Aidan Davis
State Policy Director
Areas of Expertise
State Tax Policy State Tax Trends Budget policy Child tax credit Earned income tax credit Circuit breakersAidan is ITEP’s state policy director. She coordinates ITEP’s state tax policy research and advocacy agenda and works closely with policymakers, legislative staff, and national and state organizations across the country to advance policy solutions that aim to achieve equitable and sustainable state and local tax systems.
Her analyses focus on how tax and budget policies affect low- and moderate-income families as well as how tax and budget policies affect federal, state and local governments’ ability to fund essential public priorities, including education, childcare, infrastructure and health care. Aidan is the lead or co-author of numerous publications on topics including refundable tax credits for workers and families (such as federal and state-level Earned Income Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits), using tax codes to address inequality and poverty, promoting progressive revenue raising options, and the identifying tax policy trends across the country. She is also a co-author of ITEP’s flagship report, Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All Fifty States.
Before joining ITEP in 2015, Aidan focused on state and local budget policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts. In that role she led research, authored reports, and provided technical assistance to help states improve their long-term fiscal health. Prior, Aidan focused on the property tax and a range of issues affecting low-income families while working with the District of Columbia’s Office of Revenue Analysis and the George Washington Institute of Public Policy. Aidan has also consulted, providing fiscal and policy analysis, for Vermont’s Joint Fiscal Office and Barrett and Greene, Inc.
Aidan holds a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University and a Master of Public Policy from George Washington University.
aidan at itep.orgRecent Publications and Posts view more
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State Tax Credits Have Transformative Power to Improve Economic Security
The latest analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau provides an important reminder of the compelling link between public investments and families’ economic well-being. Policy decisions can drastically reduce poverty and improve family economic stability for low- and middle-income families alike, as today’s data release shows.
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States are Boosting Economic Security with Child Tax Credits in 2023
Fourteen states now provide Child Tax Credits to reduce poverty, boost economic security, and invest in children. This year alone, lawmakers in three states created new Child Tax Credits while lawmakers in seven states expanded existing credits. To maximize impact, lawmakers should consider making their credits fully refundable, not including an earnings requirement, setting a maximum amount per child instead of per household, setting state-specific phase-out ranges that target low- and middle-income families, indexing to inflation, and offering the option of advanced payments.
Media Mentions view more
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Stateline: Blue and Red States Slash Taxes Despite Warnings of Hard Times Ahead
Since 2021, half the states have cut personal income tax rates. Read more.
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Capital & Main: Some States Are Fighting Rising Child Poverty With Tax Credits
New Mexico is one of 10 states that have created or expanded child tax credits after Congress let a federal…