
• By Neva Butkus
Child Tax Credits (CTCs) are effective tools to bolster the economic security of low- and middle-income families and position the next generation for success.
• By ITEP Staff
The Trump megabill hands the richest 1% a trillion-dollar windfall while gutting funding for health care, education, and disaster relief — leaving communities to pick up the pieces. State and local leaders must step up, tax the wealthiest fairly, and safeguard the essentials that keep America healthy, educated, and safe.
• By Neva Butkus
Refundable tax credits were a big part of state tax policy conversations this year. In 2025, nine states improved or created Child Tax Credits or Earned Income Tax Credits.
• By Michael Ettlinger
If instead of giving $117 billion to the richest 1 percent, that money had been evenly divided among all Americans, we'd each get $343 - or nearly $1,400 for a family of four.
• By Steve Wamhoff, Carl Davis, Joe Hughes, Jessica Vela
President Trump has signed into law the tax and spending “megabill” that largely favors the richest taxpayers and provides working-class Americans with relatively small tax cuts that will in many cases be more than offset by Trump's tariffs.
• By Rita Jefferson
As federal aid ends and economic uncertainty grows, local governments face tough budget choices. Now is the time for localities to protect vulnerable residents and build stronger, more equitable fiscal foundations.
• By Michael Ettlinger
The predominant feature of the tax and spending bill working its way through Congress is a massive tax cut for the richest 1 percent — a $114 billion benefit to the wealthiest people in the country in 2026 alone.
• By Carl Davis
The Senate tax bill under debate right now would bring very large tax cuts to very high-income people. In total, the richest 1 percent would receive $114 billion in tax cuts next year alone. That would amount to nearly $61,000 for each of these affluent households.
• By ITEP Staff
Many states are reaching their end-of-June budget deadlines, and major tax policy changes look to have big implications as states are forced, per federal policy, to do more with less.
• By Carl Davis, Jessica Vela, Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff
The poorest fifth of Americans would receive 1 percent of the House reconciliation bill's net tax cuts in 2026 while the richest fifth of Americans would receive two-thirds of the tax cuts. The richest 5 percent alone would receive a little less than half of the net tax cuts that year.
• By ITEP Staff
As a sprawling, regressive tax bill continues to take shape at the federal level, many states are moving forward with major tax cut proposals of their own.
• By ITEP Staff
Want to know more about the tax and spending megabill that President Trump recently signed into law? We've got you covered.
• By ITEP Staff
The rampant uncertainty this year extends far beyond the national economy and federal policy, as many state legislatures are declaring their tax and budget debates finished, and just getting started, sometimes in the same breath.
• By ITEP Staff
While students and families are enjoying spring break vacations, legislative sessions are still in full swing. And some are poised for a spring tax break season as proposals advance with major implications for the sustainability of state budgets.
• By Marco Guzman
Attempts by the Department of Homeland Security to secure private information from the IRS on people who file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is a violation of federal privacy laws that protect taxpayers. It is also a change that could seriously damage public trust in the IRS, which could jeopardize billions of dollars in tax payments by hardworking immigrant families.
• By ITEP Staff
Residents and state lawmakers across the country are pushing back against anti-tax measures and are looking for ways to protect revenue and advance proposals that would raise revenue in progressive ways. This comes at a time when federal policy brings significant risks for state tax revenue.
• By ITEP Staff
While all eyes are on the Trump administration’s tariffs on foreign imports, state lawmakers are moving forward with a mix of deep, regressive tax cuts and progressive revenue raisers.
• By ITEP Staff
March Madness kicks off today and the pressure is on as many states’ legislative sessions are nearing the final buzzer. Some state lawmakers are seemingly competing for the title of most regressive state tax policies while others are looking to lift up best practices for more equitable outcomes. The Mississippi legislature landed on a […]
• By Carl Davis
The Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025 would provide donors to nonprofit groups that distribute private K-12 school vouchers with a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit in exchange for their contributions. In total, the ECCA would reduce federal and state tax revenues by $10.6 billion in 2026 and by $136.3 billion over the next 10 years. Federal tax revenues would decline by $134 billion over 10 years while state revenues would decline by $2.3 billion.
• By Brakeyshia Samms
To curb the impact of property taxes on working families, lawmakers should improve or implement a property tax circuit breaker program. The program works like this: when families are overloaded with their property taxes, the circuit breaker kicks in and helps alleviate the pressure these taxes put on family budgets.
• By ITEP Staff
A bevy of tax cut proposals sprung to life this week while others were signed into law. In Kentucky, lawmakers are working to make it easier for the legislature to enact income and business tax cuts. The governor in Idaho signed into law a personal and corporate income tax cut.
• By ITEP Staff
Proposals from governors in both New Jersey and Wisconsin include provisions to tax high-income earners. Meanwhile, several major tax proposals are advancing in the great plains, with Iowa considering a major cut to unemployment taxes, North Dakota advancing new benefits for private schools, and Wyoming cutting property taxes. The District of Columbia is facing a more than a $1 billion revenue shortfall over the next three years, compared to previous estimates, and a mild recession due…
• By ITEP Staff
States would be wise to keep a close eye on happenings in Washington, D.C. Republicans in the House of Representatives recently passed their budget resolution, which could spell trouble for state budgets. The plan tees up major cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and college tuition assistance—all likely to allow for tax cuts that will overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy. If approved, trillions of dollars would be cut from programs supported by federal dollars and states and localities…
• By ITEP Staff
A new ITEP report finds that states could raise $19 billion a year with one policy change targeting corporate tax avoidance. That policy, worldwide combined reporting, strengthens state corporate taxation by giving states a full view of multinational corporate profits, essentially eliminating the tax savings that companies currently see by pretending their profits were earned in Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, and other international tax havens.
• By Aidan Davis
In the face of immense uncertainty around looming federal tax and budget decisions, many of which could threaten state budgets, state lawmakers have an opportunity to show up for their constituents by raising and protecting the revenue needed to fund shared priorities. Lawmakers have a choice: advance tax policies that improve equity and help communities thrive, or push tax policies that disproportionately benefit the wealthy, drain funding for critical public services, and make it harder…