Missouri
Governing: Coming Soon to 6 States: Online Sales Taxes From Amazon
January 30, 2017
Carl Davis, research director for the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, estimated the state of Missouri could collect between $30 million and $34 million annually from Amazon sales, based on an analysis of revenue generated in other states. “We’re supporters of sales tax being collected on online purchases in the […]
Since the 2007-2009 economic crisis, rising income inequality and the role our public policies play in aiding or easing this trend have been an ongoing part of the public discourse. In spite of what we know about the growing gap between the rich and the rest of us, federal and state policymakers continue to sell […]
State Rundown 1/18: Revenue Woes Piling Up Faster Than Solutions
January 18, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week we continue to track revenue shortfalls, governors’ budget proposals, and other tax news around the country, finding most proposals to be focused on slashing taxes and reducing public investments despite public opinion and economic research showing the benefits of well-funded state services and progressive tax policies. — Meg Wiehe, ITEP State Policy Director, […]
State Rundown 1/11: State Legislative Sessions Kick Off Amid Uncertainty
January 11, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week brings still more states looking for solutions to revenue shortfalls, multiple governors’ State of The State addresses, important reading on counter-transparency and local-preemption efforts, and more. — Meg Wiehe, ITEP State Policy Director, @megwiehe A Nebraska legislator this week diagnosed the state’s $900 million revenue shortfall in plain terms, describing it as “self-inflicted […]
St Louis Post: Missouri’s new governor will need new ideas to fix a broken tax structure
November 14, 2016
“Governor-elect Eric Greitens has bold tax-reduction plans for Missouri but vague budget-balancing ideas. He should pay attention to the advice of Dylan Grundman, a senior analyst with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington. Grundman warned the commission of ‘three paths to avoid.’ One is to cut income taxes in hopes of spurring […]
Columbia Daily Tribune: Open borders make America great
October 25, 2016
“And though there are competing analyses about whether unlawfully present immigrants contribute more to the economy than they cost in education and health expenses, what cannot be denied is that, according to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, illegal immigrants contribute more than $11.6 billion to state and local coffers each year and […]
This report explains the workings, and problems, with state-level tax subsidies for private K-12 education. It also discusses how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has exacerbated some of these problems by allowing taxpayers to claim federal charitable deductions even on private school contributions that were not truly charitable in nature. Finally, an appendix to this report provides additional detail on the specific K-12 private school tax subsidies made available by each state.
Despite this unlevel playing field states create for their poorest residents through existing policies, many state policymakers have proposed (and in some cases enacted) tax increases on the poor under the guise of "tax reform," often to finance tax cuts for their wealthiest residents and profitable corporations.
Investopedia: How Does Amazon Charge Taxes on Its Products?
September 13, 2016
Technically speaking, Amazon does not charge sales tax because only governments can levy taxes. What Amazon can do is set up processes and systems through which taxes are applied to online transactions. Since there is no federal sales tax in the United States, this means Amazon has to comply with hundreds of different tax […]
Indexing Income Taxes for Inflation: Why It Matters
August 22, 2016 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill
Read brief in PDF here. All of us experience the effects of inflation as the price of the goods and services we buy gradually goes up over time. Fortunately, as the cost of living goes up, our incomes often tend to rise as well in order to keep pace. But many state tax systems are […]
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Editorial: Tennessee as tax-cut role model? Never mind
July 22, 2016
“Tennessee’s gains are being subsidized by the poor and working class. The poorest 20 percent of Tennesseans pay 8.9 percent of their income on sales and excise taxes, according to the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The state’s richest residents pay just 1.2 percent.” Read more
Higher Education Income Tax Deductions and Credits in the States
March 22, 2016 • By Carl Davis
Read full report in PDF Download detailed appendix with state-by-state information on deductions and credits (Excel) Every state levying a personal income tax offers at least one deduction or credit designed to defray the cost of higher education. In theory, these policies help families cope with rising tuition prices by incentivizing college savings or partially […]
USA Today: Study: 58,000 U.S. bridges found to be ‘structurally deficient’
February 22, 2016
“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy counts nine states seriously considering motor fuel tax increases: Alabama, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, and South Carolina. “Most of the gas tax increases under discussion right now would help restore at least some of the purchasing power they lost while being frozen in time […]
American Press: Lawmakers examine income tax
February 22, 2016
“Three identical measures would allow voters to decide whether they want to eliminate the federal income tax deduction that is allowed on state income tax forms. The deduction is in the constitution. The change would raise $748 million annually, and the vote to decide the issue would take place Nov. 8. Only three states — […]
Missouri Budget Project: Earned Income Tax Credit: The Basics
February 10, 2016
“A Missouri EITC would boost local communities and economies while encouraging work, enhancing take-home pay, and improving long-term health and economic outcomes for more than 500,000 Missouri families. A Missouri EITC would give a much-needed break to Missourians struggling to get by on low wages. A state EITC would boost local communities and economies while […]
WUNC: Under New Tax Plan, Timing Belt Change Would Cost $30 More On This Volkswagen Jetta
September 18, 2015
“Sen. Josh Stein, a Democrat from Wake County, disagrees. He says the plan would favor high-wage earners because everyone pays the same income tax—instead of lower rates for people who make less money, as was the case in previous North Carolina tax models—and new consumer service taxes take up a bigger proportion of the […]
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Nicklaus: Tax credit would be better for workers than minimum wage hike
September 15, 2015
“The federal credit has become one of the government’s most powerful antipoverty tools. It also improves progressivity, a virtue that’s lacking in many state tax systems, including Missouri’s. “It can help offset the really regressive taxes, like sales taxes and excise taxes, which hit low- and middle-income families hardest,” says Meg Wiehe, state tax policy […]
Press Examiner: Day Back To School Sales Tax Holiday Underway
August 10, 2015
“So states that are not doing sales tax holidays, they’re certainly not missing out”. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, sales-tax holidays cost states about $300 million annually. Read more
Missouri Budget Project: State Earned Income Tax Credit Would Benefit Missouri
May 7, 2015
Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs) encourage work, enhance take-home pay, improve health & economic outcomes, and have lasting benefits. Proposals to create a state-level EITC would build on these benefits of the federal EITC for more than 500,000 Missouri families. Click here to read the full report.
The Kansas City Star: American Tax Policy Has 50 Shades of Gray
February 18, 2015
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy recently examined state and local tax policy and found Kansas has the ninth-most “unfair” tax system in the nation. A Kansan earning $47,700 a year — smack dab in the middle of all earners — pays 9.5 percent of his or her income in state and local taxes. […]
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: In Rex Sinquefield’s Vision, Mom’s Generation is Written off
January 20, 2015
The current sales and excise tax burden on somebody who earns about $32,000 in Missouri is a little more than 5 percent of their income, according to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Meanwhile, the sales tax burden on somebody of Mr. Sinquefield’s income range is less than 1 percent. The opposite is […]
Kansas City Star: Study Ranks Kansas, Missouri Fairly High in Tax Fairness
September 17, 2014
Missouri and Kansas appear to have relatively fair state and local tax systems when compared with other states, according to a study released Monday. The study by WalletHub, a personal finance website, ranked Kansas 14th for tax fairness. Missouri ranked 21st. The survey results were then compared with state and local tax burden data from […]
Streetsblog: Will Missouri Voters Go Along with the Highway Lobby’s Money Grab?
August 1, 2014
By Angie Schmitt That means, if Amendment 7 passes, the state’s poorest residents — whether they drive or not — will pay a larger share of their income than the state’s affluent residents. A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the poorest 20 percent of Missouri residents spend 5.9 percent of their income […]
Missouri Budget Project: Earned Income Tax Credit: A Targeted Tax Change with Significant Impact
July 31, 2014
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a federal tax credit for low- and moderate-income working people. It encourages and rewards work as well as offsets federal payroll and income taxes. Read the Full Report (PDF)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Ten Good Reason to Vote against the Transportation Sales Tax
June 2, 2014
By the Editorial Board, May 31, 2014 It has been said of this editorial page that we’ve never met a tax increase we didn’t like. That’s not entirely true, but it’s close. We tend to favor fair taxes used in the common good for vital public services. But now we’ve studied the three-quarter-cent state sales […]
