States
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report September 18, 2014 State Tax Codes As Poverty Fighting Tools
Read the Report in PDF Form The Census Bureau released data in September showing that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high. In 2013, the national poverty rate… -
report August 5, 2014 Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
Sales taxes are an important revenue source, comprising close to half of all state revenues in 2013. But sales taxes are also inherently regressive because the lower a family’s income, the more of its income the family must spend on things subject to the tax.
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brief July 30, 2014 Options for Progressive Sales Tax Relief
See the 2016 Updated Brief Here Read the Policy Brief in PDF Form Sales taxes are one of the most important revenue sources for state and local governments—and are also… -
report July 21, 2014 State Estate and Inheritance Taxes
For much of the last century, estate and inheritance taxes have played an important role in helping states to adequately fund public services in a way that improves the progressivity of state tax systems. While many of the taxes levied by state and local governments fall most heavily on low-income families, only the very wealthy pay estate and inheritance taxes.
Recent changes in the federal estate tax, however, culminating in the “fiscal cliff ” deal of early 2013, have forced states to reevaluate the structure of their estate and inheritance taxes. Unfortunately, the trend of late has tended toward weakening or completely eliminating state estate taxes. This policy brief discusses inheritance and estate taxes and how states can adopt these important components of a progressive tax structure.
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media mention June 5, 2014 South Florida Times: State Policies Affect the Middle Class
By David Madland and Keith Miller, June 5, 2014 The past 30 years has not been kind to Florida’s middle class which now ranks among the weakest in the nation.… -
media mention June 5, 2014 AP: State Governments May Be Expanding the Wealth Gap
“What’s happening at the state level is increasingly important, and, to many eyes, it appears to be moving things in one direction — towards greater inequality,” said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington-based tax research group.
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report May 28, 2014 Pay-Per-Mile Tax is Only a Partial Fix
The gasoline tax is the single largest source of funding for transportation infrastructure in the United States, but the tax is on an unsustainable course. Sluggish gas tax revenue growth has put strain on transportation budgets at the federal and state levels, and has led to countless debates around the country about how best to pay for America’s infrastructure.
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report May 21, 2014 STAMP is an Unsound Tool for Gauging the Economic Impact of Taxes
The Beacon Hill Institute (BHI), a free-market think tank located at Suffolk University, frequently uses its State Tax Analysis Modeling Program (STAMP) to perform analyses purporting to show that lowering taxes, or not raising them, will benefit state economies. But STAMP suffers from a number of serious methodological problems and should not be relied upon by anybody seeking to understand the economic impacts of state tax policies.
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brief May 20, 2014 The Federal Gas Tax: Long Overdue for Reform
The federal gas tax is a critical source of funding for the nation’s transportation system, but its design is fundamentally flawed. In recent years, the consequences of those flaws have become increasingly obvious, as the federal government has struggled to fund a 21st century transportation network with a gas tax that has predictably failed to keep pace with the nation’s growing infrastructure needs. This ITEP Policy Brief explains how the federal gas tax works, its importance as a transportation revenue source, the problems confronting the gas tax, and the reforms that are needed to overcome these problems.
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report May 15, 2014 Improving Tax Fairness with a State Earned Income Tax Credit
The simplest, most effective, and most targeted way to begin to counteract regressive state tax codes is a refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia already have some version of a state EITC. Each one is modeled on the federal credit, making it easy for taxpayers to claim and simple for state tax officials to administer. This report explains how all states – even those who already have some form of the credit – can use the state EITC as a tool for improving the fairness of their state tax code.
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media mention May 12, 2014 Des Moines Register: Iowa Fuel Tax Hits Low
By Jason Noble, May 10, 2014 “Iowa is one of 10 states in which fuel taxes have hit an inflation-adjusted “all-time low,” according to a report issued last week by… -
media mention May 12, 2014 Politico: What’s Next for That Ca. CEO Pay Bill?
Morning Tax, May 12, 2014 Matthew Gardner, the executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said while the bill highlights “two vital problems we ought to fix… -
media mention May 12, 2014 The Baltimore Sun: The Tax They’re Not Talking About
By the Editorial Board, May 12, 2014 With varying degrees of aggressiveness and specificity, all seven candidates for governor are pledging to change Maryland’s tax code. The ideas range from… -
report May 8, 2014 Gas Tax Hits Rock Bottom in Ten States
In most states, the gasoline tax is set at a fixed number of cents per gallon of gas. South Carolina drivers, for example, have been paying 16 cents per gallon in state tax for more than a quarter century.1 But while this type of fixed-rate gas tax may appear to be flat over time, its lack of change in the face of inflation means that its “real” value, or purchasing power, is steadily declining. In ten states, this decline has brought the state’s inflation-adjusted gas tax rate to its lowest level in the state’s history.
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media mention April 30, 2014 The Bergen Record: Christie: “Nothing off the Table,” in Filling NJ’s $807B Budget Gap
(Original post) By John Reitmeyer, April 30, 2014 Governor Christie said “there’s nothing off the table” as he considers ways to plug a projected $807 million budget gap with just… -
media mention April 11, 2014 The Courier-Journal: Pass tax reform for 21st century Kentucky
(Original post) Col Owens, April 11, 2014 The General Assembly has just passed another inadequate state budget. And once again, it has failed to give Kentucky a tax system that… -
media mention April 11, 2014 The Chicago Tribune: Four reasons why Mayor Emmanuel shouldn’t reject a city tax
(Original post) By Eric Zorn, April 11, 2014 I reject … the idea of a city income tax. I think that’s not the right way to go… Chicago Mayor Rahm… -
media mention April 11, 2014 Springfield News-Sun: Benefits of tax proposal plan debated
Information from the Institute on Taxation and Economic policy showed the top 1 percent of Ohio taxpayers would receive about $2,847 in tax cuts, but Schiller said residents making between $34,000 and $54,000 a year would only see a tax break of about $13.
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ITEP Work in Action April 9, 2014 Center for American Progress: How the Ryan Budget Fails Our Economy by Failing Economics
When House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) introduced his latest budget resolution, it predictably included harsh cuts to the vital programs for poor and middle-class Americans that are at… -
report April 1, 2014 Most Americans Live in States with Variable-Rate Gas Taxes
The federal government and many states are seeing shortfalls in their transportation budgets in part because the gasoline taxes they use to generate those funds are poorly designed. Thirty-two states and the federal government levy “fixed-rate” gas taxes where the tax rate does not change even as the cost of infrastructure materials inevitably increases over time. The federal government’s 18.4 cent gas tax, for example, has not increased in over twenty years. And almost half the states (24) have gone a decade or more without a gas tax increase.
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report March 19, 2014 90 Reasons We Need State Corporate Tax Reform
As states struggle with tough budget decisions about funding essential public services, profitable Fortunate 500 companies are paying little or nothing in state income taxes thanks to copious loopholes, lavish giveaways and crafty accounting, a new study by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy reveals.
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ITEP Work in Action March 18, 2014 Economic Policy Institute: The ‘Better Off Budget’
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has unveiled its fiscal year 2015 (FY2015) budget, titled the “Better Off Budget.” It builds on recent CPC budget alternatives in prioritizing near-term job creation,… -
report February 25, 2014 The Sorry State of Corporate Taxes
Many of America’s Most Profitable Corporations Pay Little or No Federal Income Taxes; Multinationals Pay Higher Rates Abroad Than in the U.S.
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media mention February 19, 2014 The Capital Times: Scott Walker redistributes wealth — upward
(Original Post) Scott Walker may not know how to create jobs. But he does know how to create income inequality. The governor’s election-season tax cut scheme is widening the gap… -
ITEP Work in Action January 30, 2014 Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED): 2014 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard
In the wake of the recession, policymakers at all levels of government adopted policies aimed at hastening the recovery and increasing financial security and opportunity. Cities, counties and states…