Sales, Gas and Excise Taxes
State and Local Tax Contributions by Undocumented Immigrants
August 1, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
Undocumented immigrants pay taxes that help fund public infrastructure, institutions, and services in every U.S. state. Nearly 39 percent of the total tax dollars paid by undocumented immigrants in 2022 ($37.3 billion) went to state and local governments.
What States Have Sales Tax Holidays in 2023?
August 4, 2023 • By ITEP Staff
The number of states with sales tax holidays on the books fell to 19 in 2023 from 20 in 2022. Yet even as slightly fewer states have them, they are estimated to cost much more. In 2023, sales tax holidays will cost states and localities nearly $1.6 billion in lost revenue, up from an estimated $1 billion just a year ago.
How Long Has It Been Since Your State Raised Its Gas Tax?
March 5, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
10 states to have gone two decades or more without a gas tax increase.
A Visual History of Sales Tax Collection at Amazon.com
December 23, 2020 • By ITEP Staff
Today, Amazon is collecting state-level sales taxes on all its direct sales but it still usually fails to collect sales tax on the large volume of sales it makes through the Amazon Marketplace. This points to a broader problem in state tax enforcement that lawmakers in many states are moving quickly to address with laws and administrative action requiring tax collection by Amazon and other large online marketplaces such as Etsy and eBay.
What is the Gas Tax Rate Per Gallon in Your State?
October 16, 2019 • By ITEP Staff
Every state levies excise taxes on motor fuel, including gasoline, to pay for transportation infrastructure. People who drive far distances or heavy vehicles tend to pay more tax, which helps offset the wear-and-tear they inflict on the roads.
How Do State Tax Sales of Over-the-Counter Medication?
September 6, 2019 • By ITEP Staff
While most states levy general sales taxes on items that consumers purchase every day, those taxes often contain carveouts for some necessities such as rent, groceries, and medicine. Prescription drugs, for instance, are currently exempt from state sales tax in 44 of the 45 states levying such taxes (Illinois is the only exception, charging a […]
How Do Tax Rates on the Poor Compare to Taxes on the Rich in Your State?
August 1, 2019 • By ITEP Staff
No two state tax systems are the same, but 45 states have one thing in common: Low-income residents are taxed at a higher rate than the top 1 percent. Effective tax rates for the lowest 20 percent of families range from a high of 17.8 percent in Washington State to a low of 5.5 percent in Delaware.
Is Your State Holding Sales Tax Holidays in 2019?
July 17, 2019 • By ITEP Staff
Lawmakers in many states have enacted “sales tax holidays” (16 states will hold them in 2019), to provide a temporary break on paying the tax on purchases of clothing, school supplies, and other items. While these holidays may seem to lessen the regressive impacts of the sales tax, their benefits are minimal. ITEP’s policy brief […]
Which States Have the Highest Tax Rates for Low-income People?
July 3, 2019 • By ITEP Staff
No two state tax systems are the same, but 45 states have one thing in common: Low-income residents are taxed at a higher rate than the top 1 percent. This map shows the effective tax rates for the lowest-income 20 percent in each state--ranging from a high of 17.8 percent in Washington to a low of 5.5 percent in Delaware.
Has Your State Enacted Gas Tax Reform Recently?
June 27, 2019 • By ITEP Staff
Gas taxes are the most important revenue source that states have available to pay for transportation infrastructure. In recent years, state lawmakers across the country have increasingly agreed that gas taxes must be increased to fund the maintenance and improvement of their infrastructure networks.
These States Abandoned Old Gas Tax Structures in Favor of More Sustainable Variable-Rate Gas Taxes
May 20, 2019 • By ITEP Staff
Because of these reforms, more than 193 million people (or 59 percent of the U.S. population) now live in places where the state gas tax rate automatically varies over time.
Gasoline vs. Diesel Taxes in Your State: Which is Taxed More?
May 20, 2019 • By ITEP Staff
Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia tax these two fuel types at the same rate or very similar rates, as of April 2019, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute.
How Heavily Does Your State Rely on Sales Taxes?
May 18, 2019 • By ITEP Staff
Consumption taxes (including general sales taxes, excise taxes on specific products, and gross receipts taxes) are an important revenue source for state and local governments. While five states lack state-level general sales taxes (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon), every state levies taxes on some types of consumption.
What is the Diesel Fuel Tax Rate in Your State?
May 18, 2019 • By ITEP Staff
The tax rates identified in this map include state and local excise and sales taxes on diesel fuel, as well as various fees, as calculated by the American Petroleum Institute (API). These taxes are levied in addition to the federal government’s 24.4-cent-per-gallon diesel tax.
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