Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Citations

ITEP's Citations Research Priorities

This testimony was delivered to the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee on February 26, 2026. Chair, Vice-Chair, and Members of the Committee, Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in support of House Bill 801. My name is Miles Trinidad, and I am an analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy […]

This testimony was delivered to the Connecticut General Assembly Finance Committee on February 26, 2026. My name is Marco Guzman, and I am a Senior Analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). ITEP is a non-profit, non-partisan tax policy organization, conducting rigorous analyses of tax and economic proposals and providing data-driven recommendations […]

Barron’s: Trump Says His Tariffs Could Replace Income Taxes. Here’s What Tax Experts Say.

February 26, 2026

“This idea that we can use tariffs to pay for everything is just nonsense. It’s a fantasy,” Steve Wamhoff, federal policy director for the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told Barron’s. “Replacing any substantial portion of the federal personal income tax with tariffs is not a proposal to be taken seriously.” Read more. 

NPR: Tariffs Cost American Shoppers. They’re Unlikely To Get That Money Back

February 26, 2026

Shoppers will have to wait for companies to get their refunds before any potential reimbursements might trickle down to them. And that could take a while. Read more.    

DC can raise needed revenue and address tax inequity by taxing more of the gains, or proceeds, generated by wealth—such as capital gains, dividends, and other forms of passive income. DC’s tax system protects and grows wealth concentration through myriad preferences and loopholes, exacerbating racial and economic inequality. This special treatment also prevents the District […]

St. Louis Magazine: How St. Louis County’s Senior Tax Freeze Takes from the Young to Give to the Old

February 24, 2026

The year-old senior tax freeze in St. Louis County, which allows seniors to lock in a portion of their property tax bills as property values appreciate, has already poked holes in school district budgets in its first year. Districts in the county expect losses to mount as property values rise, with the highest impact likely […]

Christian Science Monitor: More Red States Eye the No-Income-Tax Model. Will It Work?

February 24, 2026

So far, Republicans in the House and Senate have vowed to work together to lower tax burdens for Georgians. But questions about how and where to shift the burden of funding the commonweal without an income tax remain unanswered. Read more.

New York Times: Opinion | The Donald Trump 1 Percent Fan Club

February 24, 2026

President Trump is distributing executive patronage — from pardons to favorable regulatory decisions — to privileged groups, including those willing to contribute to his preferred committees and causes and those who invest in the Trump family’s crypto businesses. Read more.

New York Times: In Washington State, Democrats Consider Breaking a Taboo: Taxing the Rich

February 23, 2026

Washington is one of just nine states that does not tax income. Last week, the State Senate approved what supporters and opponents alike call the “millionaires tax,” a proposed 9.9 percent annual tax on personal earnings over $1 million, enough to bring in $3.7 billion a year. Members of the state House must now decide […]

Undocumented immigrants contributed $8.5 billion in state and local taxes in 2022 — a number that would rise to $10.3 billion if these taxpayers could apply to work lawfully. People are afraid to leave their homes, children are left without their parents, and families unable to afford groceries. Families are even foregoing critical medical care. […]

Senior Analyst at ITEP, Brakeyshia Samms, joins the “Exploring How Race, Money, and Power Collide in the Tax System” episode of Colorado Fiscal Institute’s podcast.

Policy Matters Ohio: The Great Ohio Tax Shift, 2026

February 20, 2026 • By ITEP Staff

ITEP’s analysis examines two categories of changes to the Ohio tax code: changes made to personal income taxes and changes made to other types of taxes. Read more.

Audio: ITEP’s Kamolika Das on the Need for States to Raise Revenue in the Wake of 2025 Trump Tax Law

February 19, 2026

Kamolika Das talks about a current nationwide effort to raise revenue in states to replace billions of dollars in vital local and state funding for social safety net programs that were lost in last year’s Trump-GOP budget mega-bill that dramatically cut social programs while giving away huge tax cuts for profitable corporations and the rich. […]

Video: You Are Paying More in Taxes Than Palantir

February 19, 2026

Palantir paid $0 federal income tax on  $1.5 billion of U.S. income.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) proposes that the state opts out the five most costly federal corporate tax cuts made in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Read more.

The Trump administration has trumpeted this policy as a substantial victory for workers—in reality, it is not. Most workers will not benefit from this policy whatsoever. Read more.

Republican legislators yesterday leveled a barrage of familiar arguments against the Senate Democratic majority’s proposal to create a million-dollar earners’ tax. While these charges have been made before, repetition does not make an argument true. Read more.

Business Insider: Mamdani Says if the State Won’t Tax the Wealthiest New Yorkers, He’d Have To Tax the Middle Class as a ‘Last Resort’

February 19, 2026

Without Albany’s willingness to hike income or corporate taxes, Mamdani is signaling he will need to turn to other measures to fund his budget. He’s floating increasing property taxes for the city’s residents.  Read more.

KCUR: Eliminating Missouri’s Income Tax Could Actually Cost You More — Unless You’re Rich

February 19, 2026

If the state’s income tax is eliminated, experts anticipate that Missouri’s already regressive tax system would become more so. Households with a yearly income of $65,000 would see a $500 tax increase each year, while households in the top 1% would see an average tax cut of nearly $40,000. Read more.

Mackinac Center: Lawmakers Should Reject Sales Tax Holidays

February 19, 2026 • By ITEP Staff

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy argues that tax holidays may slightly reduce the regressive nature of sales taxes but produce minimal overall benefit. Read more.

Thomson Reuters: OBBB Put Pressure on States to Raise Revenues, Analysts Say

February 19, 2026

Policy experts warned that the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) is creating a fiscal crisis for states, forcing them to choose between cutting essential services or raising their own taxes. Aidan Davis, state policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said lawmakers have an opportunity to reverse course and align public policy […]

The Hill: Want ‘Affordability?’ Start by Retooling Your State’s Regressive Tax System.

February 19, 2026

The White House plan “would represent the single largest legislated transfer of wealth from the working class to the rich in the nation’s history,” according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “Working-class families would face dramatic tax increases while the nation’s wealthiest families would see their state tax bills plummet.” Read more. 

Education Week: How Do Schools Solve a Problem Like Property Taxes?

February 19, 2026

As tax season dawns, backlash to a nationwide surge in property-tax bills is spurring states to double down on proposals to diminish one of the main revenue sources for school districts. At least 10 states are pitching the end of one of schools’ chief revenue sources. Read more.

Quartz: Big Tech’s Big Trump Tax Win

February 19, 2026

Republicans in Congress delivered on one important item on corporate America’s wishlist that allowed companies to pay lower taxes to Uncle Sam: their ability to immediately deduct new domestic research and development spending from their tax bills instead of spreading them out over years. Read more.

The 2025 Trump tax bill that created the tipped income deduction simultaneously enacted massive cuts to health care, energy, and food assistance programs that will cause tremendous harm for millions of low-income households, including some with tipped workers—all to finance tax cuts for the ultrawealthy. Read more.