Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Funding Improvements for Schools, Roads, and Public Transit with Tax Reforms that Improve Fairness

September 14, 2015

We can expand opportunity for our people and strengthen our economy by making smart investments to improve our schools; make our colleges and universities affordable; and build a transportation system that gets families, students, workers and customers to the places they need to be. There are fair and effective ways that we could pay for […]

Connecticut Voices for Children: Impact of the Final FY 2016 Budget on Children and Families

August 11, 2015

The State of Connecticut’s final FY 16 budget, improved from earlier proposals, still balances on children and families’ finite resources, this analysis finds.  While funding the “Children’s Budget” – state spending on children and family services – requires only a third of overall state funding, children’s program funding reductions account for nearly ninety percent of […]

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Increasing the EITC Would Boost New Jersey’s Working Families

June 29, 2015

Increasing New Jersey’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to 30 percent from 20 percent of the federal EITC would provide over half a million New Jersey working families with a much-needed bump in their take-home pay while giving the state’s economy a boost. But the economic impact of the EITC goes beyond the specific amount […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Ohio Senate Flat Tax Mandate is Unwise and Unwarranted

June 23, 2015

The Senate budget bill approved Thursday, like the House-approved version, would create a tax policy study commission to review the state’s tax structure. But the Senate would require the study commission to make recommendations “on how to transition Ohio’s personal income tax to a flat tax of three and one-half percent or three and three-quarters […]

Local Progress: Progressive Policies for Raising Municipal Revenue

June 16, 2015

This report lays out a set of policy and political interventions that cities, regions, and states can make to increase municipal revenue and to make their collections more progressive. Cities have historically suffered enormous budget shortfalls and after the Great Recession, available funds depleted even more drastically. Read the full report here.

NC Policy Watch: The Senate Tax Plan Fails to Fix the Problem

June 16, 2015

Last week, we raised concerns with the Senate leadership’s new tax plan. Rather than reinvesting and regaining ground lost in recent years, the Senate is pursuing another round of costly income tax cuts. When fully implemented, the $1 billion price tag for the Senate tax plan will mean North Carolina must forgo investments in the foundations […]

Oregon Center for Public Policy: Immigration Reform Would Boost Oregon State and Local Budgets

June 15, 2015

How much do undocumented Oregonians contribute in state and local taxes? A recent report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimated that 124,000 undocumented Oregonians paid more than $83 million in state and local taxes in 2012. Read the full report here.

Fiscal Policy Institute: Property Tax Relief for Low- and Middle-Income Property New Yorkers Must Remain a Priority

May 28, 2015

Those making the least income relative to other New Yorkers would benefit more from the proposed circuit breaker than from a STAR rebate. Some 40 percent of taxpayers with incomes below $19,000 (the poorest fifth of New Yorkers) would receive a circuit breaker refund, according to an analysis of the governor’s proposal by the Institute […]

West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy: Gutting the Personal Income is a Poor Strategy

May 20, 2015

As this post shows, the personal income tax is not only the largest source of revenue from state residents but it is also a progressive tax that helps reduce income inequality and pay for important budget priorities like education, higher education and health and human services. In the next post, we will explore whether the […]

Missouri Budget Project: State Earned Income Tax Credit Would Benefit Missouri

May 7, 2015

Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs) encourage work, enhance take-home pay, improve health & economic outcomes, and have lasting benefits. Proposals to create a state-level EITC would build on these benefits of the federal EITC for more than 500,000 Missouri families. Click here to read the full report. 

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Income Tax Cuts Won’t Boost Georgia Economy

May 7, 2015

Big income tax cuts did not improve the economies of states that enacted them, and states without income taxes do not consistently grow more jobs or have stronger economies. Six states cut income taxes sharply from 2002 to 2007, before the most recent recession. Three of them – Arizona, Ohio and Rhode Island – grew […]

Voices for Illinois Children: Avoid Cuts, Choose Revenue

May 7, 2015

Governor Rauner has proposed to close this massive gap through damaging cuts to essential programs and services that strengthen Illinois families, children, communities, and our economy — including child care and early intervention services, K-12 education, afterschool, child protection and welfare, public health, higher education, health care, public transportation, and revenue-sharing with local governments. Cuts […]

Wisconsin Budget Project: A Flatter State Income Tax Would Take a Toll on Wisconsin

April 29, 2015

A proposal to change Wisconsin’s tax system could cut taxes for high earners, even though the well-off already pay a smaller share of their income in state taxes than lower-income taxpayers. Various lawmakers are proposing cutting or “reforming” the state’s income tax code, and a special committee staffed by the Legislative Council will be reviewing […]

Wisconsin Budget Project: Do All Taxpayers Get the Same Benefit from the Governor’s Income Tax Proposals?

April 29, 2015

In his State of the State address last week, Governor Walker talked about two tax cuts he plans to make using the state’s projected surplus: a $406 million cut in property taxes and an income tax cut. With respect to the smaller portion of that two-part plan the Governor said: “…we will reduce income taxes […]

Wisconsin Budget Project: Top 10 Reasons to Increase Tax Credits for Low-income Households

April 29, 2015

Top 10 Reasons to Increase Tax Credits for Low-income Households Read the full report  

Wisconsin Budget Project: Tax Shifts Would Cut Taxes for Richest, Raise Taxes on Others

April 29, 2015

Expanding the sales tax to pay for income and property tax cuts would harm taxpayers with low incomes – and give large tax cuts to the highest earners. A recent policy report that recommends such a “tax shift” overlooks those facts. Read the full report

Policy Matters Ohio: Problems with Ohio EITC: It’s not refundable, it has a cap, and it’s too low

April 29, 2015

Gov. Kasich’s Mid-Biennium Review proposal to expand the credit from 5 percent to 15 percent is a step in the right direction, but more must be done to ensure the credit benefits Ohio’s poorest working families. Read the full report

Policy Matter Ohio: Cutting taxes doesn’t help Ohio economy

April 29, 2015

After the General Assembly raised the top income-tax rate to 7.5 percent in 1992 the state generated more than 100,000 jobs in each of the following three years. Compare that with the 25,600 jobs Ohio gained during 2013, the 40,300 in 2012, and the 77,600 in 2011. Tax levels are not the main thing driving […]

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Failure to Address Gas Tax Costs New Jersey Over Half a Billion Dollars a Year

April 29, 2015

New Jersey is losing out on over $500 million each year by not tying increases in transportation construction costs to increases in gas tax rates, a new national report finds. This $504.7 million currently left on the table could nearly double the annual funding for vital transportation projects across the state. Read the full report

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Income Taxes Don’t Impede Economic Growth

April 29, 2015

As Gov. Chris Christie prepares to unveil the specifics of his proposed 10-percent income tax cut at next week’s budget address, he’s working under a key tenet of conservative economics: that high tax rates harm economic growth. There’s just one problem, according to a new national report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy […]

New Jersey Policy Perspective: State Treasurer Confesses: Our Job is To Protect Millionaires

April 29, 2015

In case it remained a mystery to anyone, the administration’s plan for economic growth was made clear by Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff at a New Jersey Business and Industry Association breakfast last Tuesday. To paraphrase the treasurer, the state’s job is to protect its approximately 15,000 millionaires by cutting their taxes. Read the full report

Economic Progress Institute: Few Winners and Many Losers in RI Tax Reform

April 29, 2015

The budget passed by the House Finance committee made three significant tax policy changes that will impact the income of tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders. The estate tax, earned income tax credit, and property tax relief program were all dramatically altered in the budget. Read the full report.

Hawaii Appleseed Center: Tax Cuts for the Wealthiest

April 23, 2015

When the top marginal tax rates and cap on itemized deductions expire in 2015, Hawaii’s wealthiest residents will see a windfall. Meanwhile, our working families are not scheduled to get any relief. Read the full report here.

Vermont Legislative Joint Fiscal Office: ITEP and Pew Reports on Vermont’s Income Distribution and Tax System

April 21, 2015

This report is a slide deck that review’s ITEP’s Who Pays report and its findings on the Vermont state tax system.  Read the full report here. 

Integrity Florida: Subsidizing Corporate Tax Dodgers

April 21, 2015

Thanks to the data provided by CTJ/ITEP, Integrity Florida found that all of the profitable Fortune 500 corporations headquartered in Florida paid state governments in the U.S. on average a lower corporate profits tax rate than Florida’s 5.5 percent rate between 2011 and 2013. Most of these corporations have received taxpayer-funded subsidy deals and government […]

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.