Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

New York

How Much Do the Top 1% in Each State Get from the Trump Megabill?

The Senate tax bill under debate right now would bring very large tax cuts to very high-income people. In total, the richest 1 percent would receive $114 billion in tax cuts next year alone. That would amount to nearly $61,000 for each of these affluent households.

State Rundown 6/25: The Numbers Don’t Lie, State Budget Edition

Many states are reaching their end-of-June budget deadlines, and major tax policy changes look to have big implications as states are forced, per federal policy, to do more with less.

State Rundown 6/20: Federal tax policy heats up, states wrap sessions and weigh impacts

As state legislative sessions come to a close, decisions on tax policy are being made. Several southern states have cut taxes, while the northeast is making some more measured reforms.

Testimony: ITEP’s Amy Hanauer Discusses the House Reconciliation Bill During a Senate Spotlight Forum

June 18, 2025

Thank you for including me today and you can find research that I reference today on the website of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy at www.itep.org. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) would cut services to poor and middle-class families, reduce revenue available for public needs, and provide large tax cuts primarily to the richest Americans, while also providing tax cuts to foreign investors.

New York Times: Trump’s Big Bill Would Be More Regressive Than Any Major Law in Decades

June 16, 2025

The Republican megabill now before the Senate cuts taxes for high earners and reduces benefits for the poor. If it’s enacted, that combination would make it more regressive than any major tax or entitlement law in decades. Read more.

State Rundown 6/5: States Wrap Sessions, Some Prepare for Fiscal Uncertainty

States use the final hours of their legislative sessions to address deficits and preserve revenue in preparation for the times ahead.

New York Times: Religious Education Lost at the Supreme Court. But It’s Winning Everywhere Else.

May 24, 2025

The court rejected a religious charter school, but conservatives may get much of what they want in a school voucher program that passed the House this week. Read more.

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Analysis of Tax Provisions in the House Reconciliation Bill: National and State Level Estimates

May 22, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Jessica Vela, Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff

Analysis of Tax Provisions in the House Reconciliation Bill: National and State Level Estimates

The poorest fifth of Americans would receive 1 percent of the House reconciliation bill's net tax cuts in 2026 while the richest fifth of Americans would receive two-thirds of the tax cuts. The richest 5 percent alone would receive a little less than half of the net tax cuts that year.

State Rundown 5/15: State Tax Debates Carry On in the Midst of Chaotic Federal Tax Landscape

Even as most major headlines have been about the ever-changing landscape of federal tax policy, the latest “ideas of the week," and now the House tax bill, state tax policy continues to be a priority for lawmakers.

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Maryland’s New Budget Boosts Tax Revenue and Equity

May 6, 2025 • By Miles Trinidad

Maryland’s New Budget Boosts Tax Revenue and Equity

The final budget adopted by the Maryland General Assembly shows progress in advancing tax equity in the state while boosting state revenues to address the state’s budget deficit. To help close a $3.3 billion budget deficit, Maryland legislators enacted much-needed tax reforms and progressive revenue raisers that help meet the state’s needs while making the […]

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Trump 2025 Tax Law: Research and Resources

May 2, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

Trump 2025 Tax Law: Research and Resources

Want to know more about the tax and spending megabill that President Trump recently signed into law? We've got you covered.

State Rundown 5/1: State Tax Debates Wrapping Up, and Just Beginning

The rampant uncertainty this year extends far beyond the national economy and federal policy, as many state legislatures are declaring their tax and budget debates finished, and just getting started, sometimes in the same breath.

Trump Administration’s Decision to End Direct File is Another Gift to Big Corporations

Contact: Jon Whiten ([email protected]) According to multiple reports, the Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS Direct File program, a free electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency. Statement from ITEP Executive Director Amy Hanauer “The tax preparation industry has for years lobbied to prevent the IRS from providing a tool to […]

MSNBC: Trumps Social Security Team has Reportedly Marked More than 6,000 Immigrants as Dead

April 14, 2025

The New York Times was first to report on the administration’s cancellation of immigrants’ lawfully obtained Social Security numbers — essentially listing individuals as dead — as a means to impede their ability to make money or access government services and to pressure them to leave the country. 

IRS Cooperation with ICE Will Damage Public Trust, Putting Tax Revenues in Jeopardy

Attempts by the Department of Homeland Security to secure private information from the IRS on people who file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is a violation of federal privacy laws that protect taxpayers. It is also a change that could seriously damage public trust in the IRS, which could jeopardize billions of dollars in tax payments by hardworking immigrant families.

Sharp Turn in Federal Policy Brings Significant Risks for State Tax Revenues

Summary The new presidential administration and Congress have indicated that they intend to bring about a dramatic federal retreat in funding for health care, food assistance, education, and other services that will push more of the responsibility for providing these essential services to the states. Meeting these new obligations would be a challenging task for […]

When Did Your State Enact an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)?

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) supports millions of workers and families and continues to grow in states and localities across the country. Today, 31 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico offer EITCs. Local EITCs can also now be found in Montgomery County, Maryland, New York City, and San Francisco, where they benefited 700,000 households in 2023.

New York Times: Assessing Elon Musk’s Misleading Claims About Fraud in Government Spending

March 29, 2025

The world’s richest man made inaccurate claims about entitlement fraud, how a government payment system works and government survey costs. Read more.

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Celebrating 50 Years of the Earned Income Tax Credit

March 28, 2025 • By Neva Butkus

Celebrating 50 Years of the Earned Income Tax Credit

This week, we celebrate 50 years of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the impact it's had on millions of workers and families. In 2023 alone, the latest year of available data, the federal EITC alongside the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit lifted 6.4 million people and 3.4 million children out of poverty.

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Housing Affordability and Property Taxes: How to Actually Move the Needle

March 19, 2025 • By Kamolika Das, Rita Jefferson

Housing Affordability and Property Taxes: How to Actually Move the Needle

Tax policy alone cannot solve the housing crisis but lawmakers who are focused on tax policy solutions have better options available than sweeping property tax cuts and caps: property tax circuit breakers, renter credits, vacancy taxes, land value taxes, and changes to existing property tax assessments can move the needle on the affordable housing crisis.

Contact: Jon Whiten ([email protected]) A bill introduced in Congress would create an unprecedented 100% tax credit for donations to nonprofits that give out private K-12 school vouchers and create a lucrative tax shelter that would further enrich some of America’s wealthiest individuals. If passed, the Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025 (ECCA) would cost […]

A Revenue Impact Analysis of the Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025

The Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025 would provide donors to nonprofit groups that distribute private K-12 school vouchers with a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit in exchange for their contributions. In total, the ECCA would reduce federal and state tax revenues by $10.6 billion in 2026 and by $136.3 billion over the next 10 years. Federal tax revenues would decline by $134 billion over 10 years while state revenues would decline by $2.3 billion.

State Rundown 3/12: Last-Minute Tax Cut Mayhem and New Progressive Revenue Raisers

A bevy of tax cut proposals sprung to life this week while others were signed into law. In Kentucky, lawmakers are working to make it easier for the legislature to enact income and business tax cuts. The governor in Idaho signed into law a personal and corporate income tax cut.

New York Times: Musk Suggests His Team Will Scrutinize Social Security and Entitlement Spending

March 11, 2025

Elon Musk, the world’s richest individual, suggested on Monday that his government cost-cutting team would scrutinize Social Security and other entitlement spending, describing the expenditures as rife with fraudulent transactions and repeating a conspiracy theory that Democrats were using the programs as a “gigantic magnet to attract illegal immigrants and have them stay in the […]

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State-by-State Tax Expenditure Reports

March 1, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

Below is a list of tax expenditure reports published in the states.