Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

New Jersey Senator Singleton and Senate President Scutari Resolution Condemning Federal Efforts to Cut Funding

March 4, 2025

In response to the recent passage by the House of Representatives of a budget resolution that seeks to cut hundreds of billions in funding for programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee has passed a resolution from Senator Troy Singleton and Senate […]

Testimony: ITEP’s Matt Gardner Discusses How to Improve Maryland’s Tax Code at House Ways & Means Committee Hearing

February 27, 2025

ITEP Senior Fellow Matt Gardner submitted the written testimony below to Maryland’s House Ways & Means Committee on February 20, 2025. Video of his oral testimony is at the bottom of this post. Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony. My name is Matthew Gardner. I am a senior fellow at the Institute […]

Hawai’i Worldwide Combined Reporting Bill Cites ITEP Data

February 25, 2025

House Bill 116 in this year’s state legislative session in Hawai’i cites ITEP data on the revenue potential of worldwide combined reporting (WWCR). (For more on WWCR, read our recent report here.)

Florida Policy Institute: A Risky Proposition: Weakening Local Governments by Eliminating Property Tax Revenue

February 25, 2025

In Florida, the ability of local governments to raise revenue for operations is limited by the state constitution.[1] With the exception of fees, special assessments,[2] and the property tax, also known as an ad valorem tax, local governments are dependent on the Legislature and state laws for authority to levy other forms of taxation and raise revenue. Consequently, as a matter of fiscal management and local autonomy, the property tax is paramount. Considering recent policy proposals to eliminate property taxes (see Appendix), this brief explores the property tax, its role as a source of local fiscal autonomy, possibilities for reform, and the…

Maine Center for Economic Policy: Proposed Medicaid Cuts Put Maine Families’ Incomes At Risk

February 22, 2025

Proposed Medicaid cuts could affect over 400,000 Mainers, especially children, older adults, and families with low income, reducing access to essential health care and economic stability. Read more.  

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Let’s End Corporate Tax Avoidance in Maryland by Enacting Worldwide Combined Reporting

February 22, 2025

Conservative revenue estimates released this week by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) project hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenues for Maryland once you close the loophole that allows a small group of the world’s most aggressive global giants to dodge their responsibility to the people of Maryland. Read more.

Maryland Center on Economic Policy: First Look: Governor Combines Revenues, Cuts to Narrow Budget Gap

February 11, 2025

Gov. Moore’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 (July 2025–June 2026) makes a significant dent in the state’s looming shortfalls, with similar-sized contributions from tax reforms and budget cuts. The plan takes several positive steps to crack down on corporate tax avoidance and ask wealthy individuals to pay their fair share. These reforms are an important measure to protect Marylanders from much more drastic cuts to public services. At the same time, a more ambitious revenue package would do more to support the foundations of thriving communities across our state.

Demos: Taxes Explained: A Fair and Just Tax Code Is Critical for Improving Economic Power for the People

February 11, 2025

This year will be a pivotal year for tax policy and will have far-reaching consequences for our economy and democracy. It is important that the people understand what is at stake. This Tax Justice and Racial Equity Explainer Series will cover key elements of the tax code that Congress will be debating this year and their real-world significance for communities of color. The following four pieces will cover corporate taxation, the difference between wealth and income taxes, and an overview of tax credits and deductions.

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Another Income Tax Cut Will Dig the Hole Deeper

February 10, 2025

Kentucky lawmakers are expected to vote early in the legislative session on another half-point cut to the individual income tax rate, a drop from 4% to 3.5%. This cut is expected to pass despite a projected decline in tax revenues due to the income tax reductions of the last couple of years. With this next drop, the state will get closer to the level of tax cuts Kansas put in place in 2013 and was forced to reverse just five years later because the state wasn’t bringing in enough money to meet its obligations.

Video: ITEP’s Kamolika Das on Revenue and Fines & Fees Reform

February 5, 2025

ITEP Local Policy Director Kamolika Das discussed revenue and the reform of fines and fees at this webinar hosted by the Fines & Fees Justice Center.

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Extending Trump Tax Cuts Would Benefit the Wealthiest New Jerseyans

February 3, 2025

Fair tax policy depends on prioritizing the well-being of all households, not just the wealthiest. New Jersey, and the nation as a whole, cannot afford to hand special tax breaks to the most affluent residents by slashing essential services such as health insurance for working families. New analysis of the Trump administration’s plan to make tax breaks from the 2017 tax law permanent shows that the proposal would do just that. It would make the wealthiest New Jerseyans even richer while cutting programs and support for families who need help affording basic necessities like food and health care.

Roosevelt Institute: Taxing Excessive Profits: Designing a Pro-Competition Corporate Tax System

February 1, 2025

This brief—originally presented as a discussion guide to the October 2024 convening “Promoting Equity and Efficiency: Rethinking Corporate Taxation to Address Market Power,” hosted by the Institute for Macroeconomic & Policy Analysis and the Roosevelt Institute—establishes a groundwork for developing a truly pro-competition corporate income tax system, focusing in particular on the economic case for […]

Center for Law and Social Policy: The Earned Income Tax Credit Should be Expanded for Workers Without Children

February 1, 2025

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a federal tax credit for workers with low and moderate incomes. The EITC helps to bolster their incomes and offset taxes owed; it is effective at reducing poverty and has traditionally received bipartisan support. But the EITC available to workers without dependent children in the household is small […]

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: President Trump, Congressional Republican Proposals Would Shift Large Costs to States, Inflict Widespread Harm

January 31, 2025

Emerging proposals from the Trump Administration and key congressional Republicans could wreak havoc on essential public services, leaving millions of people worse off through lost health coverage, less money for groceries, weakened access to a quality public education, and other harms.[1]

Florida Policy Institute: Deferring Dreams: The Costly Plan to Repeal Tuition Fairness for Florida Dreamers

January 31, 2025

Legislation[1] was introduced during the January 2025 special legislative session that would repeal Florida’s tuition fairness law.[2] This law, which passed with bipartisan support in 2014, requires that colleges, universities, and postsecondary institutions waive out-of-state tuition for certain undocumented students who graduated high school in the state.

Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: House Bill 40 Further Cuts the Income Tax, Disproportionately Benefiting Wealthy Idahoans

January 31, 2025

Every year, Idaho spends millions of tax dollars to make sure families receive a good education, live in safe homes and communities, and enjoy good health. However, over the last several years, the state has passed deep and costly tax rate cuts that make our tax system more regressive- disproportionately burdening Idahoans with the lowest incomes. House Bill 40 continues to perpetuate this trend by providing relief disproportionately to wealthy households.

Every Texan: Current Border Militarization Operations Are a Wasteful Attempt at Deterrence

January 31, 2025

There is little return to show on past border militarization investments. Beginning in 2021, the Governor launched a multi-year campaign called Operation Lone Star that, in part, allowed his Trusteed Programs office to distribute billions of dollars in grants to once resource-starved border communities. SB 1 prepares to double down on this failed investment with […]

Alabama Rise: 56 Alabama Groups Urge Congress to Reject Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

January 30, 2025

Congress should oppose efforts to increase tax breaks for wealthy Americans and highly profitable corporations this year, 56 organizations across Alabama wrote in a letter sent to Alabama’s congressional delegation Wednesday. Lawmakers instead should seek to boost tax credits that expand opportunities for working people and families, the letter said.

Oregon Center for Public Policy: Groups Call on Oregon Congressional Delegation to Reject More Tax Breaks for the Wealthy

January 30, 2025

A dozen Oregon organizations sent a letter to the state’s congressional delegation today calling on them to oppose tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals and corporations as part of the upcoming federal tax debate in 2025.

Oklahoma Policy Institute: FACT CHECK: How Would the Governor’s Proposal to Cut, Eliminate Personal Income Tax Affect Oklahoma?

January 30, 2025

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has estimated how much these proposed tax cuts would impact Oklahomans, by income level: 

Public Citizen: DOGE Delusions: A Real-World Plan To Crack Down on Corporate Handouts, Tax the Rich and Invest for the Future

January 23, 2025

On November 12, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would co-chair a new entity, called the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). “Together,” Trump asserted, “these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure federal Agencies – Essential to the ’Save America’ Movement. … It will become, potentially, the ’Manhattan project’ of our time.”

Accountable.US and Americans for Tax Fairness: The Price of Big Business: The Corporate Tax Ten

January 22, 2025

With portions of the Trump 2017 corporate tax giveaways set to expire in 2025, government watchdog Accountable.US and Americans for Tax Fairness today released a damning new report revealing how a small number of top corporations—including familiar names like Apple, Microsoft, and JP Morgan—bring in a huge amount of national profits while paying shockingly little in taxes. […]

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis: Fiscal Progressivity of the U.S. Federal and State Governments

January 18, 2025

Combining a variety of survey and administrative data, this paper measures the progressivity of taxes and transfers at the U.S. federal level and separately for each state. Read more.

Center for American Progress: Scott Bessent’s 3 Percent Deficit Target Would Require Massive Cuts to Anti-Poverty Programs and Middle-Class Tax Increases

January 16, 2025

Basic arithmetic suggests that the fiscal goals of President-elect Donald Trump’s treasury pick would slash health care and food security for working- and middle-class families while renewing tax cuts tilted to the wealthy. Read more.

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.