Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

Tennesseans for Fair Taxation: The Real Budget Deficit: A Call to Invest in Tennessee, its Communities, and its People

January 14, 2013

Instead of being the leader we should be, Tennessee trails the nation, and the region, in these key public investments. The consequences are evident. We’re 45th in high school graduation rates, 4th in violent crimes per capita, and fi rst in bankruptcies. When we hear these dismal rankings though, it is important not to fault […]

New Jersey Policy Perspective: If It Ain’t Broke: New Jersey’s Income Tax Makes Dollars and Sense

January 14, 2013

Most people probably would agree that we need taxes at some level to pay for the things we want government to do. We could disagree on what to tax, how much and who—not to mention how best to use the money raised through taxes. But there is enough common ground for a reasoned discussion of […]

Mississippi Economic Policy Center: Putting the Pieces Together: A Taxpayer’s Guide to the Mississippi Budget

January 14, 2013

Budget decisions directly influence the quality of education that our children receive, the condition of the roads that we travel, the safety of our communities and the level of trust we can place in professionals such as doctors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses. Of course, each of these services – education, roadmaintenance and public safety – […]

Washington State Budget and Policy Center: Balancing Adequacy and Equity in Washington State’s Property Tax

January 14, 2013

Public education, fire protection, emergency medical services, parks, criminal justice, hospitals: all highpriority public services that are funded by the property tax. Washington can ensure adequate funding for these programs the public demands and address the inequities in the system. Read the Original Full Report

Center for Public Policy Priorities: Who Pays Texas Taxes?

January 14, 2013

The Comptroller has just released her biennial study of the fairness of the Texas tax system, Texas Exemptions and Tax Incidence,1 which demonstrates conclusively that low-and moderate-income Texas families bear a disproportionate share of state and local taxes. Read the Original Full Report

Iowa Policy Project: Undocumented Immigrants in Iowa: Estimated Tax Contributions and Fiscal Impact

January 14, 2013

This report examines undocumented immigrants in Iowa and their state tax contributions. Undocumented immigration remains a controversial issue in the United States, especially as the failure of federal immigration legislation has contributed to what the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) describes as “an unprecedented level of activity” in state legislative bodies as states seek […]

Public Assets Institute: Vermonters’ Incomes Outpaced School Taxes (1996-2006)

January 14, 2013

“Since the passage of Act 60, Vermonters’ incomes have grown at a faster rate than their school taxes. Additionally, the percentage of Vermonters’ incomes that they collectively spend on school taxes has dropped from 3.7 percent in fiscal 1996 to 3 percent in fiscal 2006.” Read the Original Full Report

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: Revisiting the Arkansas Capital Gains Tax Cut: Is It Time to Reconsider?

January 14, 2013

In 1999, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 1005, legislation cutting the Arkansas capital gains tax. Since that time, recent events have dramatically altered the fiscal landscape at both the federal and state levels. In response to an Arkansas Supreme Court mandate, the Arkansas legislature enacted a large sales tax increase in 2004 to fund […]

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: Property Tax Reform for Arkansas

January 14, 2013

Few people would dispute that the local property tax on real estate and personal property is the most unpopular tax in Arkansas.1 The long history of political controversy around the property tax – with its continual constitutional amendments changing previous amendments – dates back almost 50 years to Amendment 47, which abolished the longstanding state-level […]

California Budget Project: What Would Be the Impact of Reinstating the 10 and 11 Percent Personal Income Tax Rates?

January 14, 2013

One option for helping to bridge the state’s budget gap would be to reinstate the 10 percent and 11 percent tax rates for high-income Californians. Adding a 10 percent tax rate for married taxpayers with taxable incomes above $277,132 ($138,566 single) and an 11 percent rate for married taxpayers with taxable incomes exceeding $554,265 ($277,132 […]

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: Raising the Sales Tax to Pay for Education: What Would Be the Impacts on Arkansas Families?

January 14, 2013

One of the major issues the Arkansas General Assembly will have to consider during its December special session is how to pay for education reform. According to a study adopted by the Joint Legislative Committee on Education, the cost of education reform will be $847 million annually. This estimate does not include the cost of […]

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: Tax Options for Arkansas: Funding Education After the Lake View Case

January 14, 2013

The fiscal demands of the Lake View case represent a daunting short-term challenge to Arkansas policy makers—but these short-term needs also provide an opportunity for lawmakers to craft tax reform solutions that will ensure the long-term solvency of Arkansas state and local governments. We hope that this report will prove useful to the citizens and […]

Washington State Budget and Policy Center: Increasing the Sales Tax and Funding the Working Families Tax Rebate

January 14, 2013

In our new Policy Brief, the Budget & Policy Center recommends temporarily increasing the sales tax and fully funding the Working Families Tax Rebate.  If enacted, this proposal would help maintain our shared investments in education, health care, the environment, and safer communities, while reducing costs for low-income working families. Read the Full Report (PDF)

Louisiana Budget Project: Louisiana at the Crossroads- Responsible Responses to Louisiana’s Fiscal Crisis

January 14, 2013

Read the Original Full Powerpoint

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Sensible Tax Change to State Income Taxes Would Raise $450 Million

January 14, 2013

Georgia is one of a few states that allows a deduction for state income taxes for filers who itemize. Repealing it would bring in an estimated $450 million, which in K-12 education alone, could have prevented the six furlough days and additional cuts to the education funding formula in the amended budget. Repealing it prevents […]

California Budget Project: Who Pays Taxes in California?

January 14, 2013

Former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once noted that, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” State and local taxes support our public schools, streets and highways, public hospitals that form the backbone of the state’s trauma care system, parks and beaches, the public health infrastructure that ensures that our food is safe […]

Montana Budget & Policy Center: Capital Gains Tax Reform Will Strengthen Montana

January 14, 2013

As a result of the Great Recession state revenues in Montana, like all other states, are plummeting, and important public services like health care and education are facing cuts. The governor has already cut over $40 million from state programs, and the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Division estimates that the next legislature may face a $370 […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Report to the Ohio Budget Planning and Management Commission

January 14, 2013

The Ohio General Assembly created a Budget Planning and Management Commission to make recommendations on balancing the next state budget. Responding to a commission request for input, Policy Matters Ohio submitted a report to the commission in August 2010. We review the major overhaul of Ohio’s tax system approved in 2005 and the $7 billion […]

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Advancing Georgia’s 1930s Tax System to the Modern Day: Fair and Adequate Tax Reform for 21st Century Georgians

January 14, 2013

The recommendations in this report contain tax reform options that stress a workable combination of raising enough money to meet Georgia’s needs, updating the tax system to reflect today’s economy, keeping rates as low as possible, and tying the system more closely to ability to pay than it is now. Read the Full Report (PDF)

Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy: Poverty Rises in Florida While the State’s Tax System Benefits the Wealthy

January 14, 2013

The number of Floridians living below the federal poverty level increased between 2007 and 2009 by almost 550,000 – equal to the population of the cities of Orlando and Tampa combined. New U.S. Census figures show about 2.7 million Floridians, or 14.9 percent, lived in poverty in 2009, a sharp rise over 2007’s 12.1 percent. […]

Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy: Unbalancing Florida’s Tax System: Eliminating Taxes on Wealth Has Shifted the Burden to Other Floridians

January 14, 2013

Florida’s state tax structure has become even more heavily weighted against the poor and middle class, even as the numbers of poor and near-poor Floridians increase and the share of income held by the wealthy continues to rise.1 Choices made by state political leaders and Congress in the last decade have made Florida’s tax structure […]

South Dakota Budget and Policy Project: South Dakota Budget Primer

January 14, 2013

The state budget is the ultimate policy document. It determines how much is spent on programs and services that affect the lives of all South Dakotans. Our schools, health, safety and transportation – and the basic public systems that support them – are the foundation of South Dakota’s current and future prosperity. Investing wisely and […]

New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute: An Overview of New Hampshire’s Tax System

January 14, 2013

Due in large measure to the recent national recession and the continuing struggle to recover from it, New Hampshire will face a budget shortfall on the order of several hundred million dollars over the upcoming FY 2012-2013 biennium.  The source and size of that deficit should compel state policymakers to use a balanced approach in […]

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: Capital Gains Tax Cuts Would Only Benefit Arkansas’ Super Rich

January 14, 2013

Cutting Arkansas’ already generous capital gains taxes would benefit only the super wealthy, with three quarters of the tax break going to the top 1 percent of taxpayers, according to an analysis by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Reducing Exemptions is Good Tax Reform – But Taxing Groceries is Highly Regressive

January 14, 2013

All exemptions, credits, and deductions should be examined and weighed against each other and against the principles of tax reform. The grocery exemption, in particular, increases equity and should be weighed against other tax breaks with an equity lens. Eliminating the deduction for state income taxes offers an alternative worth considering. Read the Full Report […]

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.