Sales, Gas and Excise Taxes
140 posts
New State Taxes on the Wealthy Raise Revenue and Rebalance Tax Codes, Advancing Racial Justice
• By Brakeyshia Samms
Taxing the rich is proven fiscal policy – it raises revenue for vital public services and makes tax codes fairer. But a part of the debate that rarely gets enough attention: taxing the rich is also one of the most effective tools available for advancing racial equity.
The Changing Landscape of State Tax Rates
• By Sarah Austin
Many states have repeatedly cut top personal and corporate income tax rates in recent years, sometimes while approving increased sales tax rates to push tax systems in a more regressive direction. Other states, however, have charted a very different course and have moved to increase taxes on higher income households to fund public services.
Ineffective Sales Tax Holidays Miss the Mark
• By Miles Trinidad
Twenty states have sales tax holidays in 2026. These sales tax holidays will cost states and localities nearly $600 million in lost revenue this year, and they're poorly targeted and too temporary to meaningfully change the regressive nature of a state’s tax system.
Missouri’s Amendment 5 Would Cut Taxes for the Rich and Raise Taxes on Seniors and the Middle Class
• By Eli Byerly-Duke
On August 4, Missouri voters will vote on whether to increase taxes on the middle class and seniors to fund tax cuts for the richest households in the state.
A Growing Number of States Are Taxing the Sale of Advertising
• By Nick Johnson
ITEP’s report on taxing advertising identifies some reasons why states are curtailing longstanding sales tax exemptions for the ad sector.
Taxing Advertising Would Modernize State Sales Tax Bases for the Information Age
• By Nick Johnson
Most states questionably exempt advertising from sales taxes. States that extend their sales taxes to advertising and/or enact an excise tax stand to raise billions in revenue while correcting a structural bias in their tax codes that implicitly subsidizes some of the most profitable corporations in human history.
States Like Missouri Are Seeking to Raise Taxes on the Working Class to Cut Taxes for the Rich
• By Eli Byerly-Duke
A proposal to replace the Missouri personal income tax with a higher sales tax would increase costs for low- and middle-income households while giving the richest Missourians an average annual tax cut of almost $40,000.
These States Are Most Impacted by the Spike in Gas Prices
• By Carl Davis
The recent spike in gasoline prices is on pace to cost American drivers an extra $9.4 billion per month. Gas prices are up dramatically across the country, but the South has been hit hardest and is on pace to pay $4.2 billion more per month.
An Anti-Affordability Agenda: Trump’s Advisors Call on States to Raise Taxes on the Working Class and Drastically Cut Taxes for the Rich
• By Carl Davis
The Trump administration’s Council of Economic Advisors suggests that states consider drastically raising sales taxes and using those new revenues to pay for repealing taxes on corporate and personal income. Working-class families would face dramatic tax increases while the nation’s wealthiest families would see their state tax bills plummet.
Historical State Tax Rate Data
• By ITEP Staff
Download the Data Overview This historical dataset of state tax rates includes data on statutory top personal income tax rates, top corporate income tax rates, and sales tax rates for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, back to the adoption of modern forms of state taxation at the start of the 20th century. […]
In 2025, Voters Said Yes to Public Resources and Community Investments
• By Rita Jefferson
Important tax measures were on the ballot this week, and the outcomes are clear: many voters support new state and local spending to support critical services in their communities.
Sales Tax Holidays Miss the Mark When it Comes to Effective Sales Tax Reform
• By Miles Trinidad
Sales tax holidays are often marketed as relief for everyday families, but they do little to address the deeper inequities of regressive sales taxes. In 2025, 18 states offer these holidays at a collective cost of $1.3 billion.
Two in Three Americans Live in States with Variable-Rate Gas Taxes
• By Carl Davis
As inflation and fuel efficiency undercut traditional gas tax revenue, many states are rethinking how they fund transportation. Lawmakers across the country are beginning to modernize outdated gas tax systems to keep pace with rising infrastructure costs and changing driving habits.
Policymakers Unwisely Propose Cutting Property Taxes in Favor of Sales Taxes
• By Rita Jefferson
Lawmakers across the country are taking aim at property taxes with a new strategy: raising sales taxes instead. Doing so would create a regressive tax shift that puts unfair burdens on renters and reduces the strength of local government revenues.
Average Louisianans Will Pay for Gov. Landry’s Tax Break for the Rich
• By Neva Butkus
Tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations will not make Louisiana more competitive. Rather, they will blow a hole in the state budget while asking low- and middle-income working families to make up the difference. Gov. Landry and the Louisiana legislature would make much better use of their time looking for ways to make Louisiana’s tax structure fairer and more capable of adequately funding important priorities.
Taxing Transportation Is One Great Way to Reduce Carbon Emissions
• By Amy Hanauer
Federal, state, and local tax codes are important but underused tools that can create a more climate-resilient, less carbon-emitting America. A modernized tax code would stop subsidizing emissions and instead encourage lower-carbon design. Because cars and trucks produce roughly one-fourth of US greenhouse gas emissions, transportation taxation is a great starting point.
2024 State Tax Ballot Questions: Voters to Weigh in on Tax Changes Big and Small
• By Jon Whiten
As we approach November’s election, voters in several states will be weighing in on tax policy changes. The outcomes will impact the equity of state and local tax systems and the adequacy of the revenue those systems are able to raise to fund public services.
Sales Tax Holidays Miss the Mark When it Comes to Effective Sales Tax Reform
• By Marco Guzman
Nineteen states have sales tax holidays on the books in 2024. These suspensions combined will cost states and localities over $1.3 billion in lost revenue this year. Sales tax holidays are poorly targeted and too temporary to meaningfully change the regressive nature of a state’s tax system.
Five Tax Takeaways from 2024 State Legislative Sessions
• By Aidan Davis
Major tax cuts were largely rejected this year, but states continue to chip away at income taxes. And while property tax cuts were a hot topic across the country, many states failed to deliver effective solutions to affordability issues.
Is California Really a High-Tax State?
• By Carl Davis, Eli Byerly-Duke
Key Findings For families of modest means, California is not a high-tax state. California taxes are close to the national average for families in the bottom 80 percent of the income scale. For the bottom 40 percent of families, California taxes are lower than states like Florida and Texas. The highest earners usually pay higher […]
Eliminating Indiana’s Income Tax Would Jeopardize Public Services & Create a Windfall for the Well-Off
• By Neva Butkus
Meaningful investments in Indiana’s future require a smart, and fair, tax code that recognizes current economic realities and can raise a sustainable stream of funding from those most able to pay.
A Lot for A Little: Gimmicky Sales Tax Holidays Are an Ineffective Substitute for Real Sales Tax Reform
• By Marco Guzman
This year, 19 states will forgo a combined $1.6 billion in tax revenue on sales tax holidays—politically popular, yet ultimately ineffective gimmicks with minimal benefits and significant downsides.
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
• By Marco Guzman
Nineteen states have sales tax holidays on the books in 2023, and these suspensions will cost nearly $1.6 billion in lost revenue this year. Sales tax holidays are poorly targeted and too temporary to meaningfully change the regressive nature of a state’s tax system. Overall, the benefits of sales tax holidays are minimal while their downsides are significant.
New ITEP Brief Shows How State Sales Tax Holidays Fail to Live Up to the Hype
• By Marco Guzman
Twenty states this year have decided to go so far as to forgo a combined $1 billion in vital tax revenue in favor of conveniently popular yet ultimately ineffective sales tax holidays. Whether it’s a state looking for a way to help families manage the rising cost of goods or to celebrate back-to-school shopping season, these policy options are poorly targeted and an inadequate use of state tax revenue that could be doing more to…
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
• By Marco Guzman
Lawmakers in many states have enacted “sales tax holidays” (20 states will hold them in 2022) to temporarily suspend the tax on purchases of clothing, school supplies, and other items. These holidays may seem to lessen the regressive impacts of the sales tax, but their benefits are minimal while their downsides are significant—particularly as lawmakers have sought to apply the concept as a substitute for more meaningful, permanent reform or arbitrarily reward people with specific…
Sales, excise, and gas taxes are an important source of revenue for states. The sales tax, in fact accounts for half of all state tax revenue. Forty-five states levy broad-based sales taxes, every state levies at least some type of tax on consumption, and all states have a tax on gasoline. But these taxes aren’t without problems.
Sales taxes are inherently regressive—requiring lower- and middle-income taxpayers to spend a larger share of their household budgets in tax than their wealthier neighbors. The gas tax provides funding for infrastructure, but many states have not modernized their gas tax, meaning it no longer raises adequate revenue. ITEP resources on sales, excise and gas taxes provide general and state-specific information about the mechanics of these taxes and options for reform.
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