Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

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6,242 posts

The Huffington Post: Tom Perkins: People With More Money Should Get More Votes

February 14, 2014

(Original Post) The Huffington Post | by Jillian BermanPosted: 02/14/2014 9:39 am EST Updated: 02/14/2014 11:59 am EST Tom Perkins is desperately trying to extend his 15 minutes of infamy. The 82-year-old venture capitalist, who recently made a lot of people angry by comparing progressives to Nazis, told an audience in San Francisco Thursday that […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Income-tax cut would favor well-to-do

• By ITEP Staff

An across-the-board cut in rates favored by Gov. Kasich may allow low-income Ohioans to buy a slice of pizza a year, on average. Those in the middle could purchase a cheap pizza maker, while the state’s most affluent taxpayers could use their cut to go on a round-trip for two to Italy, with money left […]

WFPL: Gov. Steve Beshear’s Tax Plan Fails to Address Inequality, Economic Think Tank Says

February 11, 2014

(Original Post) By JONATHAN MEADOR Credit Rae Hodge/Kentucky Public Radio Steve Beshear Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s tax reform plan fails to address issues of fairness in the state’s tax code, says a non-partisan economic think tank. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy doesn’t think the plan’s Earned Income Tax Credit will be enough to […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Measuring the Tax Plan Against Key Principles

• By ITEP Staff

Governor Beshear has released his tax reform proposal, and analysis and debate over the plan has begun. It’s important that this discussion keep in mind three principles that are needed in a tax reform plan in order to move Kentucky forward: First, tax reform should generate significant new revenue now to allow Kentucky to begin […]

Lexington Herald-Leader: Get it right, go big on tax reform

February 10, 2014

(Original Post) February 9, 2014 Lawmakers have plenty of time to dig into tax reform and improve on what Gov. Steve Beshear has proposed. While Beshear is offering some good ideas, his package does too little to broaden the state’s loophole-ridden tax base while carving out even more loopholes. Kentucky already exempts more in taxes […]

Open Sky Policy Institute: Looking for Clarity: An Overview of Nebraska Budget and Tax Policy

• By ITEP Staff

To help Huskers decode how Nebraska makes budget decisions and creates tax policy, we have created Looking for Clarity: An Overview of Nebraska Budget and Tax Policy. This easy-to-read primer takes the confusion out of Nebraska’s laws and tax codes and distills it into a concise, manageable summary of how Nebraska collects and spends funds. […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Tax Plan Misses Opportunity to Make Overall Tax System Fairer

• By ITEP Staff

The combined impact of the tax increases and tax cuts in Governor Beshear’s reform proposal would not help improve the regressive nature of Kentucky’s tax system, according to analysis of the plan released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The plan would basically maintain the existing distribution of taxes for individuals, […]

Open Sky Policy Institute: Income tax cut bills would decimate state budget, lead to cuts, property tax hikes

• By ITEP Staff

A pair of bills to cut income taxes would blow holes in the state budget, aren’t aimed at the middle class and are not likely to grow the economy. Furthermore, the bills — LB 1097 and LB 721 — likely would lead to higher property taxes and cuts to investments in schools and other key […]

The Garden Island: Licensed to drive

February 3, 2014

(Original Post) Bill would allow undocumented residents to acquire driver’s license Posted: Monday, February 3, 2014 2:00 am Tom LaVenture – The Garden Island LIHUE — Proposed legislation would amend state requirements to allow undocumented residents to qualify for a driver’s license in the interest of public safety, identification and insurance coverage. The “Safe and […]

Tax Analysts: Short on Revenue, State and Local Governments Turn to Nonprofits

February 3, 2014

  And in North Carolina, lawmakers and leaders of nonprofits fought a bitter battle last year over exemptions for nonprofits. Ultimately, HB 998 capped nonprofits’ sales tax refunds at $45 million and required them to begin collecting sales and use taxes on admission charges to entertainment activities. Their property, income, and payroll tax exemptions were […]

La Crosse Tribune: Q&A – Gov. Scott Walker’s tax cut proposal

February 3, 2014

(Original Post) MATTHEW DeFOUR | Wisconsin State Journal | State lawmakers have nearly a billion dollars at their disposal because of higher-than-expected past and future tax revenues. As a result, Gov. Scott Walker has proposed more than $500 million in tax cuts. The Legislature will take up the plan as early as Feb. 11. Here’s […]

Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED): 2014 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard

• By ITEP Staff

  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 created programs that connected the “unbanked” to the financial mainstream, raised the minimum wage and even encouraged poor children to save for college—significantly increasing the […]

WFSU: Florida Retail Federation Backing Tax Holidays, Proposals To Expand Pharmacist Duties

January 30, 2014

(Original Post) Health & Science 4:32 PM TUE JANUARY 28, 2014 By LYNN HATTER The Florida Retail Federation is gearing up for the 2014 legislative session by throwing its support behind a series of proposed sales tax holidays and proposals to expand the duties of pharmacists. Vice President Randy Miller says the group is behind […]

The News Virginian: Teachers impacted as tax breaks expire

January 29, 2014

(Original Post) Posted: Saturday, January 25, 2014 6:45 am Brian Carlton bcarlton@newsvirginian.com According to the Internal Revenue Service, an estimated 4 million teachers spent more than $1 billion paying for school supplies between 2010 and 2013. When those teachers go to fill out federal income tax forms next year, they won’t be able to include […]

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Top wage earners get biggest benefit from Gov. Scott Walker’s tax cuts

January 27, 2014

(Original Post) That group pays more, would gain most from property tax trim By Jason Stein and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel Jan. 24, 2014 Madison — The top 20% of Wisconsin wage earners — those making more than $88,000 a year and paying the most in taxes now — would receive 44% of […]

The Fiscal Times: The 10 Best States for Taxes in 2014

January 27, 2014

(Original Post) BETH BRAVERMAN The Fiscal Times January 24, 2014 Anyone who has a head start on tax planning this year knows that many Americans – particularly high earners – are paying a lot more in taxes this year. But while there’s no dodging federal taxes, the pinch of additional levies varies greatly depending on […]

Wisconsin Budget Project: Top 5% of Wisconsin Residents Get 18% of Tax Cuts Proposed by the Governor

• By ITEP Staff

The distribution of the tax cuts proposed by the Governor isn’t our chief concern about how he would use the projected state surplus. We’re primarily concerned that Governor Walker’s plan ignores holes in the current budget, and creates a deeper hole in the next one – boosting the structural deficit in 2013-15 to about $825 […]

Missouri Budget Project: Tax Proposals Before Senate Ways & Means Would Dramatically Reduce State Revenue, Disporportionately Benefit Wealthiest, But Not Create Jobs

• By ITEP Staff

The Missouri Senate Ways & Means Committee will hear three major tax bills this week. Though they differ in their components, each would drastically reduce state revenue, disproportionately benefit Missourians with the highest incomes, and fail to create jobs. MBP’s full analysis of the bills shows it would cost state services between $500 million and […]

Open Sky Policy Institute: Typical family pays less tax in Nebraska than in most similar states

• By ITEP Staff

Middle-income Nebraskans pay relatively low taxes compared to their counterparts in eight nearby states with similar economies and tax structures. A family earning the median family income in Nebraska ($63,442) would pay less in taxes than a similar family in all but two of these states – Colorado and Kansas. (Table 1) The other comparable […]

Milwaukee Courier: Gov. Walker plans massive sales tax hike on the working class

January 22, 2014

(Original Post) 18 JANUARY 2014 Compiled by Courier Staff It’s no secret that Wisconsin is in poor economic shape. Recent numbers indicate that the state is 38th in private sector job growth in the last two years. Despite Governor Scott Walker’s insistence that his Tea Party reforms are working, families in Milwaukee and across the […]

The Courier-Journal: 3 key principles must guide tax code changes

January 22, 2014

  Jason Bailey Special to The Courier-Journal Gov. Steve Beshear announced in his State of the Commonwealth Address that he will propose a specific tax reform plan to the General Assembly. His leadership is welcome and is essential to building support for such an important issue. The big question now concerns the specifics of a […]

NHPR: N.H. Legislators Will Make Another Run At Raising Gas Tax

January 22, 2014

(Original Post) By BRIAN WALLSTIN A year after failing to agree on how to pay for a long list of road and bridge improvements, lawmakers will take another shot at bolstering the state’s chronically underfunded infrastructure this session. Several bills are on the table, including one that would channel proceeds from a casino into the […]

Honolulu Civil Beat: It’s Time to Revamp Hawaii’s GET

January 17, 2014

(Original Post) By Victor Geminiani  01/16/2014 Hawaii taxes our residents in poverty more heavily than all but three other states in the nation. Most of this regressivity is caused by our heavy reliance on the General Excise Tax (GET), which generates half of all revenues collected by the state. Sales and excise taxes are the […]

Southtown Star: Tax breaks for businesses too costly

January 17, 2014

(Original Post) January 15, 2014 8:20PM Updated: January 16, 2014 7:28AM  Those who think that offering tax incentives to corporations to keep them in our state should look at a study by the non-profit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The study concludes that tax incentives not only are too costly for states but provide […]

Al Jazeera America: America’s crumbling infrastructure desperately needs funding

January 17, 2014

(Original Post) by Patrick J. Natale January 17, 2014 Congress should act now to avoid a transportation fiscal cliff in 2015 Last month, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) introduced the Update, Promote and Develop America’s Transportation Essentials (UPDATE) Act. The proposed bill lays out a clear roadmap on how to restore and modernize America’s surface transportation […]