Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

Policy Matters Ohio: Making Ohio’s EITC work for workers

April 10, 2015

Ohio has the 18th most unfair tax system in the nation, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The federal EITC was, in part, designed to eliminate some of the disproportionate impact of payroll taxes on low- and middle-income working families. Likewise, the state credit should address the disproportionate impact of sales and […]

Open Sky Policy Institute: Gas tax and transportation in Nebraska

April 6, 2015

In 2011, the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy (ITEP) published “Building a Better Gas Tax” in which they recommended that states looking to modernize their gas tax increase gas tax rates, restructure state gas taxes so that their rates rise automatically with inflation and create or enhance targeted tax credits for low-income families to […]

Oklahoma Policy Institute: Halt the Tax Cut

March 31, 2015

The cut to the top income tax rate will provide minimal benefit to all but the wealthiest Oklahomans. The average middle-income household will see its taxes lowered $31 a year, or $2.60 per month. Forty percent of households will get no benefit at all. Yet the cut will add some $50 million to the budget […]

Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: A Complex End-of Session Proposal: Notes on House Bill 311

March 27, 2015

A new proposal in the Idaho Legislature would dramatically shift the way taxes are collected and generate a new revenue source for roads and bridges. The proposal has several components which in combination mean that taxpayers across the bottom 80% of the income distribution will pay more, on average.

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Inaction on Gas Tax Will Drop Rate to Historically Low Levels

March 26, 2015

Good roads are critical to public safety and to Kentucky’s economy, especially in a state so dependent on manufacturing and distribution industries. Funding from the gas tax and other sources also supports over 40,000 jobs. It’s important that the General Assembly recognize the need for a sustainable revenue stream to keep Kentucky’s infrastructure safe and […]

Mississippi Economic Policy Center: All Roads Lead to Nowhere

March 25, 2015

Big tax cuts that largely benefit corporations and wealthy Mississippians are unaffordable and will erode our ability to support schools, universities, roads and bridges and public safety. Big tax cuts will undermine our future by making it harder for the state to invest in the things that make Mississippi’s working families more productive like a […]

Public Assets Institute: Vermont Has the Capacity to Avoid 2016 Budget Cuts

March 24, 2015

Vermont’s income tax is among the lowest in the country: 2.7 percent of the state’s total personal income. Eliminating tax breaks and lowering income tax rates would balance the fiscal 2016 budget without cuts and still leave Vermont’s effective income tax rate lower than those of 24 other states. Read the full report here.

Connecticut Voices for Children: Funding Our Future: Child and Family Friendly Revenue Options

March 18, 2015

An analysis by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) of Washington, D.C. found that adjusting top rates to the levels in the table below would impact only two percent of state taxpayers, generate $300 million in state revenue, enable taxpayers with increased state taxes to deduct $114 million from federal tax returns, leaving […]

The Economic Progress Institute: Making Work Pay for Working Families: Increasing the State’s Earned Income Tax Credit

March 18, 2015

Workers who receive the EITC pay federal payroll taxes, sales and property taxes, and more. In fact, Rhode Island has the 5th highest taxes on low-income households in the nation. The lowest-income taxpayers pay nearly twice as much of their income towards taxes as the wealthiest Rhode Islanders.

Public Assets Institute: How to Close the Budget Gap–Fiscal 2016 and Beyond

March 16, 2015

“Vermont is one of six states in the country that uses federal taxable income rather than adjusted gross income as the base for the state income tax. Because this base is lower, the state must set its top marginal rate higher than necessary to raise the needed revenues. Additionally, tax breaks that primarily benefit upper-income […]

Open Sky Policy Institute: Frequently asked questions about LB 280′s impact on taxpayers

March 16, 2015

“All Nebraskans would experience lower property taxes under this proposal, and many residents would pay less in taxes overall. LB 280 makes our tax code more progressive, ensuring that low- and middle-income Nebraskans pay less in overall taxes than our highest-income individuals. While the effects will vary depending on each taxpayer’s income, property value, and […]

Minnesota Department of Revenue: 2015 Minnesota Tax Incidence Study

March 13, 2015

“Given the questions raised about how Minnesota compares to other states, this section summarizes the results of a 50-state study of state and local tax incidence. That study, entitled Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of Tax Systems in All 50 States (5th Edition), was published by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) in […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Kasich tax plan bad for Ohio, Policy Matters tells lawmakers

March 12, 2015

“An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit research group in Washington, D.C., found the bottom three-fifths of Ohioans would pay more as a group under the governor’s plan, which includes a sales-tax rate increase. Most of the increases like the sales-tax hike would fall more heavily on those with low […]

California Budget Project: How a State EITC Could Reduce Economic Hardship in California

March 12, 2015

“A state EITC would allow low- and middle-income working families to keep more of their earnings and help rebalance California’s system of state and local taxes, which currently asks low-income families to pay a larger share of their income in taxes than high-income families.” Read the full report here.

Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy: Tax Fairness: An Answer to Florida’s Budget Problems

March 12, 2015

“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy ranks Florida as having the second most unfair (or “regressive”) tax system in the nation. High‐income residents pay a far smaller share of their income in state and local taxes than middle class residents. The high‐income one percent of Floridians pay just 1.9 percent of their income in […]

Maryland Center on Economic Policy: Corporate Tax Cut Would Harm Maryland’s Economic Growth

March 12, 2015

“Reducing the corporate income tax in Maryland would also worsen he situation under which a small share of the state’s households have seen big gains in income over recent years while most other people have seen their pay stagnate and many are struggling to get by. According to analysis by the Institute for Taxation and […]

Oklahoma Policy Institute: This nonsensical ‘double dipping’ tax break is costing Oklahoma millions

March 12, 2015

“Disallowing just the deduction for state income tax would yield the state $97 million, according to an analysis by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy. Only one in four households (24 percent) would be affected at all by this tax change. Over half of the $97 million in new revenue – 58 percent – […]

Michigan League for Public Policy: Road funding ballot proposal: a win-win for everyone

March 10, 2015

According to a new report from the Michigan League for Public Policy, an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that even after the sales tax increase, the restoration of the state’s EITC to 20% of the federal EITC is enough to offset negative effects for low-income workers. On average, when taking […]

Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Balanced approach on gas tax

March 6, 2015

Raising Iowa’s tax on gasoline and diesel fuel by 10 cents per gallon would go a long way toward financing needed street and highway repairs and improvements. Critical needs most recently were estimated at $215 million annually, and the 10 cents is projected to raise that amount by fiscal year 2018. Read the full report […]

Children’s Action Alliance: HB 2069 – S/E Online TPT/Income Tax Reduction Fact Sheet

March 6, 2015

HB 2069 shifts taxes from the wealthiest Arizonans to low and middle income taxpayers, attempts to limit options available to future legislatures, and depends on a “best guess” to make sure that state revenues aren’t cut back too far with no chance of correction….This ill-advised legislation has many problems: At a time when Arizona is […]

Fiscal Policy Institute: Policy Brief: Property Tax Relief (Circuit Breaker)

March 6, 2015

Those at the bottom of the income scale [in New York] would benefit most—62 percent of homeowners and 37 percent of renters with incomes below $19,000 would receive a circuit breaker refund according to an analysis of the governor’s proposal by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Some 27 percent of homeowners and renters […]

Mississippi Economic Policy Center: House and Senate Tax Plans Do Little for Struggling Working Families

March 6, 2015

The personal income tax cuts from both the [state] House and Senate plans benefit wealthier families more than lower and middle-income earners. Further, the high cost of these plans may require raising revenue through increases in the property tax or sales tax, both of which hit lower and middle-income earners hard. This combination would result […]

Michigan League for Public Policy: A Solution at Last to Michigan’s Crumbling Roads

March 3, 2015

Analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that the sales tax increase and the increase of the EITC will help low-income working people. After all of the changes in the package are accounted for, Michigan’s lowest earners (annual incomes under $20,000) will experience a net tax decrease. Read full report here.   […]

Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Better Choices Coalition Releases 19 Ideas to Make Pa.’s Tax System Fairer

March 3, 2015

“A recent study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy named Pennsylvania the sixth most unfair state and local tax system for low- to moderate-income families. The recommendations we are making today not only raise sustainable revenue for critical services like education and health care, but also make our tax system fairer for all […]

Maryland Center on Economic Policy: Maryland’s Poor Taxed More Than Rich; Communities of Color Feel Biggest Pinch

February 28, 2015

The state’s highest income households pay the lowest percentage of their yearly earnings in state and local taxes compared to middle-class and low-income households. Residents struggling the most to make ends meet — Maryland’s poor and minorities — also are being taxed to a greater extent than the wealthiest. This unfortunate reality reinforces both economic […]

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.