District of Columbia
Gas tax revenues are on an unsustainable course. Over the last five years, Congress has transferred more than $53 billion from the general fund to the transportation fund in order to compensate for lagging gas tax revenues. By 2015, the transportation fund will be insolvent unless an additional $15 billion transfer is made. Larger transfers will be needed in subsequent years.
Washington Post: The state that taxes the poor the most is… a blue one
September 23, 2013
(Original Post) By Niraj Chokshi, Published: September 21 at 10:00 am The state that easily handed President Obama a victory last November while passing voter-approved referendums legalizing same-sex marriage and marijuana consumption also happens to have the nation’s highest tax burden on the poor. Poor families in Washington state pay 16.9 percent of their total […]
New Census Bureau data released this month show that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high, despite other signs of economic recovery. The national 2012 poverty rate of 15 percent is essentially unchanged since 2010 , but still 2.5 percentage points higher than pre-recession levels. This means that in 2012, 46.5 million, or about 1 in 6 Americans, lived in poverty.1 The poverty rate in most states also held steady with five states experiencing an increase in either the number or share of residents living in poverty while only two states saw a decline.2
Columbia Journalism Review: Invasion of the Job Snatcher
September 9, 2013
(Original Post) As the Missouri media takes up arms against Rick Perry, some facts and context get lost in the fray By Deron Lee FAIRWAY, KS — Texas and Missouri no longer square off as Big 12 opponents, but governors Rick Perry and Jay Nixon—with some help from Missouri’s media—have ignited a new interstate rivalry. […]
Associated Press: Liu Calls for Legalized Pot in NYC
August 14, 2013
New York City Comptroller John Liu is proposing a historic overhaul of the city's marijuana laws, believing that legalizing medical marijuana and allowing adults to possess an ounce of pot for recreational use would pump more than $400 million into the city's coffers.
NY Daily News: Republicans give immigrants a reality check on expecting immigration reform
July 15, 2013
(Original Post) Forget about a comprehensive immigration bill. And so much for a bipartison bill out of the House. By Albor Ruiz / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS A reality check. That’s what the Republican tactic on immigration reform, announced last Wednesday by the Speaker of the House after a much-publicized closed-door meeting with his party, […]
KY Forward: Fifty-state study shows immigration reform would boost Kentucky revenues $23.2 million
July 10, 2013
With fiscal costs and benefits figuring large in the immigration reform debate, a new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimates that unauthorized immigrants are already paying $10.6 billion a year in state and local taxes nationwide, including $58.8 million in Kentucky. The study also estimates that Kentucky stands to gain […]
Accounting Today: Immigration Reform Expected to Increase State Tax Revenues $2 Billion
July 10, 2013
Unauthorized immigrants are already paying $10.6 billion a year in state and local taxes, according to a new analysis that estimates an additional $2 billion revenue increase for the 50 states and the District of Columbia if undocumented immigrants who currently in the U.S. are allowed to work legally. The study, from the Institute on […]
PR Newswire: Undocumented Immigrants Pay $11 Billion Annually In State And Local Taxes; Immigration Reform Would Increase State Revenues By $2 Billion
July 10, 2013
NEW 50-STATE STUDY FROM THE INSTITUTE ON TAXATION AND ECONOMIC POLICY WASHINGTON, July 10, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — With fiscal costs and benefits figuring large in the immigration reform debate, a new analysis shows that unauthorized immigrants already pay $10.6 billion a year in state and local taxes, and estimates the revenue increases for all […]
MSN Money: 8 states where the gas tax just went up
July 3, 2013
(Original Post) From Connecticut to Wyoming, lawmakers are turning to these hikes to fund long overdue road and infrastructure projects. By Bruce Kennedy It’s the summer driving season, and while gas prices traditionally rise this time of year, they’ve been falling of late. But July 1 was the start of a new fiscal year for […]
Testimony: Evaluating the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Reforms in DC’s Bill 20-199
June 12, 2013 • By Carl Davis
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Matt Gardner. I am the Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a Washington-DC-based nonprofit research group. ITEP's research focuses on federal and state tax policy with an emphasis on sustainability and fairness in the tax laws.
MSN News: Two-thirds of Americans oppose gas tax hikes
April 24, 2013
(Original Post) According to Gallup, Americans may object to increasing gas prices while the economy is still unstable. By Douglas Newcomb As state legislatures across the U.S. debate whether to raise gas taxes to repair crumbling roads, a new Gallup poll finds that two-thirds of Americans would vote against gas tax hikes in their home […]
The Lens: If everyone wins, as Jindal claims, his tax plan math is bogus
March 22, 2013
(Original Post) By Tyler Bridges, Staff writer Gov. Bobby Jindal says everyone wins under his plan to eliminate personal income and corporate taxes in Louisiana and jack up the state’s annual take from sales taxes. He also insists the tax revamp will be “revenue-neutral,” meaning the state’s annual tax haul will neither rise nor fall. […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Small Investment, Big Difference
March 15, 2013 • By ITEP Staff
If Ohio is going to broaden the tax base, the state should adopt a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), as 25 states (including the District of Columbia) have done. It is good policy at any time, especially when legislators are considering raising taxes on those least able to pay. An EITC not only helps […]
The Fiscal Times: State Income Taxes- One Piece of a Complex Revenue Pie
February 25, 2013
(Original Post) By BRUCE BARTLETT, The Fiscal TimesFebruary 22, 2013 State taxes are once again making headlines. When California recently raised its top income tax rate to 13.3 percent, pro golfer Phil Mickelson threatened to leave the state for the no-income tax world of sunny Florida. Republicans in several states are pushing to abolish their […]
WFAE: As N.C. Considers Tax Overhaul, How Does Current System Work?
February 21, 2013
(Original Post) By Michael Tomsic Governor Pat McCrory and state lawmakers are considering major changes to North Carolina’s tax structure. So we decided to take a closer look at a report released Wednesday detailing the effective tax rates currently in place. It’s from the liberal-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington, D.C. […]
The Atlantic: Do D.C. Residents Pay More Taxes Than Their Neighbors?
February 7, 2013
(Original Post) Katherine Toran11:55 AM ET I recently had a conversation with a friend who was moving and said she preferred to live in Maryland than in D.C. because D.C. residents pay higher taxes. She wasn’t the first local to tell me that. But is this claim true? It appears in this case, conventional wisdom […]
Knox News: TN Taxes Hardest on Middle and Low-income Families
January 31, 2013
Nashville, Tennessee – Like most state tax systems, Tennessee takes a much larger share from middle- and low-income families than from wealthy families, according to the fourth edition of Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States, released today by the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and […]
The Town Talk: Tax expert warns that Jindal’s tax plan will hurt lower-income earners
January 30, 2013
Jan. 30, 2013 4:27 PM, | Written by MIKE HASTEN Gannett Louisiana BATON ROUGE – Like many states, Louisiana has a tax structure that is unfair to low- and middle-income families, a study examining tax structures released today says. But the tax revision plan pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, dropping income taxes in exchange for […]
CBS 42: Ala. among ‘Terrible 10’ most regressive tax states
January 30, 2013
(Original Post) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Low and middle-income Alabamians pay more than twice as much of their incomes in state and local taxes as the state’s richest households pay, according to a report released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, D.C. Alabama’s upside-down tax system […]
Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama’s tax system among most regressive in nation, says report
January 30, 2013
State not alone: ‘Virtually every state’s tax system is fundamentally unfair’ Written by Brian Lyman Jan. 30, 2013 11:17 AM, | Alabama’s tax system ranks as one of the ten most regressive in the country, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-partisan think tank based in […]
USA Today: Time to tweak gas taxes? States weigh options
January 25, 2013
(Original Post) Larry Copeland, USA TODAY7:47a.m. EST January 25, 2013 A great tax debate is breaking out in state capitals from Vermont to Texas: How do we maintain and expand our vital-but-aging networks of roads, bridges and urban transit systems? For nearly a century, the nation has funded projects primarily with revenue from gasoline taxes. […]
Agenda for Children: Building a Better Tax Cut: Alternative to SB87 Would Cut Taxes for Twice as Many Louisianans – at Half the Cost
January 15, 2013 • By ITEP Staff
On Wednesday, May 14, 2008, the House Ways and Means Committee approved SB 87, a measure originally sponsored by Senator Buddy Shaw and now backed by Governor Bobby Jindal. The measure would reduce state income taxes by close to $300 million per year, but a new analysis by the Washington, DC-based Institute on Taxation and […]
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: Raising Revenue by Creating a New Tax Bracket for Top Earners: A Progressive Approach to Addressing DC’s Budget Shortfall
January 14, 2013 • By ITEP Staff
A DC Councilmember has proposed raising the income tax rate on the District’s wealthiest residents as a way to generate money for next year’s budget. The idea has been met with some skepticism, including the belief that this will push the well-off to leave the city. Yet for several reasons, this bill should be taken […]
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: Expanding the District’s Sales Tax Can Raise Revenue, While Increasing Tax Fairness
January 14, 2013 • By ITEP Staff
In response to the most recent revenue shortfall, the DC Council voted in July 2009 to raise the District’s sales tax rate from 5.75 percent to 6 percent. Raising revenue is important to ensure that DC can continue to provide education, transportation, and other critical services during this economic downturn. As policymakers approach future revenue […]
