District of Columbia

This week, several big tax proposals took strides on the march toward becoming law...

Two-thirds of states with broad-based personal income tax structures have a graduated rate, while one-third have flat taxes.

Refundable tax credits are an important tool for improving family economic security and advancing racial equity, and there is incredible momentum heading into 2023 to boost two key state credits: the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Flat taxes have some surface appeal but come with significant disadvantages. Critically, a flat tax guarantees that wealthy families’ total state and local tax bill will be a lower share of their income than that paid by families of more modest means.

Regardless of future Child Tax Credit developments at the federal level, state policies can supplement the federal credit to deliver additional benefits to children and families. State credits can be specifically tailored to meet the needs of local populations while also producing long-term benefits for society as a whole

Tackling wealth inequality through the tax code can boost economic opportunity   Washington, DC: Wealth inequality is rampant in every state and particularly concentrated in a handful of states, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). This extreme wealth hinders economic opportunities for all but the […]

More than one in four dollars of wealth in the U.S. is held by a tiny fraction of households with net worth over $30 million. Nationally, we estimate that wealth over $30 million per household will reach $26 trillion in 2022 with roughly one-fifth of that amount ($4.5 trillion) held by billionaires.

13 states plus D.C. created or expanded state CTCs or EITCs this year, helping create more equitable state tax systems WASHINGTON, D.C.: In 2022’s state legislative sessions, lawmakers across the country advanced tax policies that will bolster the economic security of millions of low- and moderate-income working families through new and enhanced Child Tax Credits […]

States continued their recent trend of advancing EITCs in 2022, with nine states plus the District of Columbia either creating or improving their credits. Utah enacted a 15 percent nonrefundable EITC, while the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Vermont and Virginia expanded existing credits. Meanwhile, Connecticut, New York and Oregon provided one-time boosts to their EITC-eligible populations.

The Child Tax Credit expansion led to a 46 percent decline in childhood poverty. That it could be accomplished during the largest economic disruption in most of our lifetimes underscores a basic fact: thoughtful, decisive government action to combat poverty works.

The Romney Child Tax Credit plan would leave a quarter of children worse off compared to current law and help half as many low-income children as the 2021 expansion of the credit.

Lawmakers in many states have enacted “sales tax holidays” (20 states will hold them in 2022) to temporarily suspend the tax on purchases of clothing, school supplies, and other items. These holidays may seem to lessen the regressive impacts of the sales tax, but their benefits are minimal while their downsides are significant—particularly as lawmakers have sought to apply the concept as a substitute for more meaningful, permanent reform or arbitrarily reward people with specific hobbies or in certain professions. This policy brief looks at sales tax holidays as a tax reduction device.

Read as PDF The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) is a non-profit research organization that analyzes tax laws and tax proposals at the federal, state and local levels. ITEP’s work demonstrates the need to raise more revenue from corporations and the wealthy. Our small, influential staff works with policymakers and front-line partners to research, support, and develop tax policies that address […]

The South's negative outcomes on measures of wellbeing are the result of a century and a half of policy choices. Lawmakers have many options available to make concrete improvements to tax policy that would raise more revenue, do so equitably, and generate resources that could improve schools, healthcare, social services, infrastructure, and other public resources.

Read as PDF The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) is a non-profit research organization that analyzes tax laws and tax proposals at the federal, state and local levels. ITEP’s work demonstrates the need to raise more revenue from corporations and wealthy individuals. Our small, influential staff works with policymakers and front-line partners to research, support, and develop tax policies that address […]

As voters head to the polls to weigh in on their state’s primary elections and legislators convene to hash out budget deals, tax policy remains atop the agenda...

As 2022 inches closer to its midpoint, important tax policy decisions are being put in the hands of voters, as special elections and the primary season begin...

While tax discussions among federal lawmakers continue in fits and starts, major tax news continues to make waves across the nation...

A common theme is emerging out of states, as governors around the U.S. begin the year with their annual state speeches, and the news does not bode well for long-term growth and sustainable budgets...

Not only is Mississippi's latest tax proposal deeply inequitable, the state simply cannot afford it.

Here at ITEP we want to give thanks and say we’re grateful for all of the hard work that advocates in states across the country are doing to secure progressive tax policy victories...

The EITC benefits low-income people of all races and ethnicities. But it is particularly impactful in historically excluded Black and Hispanic communities where discrimination in the labor market, inequitable educational systems, and countless other inequities have relegated a disproportionate share of people to low-wage jobs.