Nebraska

This past week, in statehouses around the country, tax policy decisions are moving fast as budgets were signed and budget plans were released and passed...

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."

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.

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.

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.

This week the importance of state tax policy is center stage once again...

With Tax Day quickly approaching it’s worth taking some time to reflect not just on tax forms (though those are important!), but also on the current state of state tax policy...

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...

As nature bursts into life and color with the arrival of spring, state tax proposals are doing the same as the legislative seeds planted by lawmakers earlier this year start to grow, blossom, and in some cases rot. However, some governors are not entirely happy with what state lawmakers have produced.

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 […]

Contact: Jon Whiten – [email protected]  Lawmakers in several states are discussing enacting or expanding school voucher tax credits, which reimburse individuals and businesses for “donations” they make to organizations that give out vouchers for free or reduced tuition at private K-12 schools, as a new brief released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic […]

Wealthy families are overwhelmingly the ones using school voucher tax credits to opt out of paying for public education and other public services and to redirect their tax dollars to private and religious institutions instead. Most of these credits are being claimed by families with incomes over $200,000.

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...

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...

Tax season has officially kicked off and with Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day right around the corner, it serves as another reminder for how important the EITC is...

State legislatures are buzzing as leaders and lawmakers jockey to advance their 2023 goals...

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 the rich, can achieve economic security and thrive. In the event of an economic downturn, these results would be accelerated and amplified.

Refundable tax credits are an important tool for improving family economic security and advancing racial equity, and there is incredible momentum heading into 2023 to boost two key state credits: the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

While most states have a graduated rate income tax, some state lawmakers have recently become enamored with the idea of moving away from graduated rate personal income taxes and toward flat rate taxes instead. But flat taxes create problems for ordinary families and let the wealthy off the hook. When faced with a flat income […]

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...