ITEP Work in Action

The Arizona legislature is poised to permanently cut over a billion dollars in state revenues, the largest tax cut in the last three decades. This cut will make Arizona’s tax system more regressive than it is today with 91 percent of the tax cuts going to people in the top 20 percent of incomes. Read […]

The current taxation system exacerbates economic and racial disparities rather than generating sufficient revenue to be redistributed for the common good. Billionaires and corporations benefit from subsidies and tax breaks to accumulate wealth while avoiding taxation. Meanwhile low-income people and communities, who are disproportionately Black, are targeted for higher taxes and more aggressive enforcement of […]

The Idaho Legislature is considering a proposal that would reduce the number of income tax brackets from seven to five, cut income and corporate tax rates and provide a one-time tax rebate. HB380 is a revised version of HB332, with one significant change, the elimination of two tax brackets, which serves to make Idaho’s tax […]

In 2017, New Jersey Policy Perspective released the Blueprint for Economic Justice and Shared Prosperity. It charted a course forward for the state after decades of short-sighted policymaking that exacerbated racial disparities, spread economic inequality, and weakened our ability to address emergent problems. Now, as we begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, […]

Homeowners of color who sell their homes receive lower prices due to such factors as reduced neighborhood school quality, but they pay the same property taxes because these factors are not incorporated into tax assessments. Black and Hispanic homeowners also face discrimination in assessment appeals. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy explains the regressivity […]

North Carolina’s current tax code asks the top to pay less as a share of their income than taxpayers with poverty-level incomes. By putting in place tax policies that would ask just 1 percent of North Carolinians to pay slightly more, North Carolina can invest in a more equitable, just recovery for everyone. Read more

The 2022-23 state budget presents Ohio lawmakers with an opportunity to rebuild communities so all people, no matter what they look like or how much money they have, can thrive and succeed. But instead of using all available options to support communities, the Ohio House Republican majority proposed a budget that would cut income taxes […]

Legacies of historical racist policies and ongoing discrimination in areas such as education, employment, and housing have barred many Californians of color from economic opportunities. As a result, Californians of color — particularly Black, Latinx, and American Indian Californians — are less likely to have high incomes and to have built enough wealth to be […]

Discovery No. 1 one is that almost no major U.S. corporation, certainly not those that do business overseas, actually pays the 21% corporate tax rate, set by law. In fact, on average, Fortune 500 companies pay about half that much – 11.3% according to the non-profit Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy and Taxation, working […]

North Carolina’s tax code and budget are wrought with such policy choices, which can result in racist outcome that worsen barriers to well-being for people and communities of color, according to new data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The greater tax load carried by Black, Indigenous, and Latinx residents has been […]

Tax policy plays a role in the fight for economic and racial justice. The type of tax and how it is structured matters. A new report issued by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), Taxes and Racial Equity , explains how historical and contemporary policy choices have resulted in tax codes that maintain […]

North Carolina’s tax code and budget are wrought with such policy choices, which can result in racist outcomes that worsen barriers to well-being for people and communities of color, according to new data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The greater tax load carried by Black, Indigenous, and Latinx residents has been […]

As vaccines for COVID-19 make their way into the arms of Americans, a sense of normality feels within reach. But going back to normal is not what working Oregonians need. We need a reimagined sense of “normal” – one in which workers get paid living wages and the rich pay their fair share. When you […]

Historic and current injustices – both in public policy and in society more broadly – have resulted in vast disparities in income across race and ethnicity in Louisiana. Unfortunately, our tax system plays an active role in worsening these disparities by asking those with the least to contribute the largest share of their income to […]

The public discourse over inequality and racial disparities has rightly shifted to how to dismantle structural challenges that create these gross inequities. Addressing racial disparities will require a concerted effort by government across all policy areas. A new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) offers some perspective on how state and […]

This week, the Senate Finance Committee took up HB 3300, the House’s income tax cut plan, and made significant changes before quickly passing it out of committee. Unlike the House plan, which phased out the income tax over time with no revenue offsets, the Senate’s plan is more similar to the governor’s proposal, making a […]

This latest round of federal fiscal relief will help reduce hardship as a result of the pandemic, particularly for Californians with low incomes and people of color, and begins to set the stage for a more equitable economic recovery. This report outlines key provisions of the plan and what it means for Californians. Read more

The Idaho Legislature is considering a proposal that would cut income and corporate tax rates and provide a one-time tax rebate. Under the proposal, the tax benefits from this proposed legislation are heavily lopsided. Taking all provisions into account, households with very modest earnings would receive a $78 average tax cut, and the top 1 […]

Mississippi’s House of Representatives recently passed House Bill 1439 (“the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2021”). The House passed the 300-page bill less than 24 hours after they introduced it with little debate and no fiscal note. The plan revives the recurring attempts of some lawmakers to cut state income taxes, but does much more. […]

Members of the Washington State Senate have an historic opportunity to create a more just state tax code while bolstering and sustaining our state’s fiscal and economic recovery long after federal recovery funds fade away. Senate Bill 5096 would create a new 7% excise tax on extraordinary profits from the sale of financial assets (capital […]

Governor Justice has finally unveiled his proposal to make sweeping changes to the state’s tax system, including a substantial cut to the state’s personal income tax, while raising a variety of sales and other taxes. The changes would be a dramatic shift in who pays state taxes in West Virginia, shifting the responsibility onto working […]

A tax system that adequately advances racial and economic justice must be progressive, requiring the richest people to pay a much higher share of their income in taxes than lower-income families who have little or no wiggle room in their family budget. Yet new findings from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a […]

Finally, the state budget could take a hit if wage theft persists. Sales tax revenue as an effect of higher minimum wages is particularly relevant to highlight in Florida. The state lacks a personal income tax and over 75 percent of its general revenue fund is comprised of sales tax revenue. General revenue supports critical […]

Florida, lacking a personal income tax, relies on sales tax revenue to support critical areas like education and health and human services. More than 75 percent of Florida’s General Revenue Fund, which finances most of these vital services, is comprised of sales tax revenue. Furthermore, Florida households are the highest contributors to sales tax collections, […]

Our tax dollars serve as shared investments in the programs and services that make our state a great place to live, work, and play. Tax dollars enable Montanans to work together for things we cannot achieve alone like a quality education for our children, the development and maintenance of infrastructure, public safety through police and […]