Kentucky
Preventing an Overload: How Property Tax Circuit Breakers Promote Housing Affordability
• By Brakeyshia Samms, Carl Davis
Circuit breaker credits are the most effective tool available to promote property tax affordability. These policies prevent a property tax “overload” by crediting back property taxes that go beyond a certain share of income. Circuit breakers intervene to ensure that property taxes do not swallow up an unreasonable portion of qualifying households’ budgets.
Extending Temporary Provisions of the 2017 Trump Tax Law: National and State-by-State Estimates
• By Joe Hughes, Matthew Gardner, Steve Wamhoff
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.
Minnesota Lawmakers Re-Envision State Tax System to Center Equity
• By Neva Butkus
Minnesota’s House, Senate and Governor’s office have each proposed their own vision as to how the state should maximize its $17.5 billion surplus and raise new revenue, and these tax plans make one thing clear: Minnesota lawmakers are serious about using tax policy to advance tax equity and improve the lives of Minnesotans.
State Rundown 4/6: More SALT, Please
• By ITEP Staff
This week, a bill out of Arkansas that would cut the top personal income tax rate and the corporate income tax rate found its way to the governor’s desk...
State Rundown 3/9: The Whirlwind 2023 Legislative Session Continues
• By ITEP Staff
State 2023 legislative sessions are proving to be eventful ones. With many states eager to make use of their budget surpluses, major tax changes are still being proposed and others signed into law. Michigan residents will soon see an increase to their state Earned Income Tax Credit (from 6 percent to 30 percent) after the […]
State Rundown 2/23: Tax Dominos Take Shape, Begin to Fall as Session Heats Up
• By ITEP Staff
The 2023 legislative session is in full swing, and dominos continue to be set up as others fall...
State Rundown 2/9: We <3 Taxes
• By ITEP Staff
The great women’s philosopher, Pat Benatar, once said “love is a battlefield,” and there’s no greater test of our love for state tax policy than following the ups and downs of state legislative sessions...
State Rundown 2/1: February Brings New (and Some Old) Tax Policy Conversations
• By ITEP Staff
Tax bills across the U.S. are winding their way through state legislatures and governors continue to set the tone for this year’s legislative sessions...
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Reducing the Income Tax Will Weaken the Commonwealth
• By ITEP Staff
House Bill 1 in the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly is the next step in a legislative effort to phase down and even eliminate Kentucky’s income tax. This policy path is quite likely the most dangerous ever considered in the modern history of the commonwealth. It marches toward elimination of the source of 41% of state […]
State Lawmakers Should Break the 2023 Tax Cut Fever Before It’s Too Late
• By Miles Trinidad
Despite mixed economic signals for 2023, including a possible recession, many state lawmakers plan to use temporary budget surpluses to forge ahead with permanent, regressive tax cuts that would disproportionately benefit the wealthy at the expense of low- and middle-income households. These cuts would put state finances in a precarious position and further erode public investments in education, transportation and health, all of which are crucial for creating inclusive, vibrant communities where everyone, not just…
State Rundown 1/11: Governors Ready to Talk Tax in 2023 State Addresses
• By ITEP Staff
Governors have begun their annual trek to the podium in statehouses across the U.S. to lay out their visions for 2023, and so far, taxes look like they will play a major role in debates throughout state legislative sessions...
State Rundown 1/5: State Taxes Coming in Hot in New Year
• By ITEP Staff
The new year often brings with it new goals and a desire to take on complex problems with a fresh perspective. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always apply to state lawmakers when considering tax policy...
State Child Tax Credits and Child Poverty: A 50-State Analysis
• By Aidan Davis
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
Legislative Momentum in 2022: New and Expanded Child Tax Credits and EITCs
• By Neva Butkus
State legislatures across the country made investments in their future, centering children, families, and workers by enacting and expanding state Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs), Child Tax Credits (CTCs), and other refundable credits this session. In total, seven states either expanded or created CTCs this session. Connecticut, New Mexico, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont […]
Most States Used Surpluses to Reduce Taxes But Not in Sustainable or Progressive Ways
• By Kamolika Das
The average person on the street would have no idea that many states experienced unprecedented budget surpluses this year. Iowa, for instance, has the most structurally deficient bridges of any state with nearly 1 in 5 falling apart. The Iowa Board of Regents proposed a 4.25 percent tuition increase for all three state universities and […]
Creating Racially and Economically Equitable Tax Policy in the South
• By Kamolika Das
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.
State Rundown 6/8: Tax Policy Features Prominently During Budget and Primary Season
• By ITEP Staff
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...
State Rundown 4/20: New Tax Changes in Full Bloom
• By ITEP Staff
This Spring looks to be bringing a mix of showers and flowers as states around the nation continue to act on a range of tax proposals...
State Rundown 4/6: Late-Session Surprises Pt. 2
• By ITEP Staff
Last week we highlighted how several states were pushing through regressive tax cuts as their legislative sessions are coming to a close. Well, this week many of those same states took further actions on those bills and it’s safe to say we’re even less impressed than before...
Bloomberg: Did You Pay Your ‘Fair Share’ of Federal Income Tax This Year?
March 31, 2022
And according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the impact would have a definite geographic tilt. The states where more than 40% of residents would face tax increases are largely in the South, including Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Georgia, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Florida. read more
State Rundown 3/30: Late-Session Surprises Leave Us Unimpressed
• By ITEP Staff
Several states have dropped a few late-session surprises, and from the looks of it, they’re not the good kind...
State Gas Tax Holidays are Nothing to Celebrate
• By Carl Davis
It’s unlikely that state gas tax holidays will meaningfully benefit consumers, and they come with risks for states’ infrastructure quality.
State Rundown 3/9: One State Stands Out Amid the Avalanche of Tax Cuts
• By ITEP Staff
The avalanche of regressive tax-cut proposals coming out of state legislatures has not slowed over the course of the winter months, but one state has provided a shot of hope to advocates of tax equity...
A Better Alternative: New Mexico Prioritizes Targeted, Temporary Tax Cuts
• By Marco Guzman
New Mexico stands in stark contrast to the many examples of poorly targeted tax-cut proposals currently being considered around the country.
New 50-State Analysis: Poorest Two-Fifths Would Bear the Brunt of Sen. Rick Scott’s Proposed Tax Increase
• By ITEP Staff
“Billionaires are getting richer, and some of them are altogether avoiding taxes or paying a tiny percentage relative to their income and wealth. The 2017 tax law further worsened inequality by giving huge tax breaks to the rich. It’s inconceivable that a lawmaker would propose to single out the most vulnerable households for higher taxes.” --Steve Wamhoff
