An Increase in the PIT to 4% on Income From Wealth

January 10, 2017

Legislators are currently working to find the revenues necessary to fund the appropriations bill that passed the House and Senate this week. They are finding it difficult to agree on a proposal that raises genuine, recurring revenues in a way that does not make our already inequitable tax system more unfair. One constitutional way to […]

Oklahoma Policy Institute: Private school tax subsidy blurs the line between charitable gift and money laundering

January 10, 2017

Carl Davis is Research Director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that works on federal, state, and local tax policy issues. Photo by ccPixs.com / CC BY 2.0 Photo by ccPixs.com / CC BY 3.0 When is a charitable contribution not a “donation” at all?  If a […]

Oklahoma Policy Institute: The tax shift rears its head

January 10, 2017

  Last week the Oklahoma Senate Finance Committee approved SB 977, a bill that would suspend 23 tax credits for the next two years as a way to partially address the state’s massive budget shortfall. While the bill targets numerous credits, a large majority of the impact would come from ending three important tax credits […]

Maryland Center for Economic Policy:To Support a Strong Economy, All Marylanders Must Pay Their Fair Share in Taxes

January 10, 2017

  Maryland’s success today is due to our past public investment in good schools, a strong transportation system and other building blocks of a prosperous economy. As another “tax day” rolls around, it’s worth remembering that the income taxes we pay help make these investments possible. Cutting state income taxes or corporate taxes would undermine […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: A Preview of the 2016-2018 Kentucky State Budget

January 10, 2017

  A comprehensive preview of the upcoming two-year Kentucky state budget confirms both a massive funding gap facing the state for the next two years and a need for reinvestment in many areas post-recession. Authored by the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy (KCEP), the report notes that expected growth in state revenue the first year […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: 2016 Kentucky Budget Primer

January 10, 2017

  The Budget of the Commonwealth is a financial plan, enacted every two years by Kentucky’s General Assembly, that maps out our state’s investments in education, health, transportation, public safety, human services and other areas that build a strong state economy. As such, the budget is a statement of Kentucky’s priorities: How we invest reflects […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Inheritance Tax Repeal Is Giveaway to the Top Kentucky Can’t Afford

January 10, 2017

  Since 1906, Kentucky has relied on the inheritance tax to help pay for the good schools, infrastructure and other investments that strengthen the Commonwealth. A repeal of the inheritance tax would be a $51 million tax cut tilted to the very wealthy that would weaken those investments and make economic progress harder in the […]

Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Understanding Iowa Taxes

January 10, 2017

The Iowa Fiscal Partnership is pleased to distribute a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: The ITEP Guide to Fair State and Local Taxes. We hope you will find this useful in understanding and evaluating state and local tax policy. Many of the general tax principles and issues presented in the […]

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.