Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Select Media Mentions

Capital Fax: Illinois has fifth most regressive state/local taxation in nation

January 15, 2015

A new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and the Fiscal Policy Center at Voices for Illinois Children finds that the lowest income Illinoisans pay nearly three times more in taxes as a percent of their income compared to the state’s wealthiest residents. The study, Who Pays?, analyzes tax systems in […]

Phoenix News Times: Arizona Has One of Nation’s Most Regressive Tax Systems

January 15, 2015

“Arizonans on the lower end of the income scale are paying a significantly higher portion of their incomes in taxes than wealthier Arizonans. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profil research organization, released a report showing the nation’s poorest taxpayers have an effective tax rate that’s double that of the richest Americans. In […]

The Washington Post: D.C.’s tax system is one of America’s fairest

January 15, 2015

“The District of Columbia might have a reputation as a highly taxed jurisdiction, but it should have a reputation as a fairly taxed jurisdiction, according to a new study. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy on Wednesday issued the latest edition of its regular “Who Pays?” survey of state tax systems, rating the District […]

The Daily Astorian: Tax tale of two states: Oregon mostly gets it right

January 15, 2015

“New study re-emphasizes a longstanding reality: Oregonians have it much better than they imagine when it comes to taxes, while Washington residents ought to be rebelling Oregon mostly gets it right Although you’d never guess based on the complaining, Oregon lawmakers and voters have done quite a good job of designing a tax system that […]

The Day: Connecticut ranks in middle for fair taxes

January 15, 2015

Connecticut is right in the middle in a ranking of the 50 states’ tax fairness, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Still, the wealthiest residents of the state pay only about half the rate paid by the poorest households when measuring taxes as a percent of income: 5.3 […]

The Garden Island: State tax system takes toll on low-income

January 15, 2015

“But there are some costs of living in the Aloha State that don’t always seem fair, and one of those costs is the focus of a new study released Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice. It found that Hawaii’s lowest income residents […]

Crain’s New York: New York’s high but equitable taxes

January 15, 2015

Taxes in New York may be the highest in the country, but at least they are reasonably equitable, according to the latest Who Pays study from the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The study gives kudos to states that rely on income taxes, because they tend to be more progressive, and downgrades states […]

The Columbus Dispatch: Group sees inequality in Ohio’s state, local taxes

January 15, 2015

“In Ohio and across the country, lower-income citizens pay a higher percentage of their income in state taxes than the wealthier do, a new study released yesterday found. The situation here is worse than in most states, according to the analysis of 2012 income data by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which ranked […]

Minnesota Post: In study on tax fairness, Minnesota looks … fair

January 15, 2015

“In The Washington Post, Niraj Shoshi reports, “State taxes favor those with the highest incomes. That’s according to a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report, which finds that on average the bottom fifth of earners pay proportionally twice as much of their incomes in state and local taxes as the […]

Common Dreams: How Regressive Local Taxes Are Rewarding the Rich

January 15, 2015

“New report finds ‘fundamentally unfair’ tax system in nearly every state. Here’s something nearly every state in the nation has in common: a regressive state tax system that is exacerbating the wealth divide. So finds the newest edition of Who Pays: A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All Fifty States from the non-partisan […]

Ozark’s First: Arkansas Receives Negative Mark On Taxing Residents

January 15, 2015

“A new study released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) puts Arkansas among the most unfair tax systems in the country. According to the study, Arkansas’s tax system is unfair, or regressive, because the lower someone’s income, the higher their tax rate. This is in part because Arkansas, like most other […]

Mint Press News: Low Oil Prices Prompt New Interest In Raising Gas Tax, Cutting Subsidies

January 15, 2015

“Utah has gone almost 18 years without an increase in its gas tax, so instead they’ve increasingly spent money from their General Fund on transportation – spending less on education and human services,” Carl Davis, a senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), told MintPress News. Yet Davis notes that thinking […]

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Washington tax structure is most regressive in US, study says

January 15, 2015

“Washington frequently basks in “Top Ten” lists of America’s most livable cities, retirement havens or best places to do business. But the Evergreen State ranks rock-bottom in a new “Terrible Ten” list of states with the nation’s most regressive tax system. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the state taxes its poorest […]

The Daily Journal: NJ’s tax system fairer than most

January 15, 2015

“New Jersey’s state and local tax system is fairer than most states, but low- and middle-income residents still fork over a larger share of their income to taxes than the wealthy, according to a new study. New Jersey Policy Perspective and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy authored the study. Despite New Jersey’s progressive […]

The Free Press: An Eerily Familiar Tax Reform Plan, with Some Big Revisions

January 15, 2015

But in the end, the governor’s budget is just a proposal and it will be up to the Legislature to negotiate a final plan. In the coming months, Democrats and Republicans will pore over hundreds of pages of line items and hold public hearings under intense lobbying from various interest groups desperately trying to protect […]

The Washington Post: How government helps the 1 percent

January 15, 2015

“It is thus a public service that the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has issued a report showing that, at the state and local level, government is indeed engaged in redistribution — but it’s redistribution from the poor and the middle class to the wealthy. The institute found that in 2015 the poorest […]

The Huffington Post: Paging Mr. Romney 2016: New Study Shows the Poor Pay More in State/Local Taxes Than the Rich

January 15, 2015

“Read it and weep (really). Here’s what a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found: In terms of the overall tax burden (state, local, federal), the top 1 percent don’t even pay that much more as a percentage of their income than do the bottom 20 percent. Think about that for […]

Washington Post: How state tax systems unfairly burden low-income earners

January 14, 2015

“State taxes favor those with the highest incomes. That’s according to a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report, which finds that on average the bottom fifth of earners pay proportionally twice as much of their incomes in state and local taxes as the top 1 percent. Such systems that are […]

CBS: Are local taxes unfair to the poor?

January 14, 2015

“When it comes to state taxes, the rule of thumb is often topsy-turvy: The less you earn, the more you pay. That’s the conclusion from a new analysis of local taxes from the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonpartisan research firm that studies tax issues. The organization’s findings won’t do much […]

The Providence Journal: RI’s poorest residents pay higher percentage of income in taxes than highest 1 percent

January 14, 2015

“Rhode Island’s poorest residents can expect to pay nearly twice as much of their income in taxes than the state’s wealthiest 1 percent, according to a new study. That data ranks Rhode Island fifth-worst in the country for taxes on the poor, worse than its ninth-place ranking two years ago, according to a study released […]

International Business Times: Poor Families Pay Double The State And Local Tax Rate As The Rich

January 14, 2015

“Middle- and low-income Americans are facing far higher state and local taxes than the wealthy, according to a new report assessing tax data from all 50 states. In all, the analysis by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds that the poorest 20 percent of households pay on average more than twice […]

The New York Times: Study Finds Local Taxes Hit Lower Wage Earners Harder

January 14, 2015

“When it comes to the taxes closest to home, the less you earn, the harder you’re hit. That is the conclusion of an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that evaluates the local tax burden in every state, from Washington, labeled the most regressive, to Delaware, ranked as the fairest of them […]

The New York Times: Writing off the Warhol Next Door

January 12, 2015

And at a time when concerns about inequality have heightened criticism of government policies that favor the wealthiest sliver of society, these tax breaks have come under sharper scrutiny. “I think these types of deals do not follow the intent, even if they follow the letter, of the law,” said Rebecca Wilkins, senior counsel on […]

Yakima Herald-Republic: Tax System Unlikely to See Overhaul This Year

January 12, 2015

Further, due to reliance on a relatively high sales tax, Washington has ranked as the most regressive state tax system in the nation, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that advocates for progressive tax policies. The poorest 20 percent of state residents pay nearly 17 percent of […]

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 […]

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