Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

States

Huffington Post: Did A Giant Pothole Swallow Your Car? Blame Congress.

July 20, 2015

The issue, said Carl Davis, research director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, is growing in importance every year that state and federal governments fail to update gas tax rates. “We are reaching a breaking point right now as evidenced by all the gas tax increases we’ve seen enacted in just a little […]

Columbus Dispatch: Budget Doesn’t Do Right by Poor Ohioans

July 15, 2015

One immoral aspect of Ohio’s budget is the ongoing tax shift that blesses the rich and slaps the poor. According to a recent Dispatch article, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, said that the new budget gives the richest 1 percent of Ohioans an average tax cut of $10,236 per […]

State Tax Notes: States Increase Gas Tax in Push for Transportation Funds

July 13, 2015

In the absence of a national gasoline tax increase, states have been raising their gas taxes to fund long-deferred road maintenance and transportation projects. “I think what’s happening now is a lot of states are having to play catch-up. They let their infrastructure deteriorate to a point where it’s an issue that can’t be ignored […]

Decatur Daily: BP Settlement Doesn’t Change Need for Tax Reform

July 13, 2015

The fiscal 2016 budget shortfall has been inevitable since at least fiscal 2010. Rational tax reform would not increase taxes for most Alabamians. Low- and middle-income Alabamians pay more than twice as much of their income in overall state and local taxes as do those with the highest incomes, according to a study by the […]

Michigan Live: Road Repair Needs Trump ‘No Tax’ Mantra in Several GOP States

July 13, 2015

Eight states, all but one of them headed by Republican governors, have either hiked gas taxes or scaled back planned cuts in order to fund road repairs this year, according to a new Stateline report from The Pew Charitable Trusts. “A lot of states realized they couldn’t put off this issue any longer,” Carl Davis, […]

New York Mag: Rick Perry, Republicans, and the African-American Vote

July 9, 2015

Empowering state and local governments would make African-Americans more vulnerable to the whims of the very governments that have served them poorly. The state and local tax base is highly regressive, with Perry’s Texas being among the worst offenders. (The poorest 20 percent of Texans pay 12.5 percent of their income in state and local […]

TI News Daily: Some States Prefer Transportation Over Tax relief

July 8, 2015

To meet infrastructure needs, several states have had to increase other taxes, such as gasoline taxes. These states include Idaho, Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, Kentucky, Utah and South Dakota. Four of these states are currently finalizing infrastructure funding increases or are still discussing infrastructure funding raises. “A lot of states realized they couldn’t put […]

Cincinnati Inquirer: Wealthiest Gain Most from New Tax Cut

July 7, 2015

An analysis of these tax changes by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a national group with a sophisticated model of the tax system, shows the top 1 percent on average will see an annual tax cut of $10,236. The middle fifth of taxpayers, who made between $37,000 and $58,000, will see an average […]

The Journal News: Raising the Sales Tax, for Better or Worse

July 7, 2015

The downside, not expressed by City Hall, is that sales taxes are regressive — meaning they hurt the poorest citizens the most. That’s because the tax, obviously, only applies to money spent and not money saved. Since the poor tend to save little or not all, they take a greater financial hit. According to a […]

Planetizen: State Gas Tax Changes Effective July 1: Six Up; One Down

July 6, 2015

Carl Davis, Research Director of the Institute on Tax and Economic Policy (ITEP) writes where gas taxes used to fund transportation infrastructure increased, if only by decimal points, and about the aberration—the six-cent plunge in California. “The largest gas tax increases are taking place in Idaho (7 cents per gallon) and Georgia (6.7 cents for […]

Don’t Mess With Taxes: Gasoline, Diesel Taxes Hiked in Seven States on July 1

July 2, 2015

Gas tax cuts stopped in two states: And some drivers who had been expecting lower fuel taxes are disappointed. Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), notes on the Tax Justice Blog that automatic gas tax cuts had been scheduled to take place in Kentucky and North Carolina. Lawmakers […]

Iron Mountain Daily News: Meanwhile, in Minnesota

July 2, 2015

Hey, Michigan, look over here. Look west. OK, that’s Ironwood, which is still in Michigan. A little further.  There you go. Hi. Minnesota’s the name. So you’ve got some state budget issues and you want to increase the gasoline tax. In Michigan, families earning from $17,000 to $34,000 pay 9.4 percent of that income in […]

Huffington Post: ITEP’s Carl Davis: Oregon Started a Trend in 1919 with the Nation’s First Gas Tax. Will It Do So Again?

July 1, 2015

In 1919, Oregon lawmakers were looking for a way to fund road construction and kicked off a national movement when they created the country’s first tax on gasoline. Just over a decade later, every state and the federal government had implemented a gas tax, and it eventually became the most important funding source for the […]

City Lab: 18 Reasons America Should Adopt a Per-Mile Driving Fee

July 1, 2015

Oregon’s much-anticipated per-mile driving fee, called OReGO, launches today. Instead of paying the normal gas tax embedded in the price of fuel, OReGO drivers will pay 1.5 cents for every mile on the road. The initial public rollout is limited to 5,000 vehicles, but the implications of the program are vast: if all goes well, […]

WRPRI: These Tax Cuts and Tax Hikes Take Effect in RI Today

July 1, 2015

July 1 is the first day of Rhode Island state government’s new fiscal year, which means a number of tax changes are taking effect as part of the state budget. Rhode Island is one of six states increasing the gas tax July 1, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal research […]

Equipment World: Gas Tax Increases for Transportation Funding Start Today in 6 States

July 1, 2015

The flurry of state gas tax legislation enacted earlier this year now goes into effect for a handful of states across the country, providing an increase in funding for much-needed transportation projects. “While some drivers may view this as an unwelcome development during the busy summer travel season,” said Carl Davis, research director for the […]

Wichita Eagle: Food Sales Tax Adds Up

July 1, 2015

Brownback and the Legislature raised the sales tax rate to help fill a large revenue shortfall created by the 2012 state income tax cuts, which included eliminating income taxes on about 330,000 owners of limited liability companies and Subchapter S corporations. Though a number of lawmakers argued this past session that the business exemption was […]

Washington Post: On July 1, Lower tolls, Higher Gas Tax in Maryland; Higher VRE Fares in Virginia

June 30, 2015

New laws go into effect Wednesday, as do changes that will impact drivers and commuters in the Washington region. Some rail commuters will pay more in Virginia, while drivers in Maryland will pay less at the toll booth and more at the gas pump. Maryland commuters, who started paying higher fares on MTA transit last […]

Roll Call: Gas Tax to Rise in Six States Next Month

June 30, 2015

“On Wednesday July 1, six states will raise their gasoline tax rates. While some drivers may view this as an unwelcome development during the busy summer travel season, the reality is that most of these ‘increases’ are simply playing catch-up with inflation after years (or even decades) without an update to the gas tax rate,” […]

Spokesman Review: Ready For 7 Cents More At Pumps?

June 30, 2015

Six states are scheduled to increase their gas taxes on July 1 to help pay for transportation projects, according to the Citizens for Tax Justice and Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The groups said Monday that drivers in Idaho, Maryland, Rhode Island, Nebraska and Vermont will be charged more at the pump beginning […]

Washington Post: Fill The Tank Today

June 30, 2015

The residents of six states will pay more at the pump starting July 1 as increased gas taxes go into effect. Motorists in Idaho, Georgia, Maryland, Rhode Island, Nebraska and Vermont will shell out more to refuel. Californians, on the other hand, will pay less. The analysis comes from Citizens for Tax Justice and the […]

Toledo Blade: Bad State Budget

June 30, 2015

The nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that the new budget gives the top 1 percent of Ohio taxpayers — those whose annual incomes exceed $1 million — a tax cut of more than $10,000 a year. They get half the total tax relief. By contrast, the poorest 40 percent of Ohio households, […]

Detroit Free Press: Senate Plan for Roads Includes 15-Cent Boost in Gas Tax

June 30, 2015

LANSING – A 15-cent increase in the tax on gasoline, phased in over three years, would be the centerpiece of a funding plan the state Senate is expected to consider this week as legislators scramble to find a way to repair Michigan’s crater-marked roads and bring relief to drivers. Gas taxes in six other states […]

The Hill: Six States Increasing Gas Taxes on July 1

June 29, 2015

Six states are scheduled to increase their gas taxes on July 1 to help pay for transportation projects, according to the Citizens for Tax Justice and Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy groups. The groups said Monday that drivers in Idaho, Maryland, Rhode Island, Nebraska and Vermont will be charged more at the pump beginning […]

Salon: Chris Matthews is a Dope and Doesn’t Understand Bernie Sanders’ Appeal at All

June 29, 2015

There is similar evidence from American states as well. One of the most common mechanisms of redistribution at the state level is the state income tax, which is often the only tax that falls more heavily on those at the top. While conservative ideologues have routinely portrayed income taxes as a hindrance to economic growth, […]