Reports
Assembly’s Tax Plan: More Revenue, Less Fairness
November 20, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
The tax plan approved by the Maryland General Assembly on Monday will help provide the revenue necessary to fund vital public services in Maryland, but, according to the latest analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), working families will bear the brunt of the tax changes contained in the plan. All told, […]
Senate Plan Falls Hardest on Low-Income Marylanders
November 15, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
A new analysis of the tax legislation approved by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Tuesday shows that the Senate’s tax changes would impose the largest tax hikes, as a share of income, on low- and middle-income Marylanders. The analysis also shows that the Senate plan’s regressive impact is in sharp contrast to the […]
ITEP Testimony on Governor’s Plan: Expanding the Sales Tax
November 7, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony today focuses on the sales tax legislation included in the Tax Reform Act of 2007. In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of the bill’s expansion of the sales tax base to include more services. The proposed changes are an important first step toward a more sustainable Maryland tax system. But, because […]
ITEP Testimony on Governor’s Plan: Improving the Income Tax
November 1, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony today focuses on the proposed changes to Maryland’s personal income tax put forward by Governor O’Malley and the impact that those changes would have on Marylanders at different income levels. Before I present the substance of my analysis of the Governor’s proposal, however, I would like to describe three important contexts for you […]
ITEP Testimony on Governor’s Plan: Corporate Tax Reform
October 31, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony examines a problem facing not just Maryland, but a number of different states – the erosion of the corporate income tax and the related emergence of profitable “zero-tax corporations.” I also will discuss the single best strategy available to lawmakers seeking to respond to the problem of corporate tax avoidance – mandatory combined […]
Assessing the Income Tax Treatment of Social Security Benefits
May 15, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
Early in the 2007 legislative session Missouri Governor Matt Blunt and House Speaker Rod Jetton made eliminating the state’s personal income tax on Social Security benefits a priority. In May, the legislature passed a bill that would eliminate the income tax on Social Security benefits for some better-off seniors. This bill is currently awaiting Governor […]
Combined Reporting – How Does Your State Stack Up?
April 15, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
Over the past few years, a number of states, seeking to address longstanding flaws in their corporate income taxes and significant declines in the revenue they yield, have instituted a major reform: combined reporting. Combined reporting requires multi-state corporations to report the income earned by both the parent corporation and all of its subsidiaries and […]
ITEP Testimony on Tax Reform Bill HB750 in Illinois
March 20, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony today focuses on the revenue-raising tax reform bill, House Bill 750 and Illinois’ current tax structure. In particular, my testimony will discuss the state’s current tax structure and reveal the opportunity that HB 750 provides. Read the Full Report (PDF)
ITEP Testimony on Nebraska EITC Expansion
March 9, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony focuses on Legislative Bill 683, which would expand the Nebraska Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of this bill on the overall fairness of Nebraska’s tax system. Read the Full Report (PDF)
ITEP Testimony on Combined Corporate Income Tax Reporing in Maryland
February 28, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony today examines a problem facing not just Maryland, but a number of different states – the erosion of the corporate income tax and the related emergence of profitable “zero-tax corporations.” I also will discuss the single best strategy available to lawmakers seeking to respond to the problem of corporate tax avoidance – mandatory […]
ITEP Testimony on HB 444 Proposal to Exclude Social Security Benefits from Tax
January 30, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony today focuses on one bill introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives: HB 444, which concerns excluding Social Security Benefits from the Missouri’s income tax. In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of this bill on the overall fairness of Missouri’s tax system. Read the Full Report (PDF)
Dollars and Cents – Bringing Nebraska’s Tax System Into the 21st Century (Powerpoint)
January 17, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
Goals of the Workshop • What makes a good state tax system?• How does Nebraska’s tax system (and those of other states) fall short?• Options for reform: A national perspective• Back to reality: the best and worst of tax reform in 2005-2006.• Federal legislation: threats & opportunities Download the Powerpoint
Why Large Corporations Can Do Business in Your State Tax-Free – The “Substantial Nexus” Test
December 15, 2006 • By ITEP Staff
The holiday season is in full swing — and chances are you’re buying gifts on the Internet or over the phone, from people you will never meet and companies that will never set foot in your state. These companies are clearly benefitting from services provided by your state government. They could not conduct their business […]
How Will the 2006 Special Session Affect Louisiana Tax Fairness?
December 12, 2006 • By ITEP Staff
Louisiana lawmakers currently face a pleasant dilemma: how to dispose of a short-term budget surplus exceeding $2 billion. In the opening days of the special legislative session that began last Friday, tax writers in the House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee approved several bills that would reduce state income tax collections substantially. This analysis […]
Analysis of Proposed Capital Gains Tax Cut
July 15, 2006 • By ITEP Staff
The Ohio legislature is considering a proposal to scrap the current Ohio rule that taxes capital gains (profits from selling stock, investment real estate, etc.) at the same rates as other income. The plan would reduce the maximum Ohio tax rate on capital gains as follows: In 2007, from the currently scheduled 6.555 percent to […]
ITEP Testimony on HB 1960 Proposed Income Tax Reform
April 5, 2006 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony today focuses on one bill introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives: HB 1960, which concerns reforming the state’s individual income tax structure. In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of this bill on the overall fairness of Missouri’s tax system. This bill would make the overall tax structure more equitable and […]
Achieving Adequacy: Tax Options for New York in the Wake of the CFE Case
April 15, 2005 • By ITEP Staff
Achieving Adequacy is intended to provide a useful resource for understanding the impact of recent school finance legislation on the state’s tax and education system. The study examines options available to New York policy makers as they seek to adequately fund elementary and secondary education and other public services. Read the Full Report (PDF)
ITEP Testimony Bill 16-35 Proposed Income Tax Changes
March 14, 2005 • By ITEP Staff
ITEP’s analysis of Bill 16-35 shows that it would impact the District’s tax system in two important ways. First, the bill would make the District’s tax system less unfair by reducing the income tax on low- and middle-income D.C. residents. Second, it would reduce the revenues available to fund public services by about $86 million […]
ITEP Testimony on SB 403 and SB 748 – Combined Reporting & Corporate Minimum Tax
March 9, 2005 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony today focuses on a trend in the Maryland corporate income tax that is becoming increasingly visible—the emergence of profitable “zero-tax corporations”—and on two effective and complementary solutions to this problem, mandatory combined reporting and a gross-receipts-based minimum corporate tax. Requiring combined reporting of the income of multi-state corporations would help ensure the long-term […]
State Corporate Income Taxes 2001-2003
February 15, 2005 • By ITEP Staff
Last September, Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy published Corporate Income Taxes in the Bush Years, an in-depth look at the taxes that 275 large, profitable corporations paid, or failed to pay, on their U.S. profits over the 2001-03 period. That study found that by 2003, these corporations were […]
The Impact of the Tennessee Tax Structure Study Commission’s Tax Reform Recommendations on Tax Fairness
December 14, 2004 • By ITEP Staff
Tennessee’s tax system is regressive, requiring low- and middle-income families to pay more of their income in tax than wealthier Tennesseans. A tax reform plan recently proposed by the Tennessee Tax Structure Study Commission would reduce the state sales tax, repeal local sales taxes, cut business taxes, and introduce a personal income tax. This analysis […]
Corporate Income Taxes in the Bush Years
September 15, 2004 • By ITEP Staff
This study details which companies have benefitted the most from the decline in corporate taxes over the past three years, and which have been less fortunate. It also measures the effects of loopholes in our corporate tax laws that predated the George W. Bush administration. Specifically, the study looks at the federal income taxes paid […]
The Effects of Replacing Most Federal Taxes with a National Sales Tax
September 15, 2004 • By ITEP Staff
Recently, there has been renewed discussion of the possibility of replacing most federal taxes with a national retail sales tax. Such an idea was broached in the 1990s, but political interest waned when it was discovered that it would take a sales-tax rate well in excess of 50 percent to replace existing federal revenues. In […]
The Impact of the Ron Sims Tax Plan on Washington Tax Fairness
August 17, 2004 • By ITEP Staff
Washington’s tax system is regressive, requiring low- and middle-income families to pay far more of their income in tax than wealthier Washingtonians. A tax reform plan recently proposed by gubernatorial candidate Ron Sims would change the state’s tax system by repealing the state’s general business tax and the state sales tax, creating a $100,000 homeowner’s […]
Federal Taxation of Earnings Versus Investment Income in 2004
May 15, 2004 • By ITEP Staff
How do personal taxes on total investment income compare to taxes on earnings right now? This paper addresses that question. The analysis includes both the individual income tax, which applies in varying degrees to both earnings and investment income, and Social Security and Medicare taxes, which apply only to wages and selfemployment earnings. The central […]
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