Iowa
TI News Daily: Some States Prefer Transportation Over Tax relief
July 8, 2015
To meet infrastructure needs, several states have had to increase other taxes, such as gasoline taxes. These states include Idaho, Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, Kentucky, Utah and South Dakota. Four of these states are currently finalizing infrastructure funding increases or are still discussing infrastructure funding raises. “A lot of states realized they couldn’t put […]
Read this report in PDF form Introduction For years, academics and transportation experts have been discussing the possibility of taxing drivers for each mile they travel on the nation’s roads. This “vehicle miles traveled tax” (VMT tax) could either supplement or replace the existing gas tax as the primary method of funding transportation infrastructure. To […]
Stateline: Illinois “mixed” on taxes for seniors; Iowa “not tax friendly”
May 11, 2015
Despite the trend, Meg Wiehe, state tax policy director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which surveyed senior tax breaks, said all of the efforts to have “blanket state tax preferences for elderly taxpayers is . a very ill-advised policy.” She also pointed out that states which shield retirement income – Social Security […]
Undocumented Immigrants’ State & Local Tax Contributions (2015)
April 15, 2015 • By Matthew Gardner, Meg Wiehe
This report was updated February 2016 Read as a PDF. (Includes Full Appendix of State-by-State Data) Report Landing Page In the public debates over federal immigration reform, sufficient and accurate information about the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants is often lacking. The reality is the 11.4 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States pay billions […]
USA Today: The Tax Even Republicans Like
April 13, 2015
And one state can start a wave. For example, Virginia reformed its gas tax in 2013, making it easier for neighbors like Maryland and Pennsylvania to follow, says Carl Davis, senior policy analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “States notice what other states are doing.” Iowa’s new law will help Smith’s case […]
Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Balanced approach on gas tax
March 6, 2015
Raising Iowa’s tax on gasoline and diesel fuel by 10 cents per gallon would go a long way toward financing needed street and highway repairs and improvements. Critical needs most recently were estimated at $215 million annually, and the 10 cents is projected to raise that amount by fiscal year 2018. Read the full report […]
Law360: Five States that Could Follow Iowa’s Gas Tax Hike
March 4, 2015
As inflation pushes up the cost of construction materials such as cement and gravel, gas tax rates haven’t kept pace, meaning that revenues raised by states for transportation and other infrastructure projects can’t be stretched as far, according to Carl Davis, senior policy analyst for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more
NPR All Things Considered: Failing Bridges Take a Toll
February 11, 2015
“Asphalt costs are higher, machinery costs are higher. Construction workers’ wages are usually higher,” says Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington. “So the revenues that we’re chipping in aren’t keeping pace with the costs that we have.” Davis says the federal government can borrow money to fund transportation projects. […]
Business Record: Low- to middle-income families shoulder greater tax burdens than wealthy ones
January 15, 2015
“The latest “Who Pays” report by the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that the effect of sales taxes and property taxes on lower-income households tilts Iowa’s overall tax system so the poorest pay the highest percentage in taxes. “Iowa lawmakers for years have compounded inequities in Iowa’s overall tax system with their […]
Bloomberg BNA: Will 2015 Be the Year of Gas Tax Reform?
January 9, 2015
While the states have sometimes been slow to react on this issue, at least lawmakers seem to be beginning to understand the reasons for gas tax reform, said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the non-profit, non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Gas tax reform was something that many lawmakers weren’t willing to talk […]
For much of the last century, estate and inheritance taxes have played an important role in helping states to adequately fund public services in a way that improves the progressivity of state tax systems. While many of the taxes levied by state and local governments fall most heavily on low-income families, only the very wealthy pay estate and inheritance taxes. Recent changes in the federal estate tax, however, culminating in the "fiscal cliff " deal of early 2013, have forced states to reevaluate the structure of their estate and inheritance taxes. Unfortunately, the trend of late has tended toward weakening…
Iowa Policy Project: Immigrants in Iowa
July 7, 2014
Undocumented immigrants pay an estimated $64 million in state and local taxes, according to a new Iowa Policy Project report. The authors suggest immigration reform that expands work authorization or access to citizenship would increase the already significant contribution to Iowa by all immigrants — documented or not. Read the Full Report
Radio Iowa: Immigrants account for 4.5 percent of state’s economic output
July 3, 2014
And Fisher says they would be far less at risk of workplace abuses or wage theft. Fisher and a research associate used government data as well as formulas from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy to determine how much undocumented immigrants pay in Iowa sales taxes, property taxes and income taxes. Fisher says undocumented […]
The gasoline tax is the single largest source of funding for transportation infrastructure in the United States, but the tax is on an unsustainable course. Sluggish gas tax revenue growth has put strain on transportation budgets at the federal and state levels, and has led to countless debates around the country about how best to pay for America's infrastructure.
The Des Moines Register: Road Construction Running out of Gas?
May 27, 2014
By Editorial Board, May 25, 2014 Iowans on the road this Memorial Day weekend will likely encounter some traffic delays. It’s that time of the year when work gets underway on the state’s highways and bridges. The Iowa Department of Transportation is already looking down the road to $2.7 billion in major highway construction projects […]
Transportation Topics: Gas Tax Buying Power at All-Time Low in Some States
May 19, 2014
By Michael Fuetsch, May 19, 2014 The gasoline tax is so low and has not been raised for so long in 10 states, that the levy’s purchasing power has fallen to historic lows, a new study said. States where this has occurred are Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Carolina, Utah, and […]
The Gazette: Iowa Ranks Low for Keeping up with Gas Tax
May 19, 2014
By B.A. Morellie, May 19, 2014 A new report shows Iowa is one of 10 states where the gas tax, when considering inflation, is at a historic low. The report was critical of falling behind on the gas tax, saying the tax supports roads and transportation infrastructure, and many states are falling behind. “This isn’t […]
Des Moines Register: Iowa Fuel Tax Hits Low
May 12, 2014
By Jason Noble, May 10, 2014 “Iowa is one of 10 states in which fuel taxes have hit an inflation-adjusted “all-time low,” according to a report issued last week by a Washington think tank. The state’s current 19 cents per gallon tax on fuel has been in place since 1989. Inflation over that time, though, […]
In most states, the gasoline tax is set at a fixed number of cents per gallon of gas. South Carolina drivers, for example, have been paying 16 cents per gallon in state tax for more than a quarter century.1 But while this type of fixed-rate gas tax may appear to be flat over time, its lack of change in the face of inflation means that its "real" value, or purchasing power, is steadily declining. In ten states, this decline has brought the state's inflation-adjusted gas tax rate to its lowest level in the state's history.
Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier: Gas tax
April 2, 2014
(Original Post) A new fact sheet from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy indicates Iowa is one of seven states where the gas tax rates are “stuck in neutral.” According to the institute’s analysis, 21 states have gone a decade or more without increasing their gas tax rates and 16 states have gone two […]
Globe Gazette: Iowa’s Among Gas Tax Rates Stuck in Neutral
April 2, 2014
(Original Post) A new fact sheet from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy indicates Iowa is one of seven states where the gas tax rates are “stuck in neutral.” According to the institute’s analysis, 21 states have gone a decade or more without increasing their gas tax rates and 16 states have gone two […]
The Gazette: Potential benefits of a community ID
March 18, 2014
(Original Post) The Gazette Editorial Board Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa and others are proposing a community ID program for Iowa City and Johnson County. It’s the first Midwest location to seriously discuss implementation. The aim is to help a substantial number of people who cannot access basic services without an ID, one […]
USA Today: Needing money for roads, states mull gas tax hikes
March 11, 2014
(Original Post) Larry Copeland, USA TODAY 10:13 a.m. EDT March 11, 2014 The federal gas tax hasn’t been raised in more than two decades The federal gas tax, long used to help states pay for roads and bridges, hasn’t been raised since Bill Clinton was president. The prices of asphalt, steel and heavy machinery — […]
Open Sky Policy Institute: Typical family pays less tax in Nebraska than in most similar states
January 24, 2014
Middle-income Nebraskans pay relatively low taxes compared to their counterparts in eight nearby states with similar economies and tax structures. A family earning the median family income in Nebraska ($63,442) would pay less in taxes than a similar family in all but two of these states – Colorado and Kansas. (Table 1) The other comparable […]
Marshfield News-Herald: Tax reform dominating early 2014 political discussions
January 6, 2014
Logan T. Carlson Central Wisconsin Sunday As the calendar flips to another year, there are rumblings in the State Capitol of Gov. Scott Walker considering idea of eliminating the state’s income tax in favor of shifting the state’s revenue toward a sales tax. No official proposal has been developed or released by Walker, but […]
