Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Kamolika Das

Local Policy Director

Kamolika Das

As ITEP’s Local Policy Director, Kamolika provides local tax analysis and recommendations to lawmakers, advocates, researchers, and the public. Kamolika initially joined ITEP as a State Policy Analyst; in this role, she monitored trends in state tax policy, primarily in the South and mid-Atlantic regions. Before joining ITEP, Kamolika promoted tax justice, affordable housing, and workforce development policies at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute. Prior, Kamolika worked as a State & Local Policy Manager for Prosperity Now where she advocated for policies that promote financial stability, wealth and prosperity for low- and middle-income communities.

Kamolika received her Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Ford School at the University of Michigan and Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

 kamolika at itep.org

Recent Publications

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D.C.'s Fiscal Autonomy is at Stake, District's Conformity Decisions Should Stand

February 6, 2026 • By Kamolika Das

Federal lawmakers passed a bill along party lines that would force the District of Columbia to override the decision of local elected officials and implement all of the costly and inequitable federal tax cuts passed under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA).

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Local Governments Are Increasingly Strapped: 2026 Will Bring New Challenges and New Opportunities

January 21, 2026 • By Kamolika Das

2025 saw an intensification of state and local tax fights across the country, as well as growing experimentation with local-option taxes, levies, fees, and tourism taxes aimed at keeping budgets afloat while also navigating political constraints imposed by state legislatures.

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Recent Media Mentions

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Newsweek: Plan To Scrap Property Tax Could See Other Taxes Rise

March 23, 2026 • By Kamolika Das

School property taxes raise between $15 to $17 billion in Pennsylvania, according to Kamolika Das, local policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. This massive revenue source for Pennsylvania would be hard to replace, even if residents were willing to face higher sales and income taxes. Read…

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Audio: ITEP's Kamolika Das on the Need for States to Raise Revenue in the Wake of 2025 Trump Tax Law

February 19, 2026 • By Kamolika Das

Kamolika Das talks about a current nationwide effort to raise revenue in states to replace billions of dollars in vital local and state funding for social safety net programs that were lost in last year’s Trump-GOP budget mega-bill that dramatically cut social programs while giving away huge tax cuts for…

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