Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Indiana

Testimony of Prosperity Indiana’s Andrew Bradley Before the Indiana State and Local Tax Review Task Force

January 16, 2024

On January 10, Andrew Bradley, Policy Director at Prosperity Indiana, testified before the State and Local Tax Review Task Force of the Indiana General Assembly. During his presentation, Bradley highlighted Prosperity Indiana’s tax policy priorities and ITEP’s Who Pays? findings. To watch the video, click here (Bradley’s testimony begins at 1:55:40) To read written testimony […]

Indiana: Who Pays? 7th Edition

January 9, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

Indiana: Who Pays? 7th Edition

Indiana Download PDF All figures and charts show 2024 tax law in Indiana, presented at 2023 income levels. Senior taxpayers are excluded for reasons detailed in the methodology. Our analysis includes nearly all (99.8 percent) state and local tax revenue collected in Indiana. These figures depict Indiana’s flat personal income tax rate at 3.05 percent. […]

Hidden in Plain Sight: Race and Tax Policy in 2023 State Legislative Sessions

Race was front and center in a lot of state policy debates this year, from battles over what’s being taught in schools to disagreements over new voting laws. Less visible, but also extremely important, were the racial implications of tax policy changes. What states accomplished this year – both good and bad – will acutely affect people and families of color.

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Abortion-Restricting States Skimp on Funding for Children

November 9, 2023 • By Amy Hanauer

Abortion-Restricting States Skimp on Funding for Children

States differ dramatically in how much they allow families to make choices about whether and when to have children and how much support they provide when families do. But there is a clear pattern: the states that compel childbirth spend less to help children once they are born.

America Used to Have a Wealth Tax: The Forgotten History of the General Property Tax

Over time, broad wealth taxes were whittled away to become the narrower property taxes we have today. These selective wealth taxes apply to the kinds of wealth that make up a large share of middle-class families’ net worth (like homes and cars), but usually exempt most of the net worth of the wealthy (like business equity, bonds, and pooled investment funds).The rationale for this pared-back approach to wealth taxation has grown weaker in recent decades as inequality has worsened, the share of wealth held outside of real estate has increased, and the tools needed to administer a broad wealth tax…

News and Tribune (Indiana): Editorial: Raising Sales Tax Would Hurt Poor Hoosiers

November 1, 2023

With statewide elections on the doorstep, some 2024 candidates are playing on a familiar ploy in calling for a reduction or an end to Indiana’s income tax. The most popular idea floated by those who are campaigning on the proposal, including current lieutenant governor and gubernatorial hopeful Suzanne Crouch, is to replace a sizable portion […]

State Rundown 10/26: Off-Year Ballot Measures and State & Local Tax Policy

November elections are creeping closer and closer and while that typically means a new batch of lawmakers are elected, it also means voters have another chance to help shape state and local tax policy...

Video: Tax Policy Experts Warn Indiana Tax Force Drastic Cuts Could Hurt Lowest-Earning Hoosiers

October 21, 2023

As Indiana seems poised to restructure its tax system in the next few years, some policy experts are urging the State and Local Tax Task Force not to make drastic cuts to the state’s individual income tax. Read more and watch the video featuring ITEP’s Neva Butkus here.

Testimony of Neva Butkus Before the Indiana State and Local Tax Review Task Force

October 20, 2023

Today ITEP State Policy Analyst Neva Butkus presented to the Indiana State and Local Tax Review Task Force. For a related blog from Neva, click here. For her slide deck, click here. Good morning members of the State and Local Tax Review Task Force, Thank you for providing me the opportunity to share ITEP’s findings […]

Meaningful investments in Indiana’s future require a smart, and fair, tax code that recognizes current economic realities and can raise a sustainable stream of funding  from those most able to pay.

State Rundown 9/27: Some States are Looking to Paint the Budgets Red

When it comes to investments, state lawmakers across the country are positioning their states to be in the red as they pass or debate further tax cuts that will overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy – and some states are now adding an additional coat of red paint...

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State Rundown 9/13: The (Policy) Choices We Make

September 13, 2023 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 9/13: The (Policy) Choices We Make

The U.S. Census Bureau released its annual assessment of poverty in America this week...

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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Boosting Incomes, Improving Equity: State Earned Income Tax Credits in 2023

September 12, 2023 • By Aidan Davis, Neva Butkus

Boosting Incomes, Improving Equity: State Earned Income Tax Credits in 2023

Nearly two-thirds of states (31 plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) have an Earned Income Tax Credit, an effective tool that boosts low-paid workers’ incomes and helps lower-income families achieve greater economic security. This year, 12 states expanded and improved EITCs.

States and Localities are Making Progress on Curbing Unjust Fees and Fines

Too many state and local governments tap legal-system collections, rather than adequate tax systems, to fund shared essentials like public safety and education. But a growing number of states and localities are choosing a better approach. Momentum for change has continued to build in 2023, with no fewer than seven states enacting substantial improvements.

The Highs and Lows of 2023 State Legislative Sessions

Nearly one-third of states took steps to improve their tax systems this year by investing in people through refundable tax credits, and in a few notable cases by raising revenue from those most able to pay. But another third of states lost ground, continuing a trend of permanent tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit high-income households and make tax codes less adequate and equitable.

Many state legislatures this year have been considering property tax cuts – but too many are ignoring the solution that speaks more directly to questions of property tax affordability than any other policy option: the “circuit breaker."

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States are Talking About the Wrong Kind of Property Tax Cuts

May 11, 2023 • By Brakeyshia Samms, Carl Davis

States are Talking About the Wrong Kind of Property Tax Cuts

Concerns over property tax affordability have been at the forefront this year as housing prices have climbed and property tax bills have often increased along with them. As lawmakers mull a range of property tax cuts, circuit breakers are the best possible approach—and these policies are receiving far too little attention in the states.

State Rundown 5/10: Momentum on State Tax Credits Continues to Build

This week, in states across the country the momentum to center improvements to family economic security remains strong...

Extending Temporary Provisions of the 2017 Trump Tax Law: National and State-by-State Estimates

The push by Congressional Republicans to make the provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent would cost nearly $300 billion in the first year and deliver the bulk of the tax benefits to the wealthiest Americans.

State Rundown 5/3: Policy Debates Unfold from Capitol to Capital

While the conversations on the debt ceiling heat up in the nation's capital, debates on state tax policy also continue to unfold in capitol buildings across the nation...

State Rundown 4/19: Revenue Discussions Heat Up Like the Temperature

Tax season has ended for most filers, but the topic remains a hot one in states around the country...

State Rundown 3/1: The Long March to the Finish Line

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

State Rundown 2/23: Tax Dominos Take Shape, Begin to Fall as Session Heats Up

The 2023 legislative session is in full swing, and dominos continue to be set up as others fall...

Why the States Have a Major Role to Play If We Want Tax Justice

With fears of gridlock in a divided Washington, tax justice champions are building momentum in other places where there's dire need for better tax policy: the states. We can upgrade communities across the country by making 2023 a year to win tax improvements in statehouses.