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While President Trump was busy publicly shaming Amazon for failing to collect some state and local sales taxes, his own business’s online store was not only failing to collect the same taxes, but was arguably more aggressive than Amazon in refusing to do so. As of last month, TrumpStore.com was not even collecting sales tax in New York State despite having a “flagship retail store” inside Trump Tower, in Manhattan. As ITEP pointed out at that time: “It seems likely that the presence of a New York location should be enough to put TrumpStore.com within reach of New York’s sales…

This week the IRS website asked some would-be tax filers to return after December 31, 9999. State legislators don't have quite that much time, but are struggling to wrap up their tax debates on schedule as well. Iowa legislators, for example, are ironically still debating tax cuts despite having run out of money to cover their daily expenses for the year. Nebraska's session wrapped up, but its tax debate continues in the form of a call for a special session and the threat of an unfunded tax cut going before voters in November. Mississippi's tax debate has been revived by…

We're highlighting the progress of a few newer trends in consumption taxation. This includes using the tax code to discourage consumption of everything from plastic bags to carbon and collecting revenue from emerging industries like ride sharing services and legalized cannabis sales.

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to consider a case next week (South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.) that has the potential to significantly improve states and localities’ ability to enforce their sales tax laws on Internet purchases.

Online shopping is hardly a new phenomenon. And yet states and localities still lack the authority to require many Internet retailers to collect the sales taxes that their locally based, brick and mortar competitors have been collecting for decades.

This analysis finds that extending the temporary tax provisions in 2026 would not be aimed at helping the middle-class any more than TCJA as enacted helps the middle-class in 2018.

In recent weeks, President Trump has been raking Amazon over the coals for failing to collect state and local sales taxes on many of the company’s sales—a criticism that has some merit. But a new story first reported by James Kosur at RedStateDisaster, and then picked up today by the Wall Street Journal, provides fascinating insight into the sales tax collection habits of the Trump Organization’s “official retail website,” TrumpStore.com.

This week, Kentucky legislators passed a bill shifting taxes onto low- and middle-income families, Oklahoma legislators reached a deal on education funding, and their counterparts in Kansas proffered multiple proposals for their education funding needs. Meanwhile, tax debates are coming down to the wire in Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska, and responses to the federal tax-cut bill were settled on in Maryland, New York, and Wisconsin.

Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said this appears to be another example of wealthy Americans “gaming” the tax system through special loopholes. “The whole point is to help New Yorkers to avoid a tax hike, and in particular to help wealthy New Yorkers avoid a tax […]

The Amazon HQ2 project would be the biggest in U.S. history as measured in projected jobs, yet little is known about the incentives cities have offered Amazon to lure its second headquarters. This lack of disclosure prevents public participation in the deal, including raising important questions about whether tax incentives that cities are offering are in the best short- and long-term interest of their residents. This is the main finding of Public Auction, Private Dealings: Will Amazon’s HQ2 Veer to Secrecy Create A Missed Opportunity for Inclusive, Accountable Development?, a Good Jobs First study released today.

This week, after the recent teacher strike in West Virginia, teacher pay crises brought on by years of irresponsible tax cuts also made headlines in Arizona and Oklahoma. Maine and New York lawmakers continue to hash out how they will respond to the federal tax bill. And their counterparts in Missouri and Nebraska attempt to push forward their tax cutting agendas.

This has been a big year for state action on tax credits that support low-and moderate-income workers and families. And this makes sense given the bad hand low- and middle-income families were dealt under the recent Trump-GOP tax law, which provides most of its benefits to high-income households and wealthy investors.   Many proposed changes are part of states’ broader reaction to the impact of the new federal law on state tax systems. Unfortunately, some of those proposals left much to be desired.

A new ITEP analysis reveals that in seven states (Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania), the nation’s largest e-retailer, Amazon.com, is either not collecting local-level sales taxes or is charging a lower tax rate than local retailers. In other states, such as Colorado and Illinois, Amazon is collecting local tax because it has an in-state presence, but localities cannot collect taxes from other e-retailers based outside the state.

With many state legislative sessions about halfway through, the ripple effects of the federal tax-cut bill took a back seat this week as states focused their energies on their own tax and budget issues. Major proposals were released in Nebraska and New Jersey, one advanced in Missouri, and debates wrapped up in Florida, Utah, and Washington. Oklahoma and Vermont are considering ways to improve education funding, while California, New York, and Vermont look to require more of their most fortunate residents. And check in on "what we're reading" for resources on the online sales tax debate, the role of property…

Many states struggle with a need for revenue, yet their lawmakers show little will to raise taxes to fund public services. Revenue shortfalls can prove to be a moving target. Some states with expected shortfalls are now seeing rosier forecasts. But as estimates come in above or below projections, states continue to grapple with how and whether to raise the revenue necessary to adequately fund key programs. Here are a few trends that are leading to less than cushy state coffers this year.