Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

New York

State Tax Watch 2024

January 23, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

State Tax Watch 2024

Updated July 15, 2024 In 2024, state lawmakers have a choice: advance tax policy that improves equity and helps communities thrive, or push tax policies that disproportionately benefit the wealthy, drain funding for critical public services, and make it harder for low-income and working families to get ahead. Despite worsening state fiscal conditions, we expect […]

New York Times: What’s in the New Tax Deal?

January 19, 2024

Lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee will attempt a rare feat on Friday when they begin debate on something that rarely comes together in an election year: bipartisan tax legislation. Read more.

How the Fairness of State Tax Codes Affects Public Education

The findings of Who Pays? go a long way toward explaining why so many states are failing to raise the amount of revenue needed to provide full and robust support for our public schools.

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Worthwhile Ideas for a Stronger and Fairer D.C. Tax Code

January 17, 2024 • By Andrew Boardman, Kamolika Das, Marco Guzman

Worthwhile Ideas for a Stronger and Fairer D.C. Tax Code

The nation’s capital has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to advance a stronger and fairer local tax code. New draft recommendations from a key advisory panel will help leaders make the most of the moment.

State Rundown 1/11: Sounding the Alarm on Regressive State & Local Tax Codes

States got a wake-up call this week as ITEP released the latest edition of our flagship Who Pays? report...

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In Most States, the Tax Code Makes Inequality Worse

January 9, 2024 • By Carl Davis

In Most States, the Tax Code Makes Inequality Worse

The vast majority of state and local tax systems are upside-down, with the wealthy paying a far lesser share of their income in taxes than low- and middle-income families. Yet a few states have made strides to buck that trend and have tax codes that are somewhat progressive and therefore do not worsen inequality.

The vast majority of state and local tax systems are upside-down, with the wealthy paying a far lesser share of their income in taxes than low- and middle-income families. That’s according to the latest edition of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s Who Pays?, the only distributional analysis of tax systems in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

New York: Who Pays? 7th Edition

January 9, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

New York: Who Pays? 7th Edition

New York Download PDF All figures and charts show 2024 tax law in New York, presented at 2023 income levels. Senior taxpayers are excluded for reasons detailed in the methodology. Our analysis includes nearly all (99.9 percent) state and local tax revenue collected in New York. State and local tax shares of family income Top […]

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State Rundown 12/14: Tax Policy Debates Ramp Up for 2024

December 14, 2023 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 12/14: Tax Policy Debates Ramp Up for 2024

Even as revenue collections slow in many states, some are starting the push for 2024 tax cuts early. For instance, policymakers in Georgia and Utah are already making the case for deeper income tax cuts. Meanwhile, Arizona lawmakers are now facing a significant deficit, the consequence of their recent top-heavy tax cuts. There is another […]

Contact: Jon Whiten ([email protected]) Last month when the IRS announced the inflation-adjusted 2024 tax brackets, it also adjusted the basic exemption to the federal estate tax. Next year, an individual can leave behind an estate of $13.61 million without triggering the tax (for a married couple, that doubles to $27.22 million). Clearly, the estate tax […]

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State Rundown 11/29: Thankful for Good Tax Policy

November 29, 2023 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 11/29: Thankful for Good Tax Policy

Though Turkey Day has passed, lawmakers in states across the U.S. have yet to get their fill of delicious tax policy goodness...

Hidden in Plain Sight: Race and Tax Policy in 2023 State Legislative Sessions

Race was front and center in a lot of state policy debates this year, from battles over what’s being taught in schools to disagreements over new voting laws. Less visible, but also extremely important, were the racial implications of tax policy changes. What states accomplished this year – both good and bad – will acutely affect people and families of color.

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Abortion-Restricting States Skimp on Funding for Children

November 9, 2023 • By Amy Hanauer

Abortion-Restricting States Skimp on Funding for Children

States differ dramatically in how much they allow families to make choices about whether and when to have children and how much support they provide when families do. But there is a clear pattern: the states that compel childbirth spend less to help children once they are born.

State Rundown 11/8: Election Results Bring Victories, Opportunities for More Common-Sense Tax Reform

Voters had the chance to impact tax policy across the country on election day, and some chose to enact common-sense reforms to raise revenue...

America Used to Have a Wealth Tax: The Forgotten History of the General Property Tax

Over time, broad wealth taxes were whittled away to become the narrower property taxes we have today. These selective wealth taxes apply to the kinds of wealth that make up a large share of middle-class families’ net worth (like homes and cars), but usually exempt most of the net worth of the wealthy (like business equity, bonds, and pooled investment funds).The rationale for this pared-back approach to wealth taxation has grown weaker in recent decades as inequality has worsened, the share of wealth held outside of real estate has increased, and the tools needed to administer a broad wealth tax…

Free Tax Filing Option from the IRS Would Benefit People of Color, Contrary to Corporate Warnings

There's a patchwork of programs and preparers for people of color to turn to when filing taxes, and most come from corporations that profit from providing a service that the government could provide more effectively and efficiently for free. The Direct File program can change that and is a great step forward in the IRS’ work addressing racism in the tax code.

Refundable local EITCs improve the economic security of workers, families, and children. These credits put dollars directly into the pockets of financially vulnerable households, helping them afford the basics and achieve better health and economic outcomes.

Three Localities are Boosting Communities with Refundable EITCs; Others Should Follow Suit

Most states already offer their own Earned Income Tax Credits, typically matching a certain percentage of residents’ federal EITC, but this is still a rarity among localities.

Local Earned Income Tax Credits: How Localities Are Boosting Economic Security and Advancing Equity with EITCs

Leading localities are using refundable EITCs to boost incomes and reduce taxes for workers and families with low and moderate incomes. These local credits build on the success of EITCs at the federal and state levels, reduce economic hardship and improve the fairness of the tax code.

State Rundown 10/26: Off-Year Ballot Measures and State & Local Tax Policy

November elections are creeping closer and closer and while that typically means a new batch of lawmakers are elected, it also means voters have another chance to help shape state and local tax policy...

New York Times: Why Do We Enrich Older Americans at the Expense of Everyone Else?

October 26, 2023

We older Americans are not only controlling national politics, we are consuming an ever larger share of our economy’s resources through programs like Social Security and Medicare, leaving younger Americans to foot growing bills for their parents’ and grandparents’ retirements. And politicians of both parties are refusing to recognize the consequences. Read more.

Kyrsten Sinema’s Latest Fight to Protect Tax Breaks for Private Equity

Sen. Sinema's bill to stop a seemingly arcane business tax increase that was enacted as part of the 2017 Trump tax law would be hugely beneficial to the private equity industry.

State Tax Credits Have Transformative Power to Improve Economic Security

The latest analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau provides an important reminder of the compelling link between public investments and families’ economic well-being. Policy decisions can drastically reduce poverty and improve family economic stability for low- and middle-income families alike, as today’s data release shows.

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States are Boosting Economic Security with Child Tax Credits in 2023

September 12, 2023 • By Aidan Davis, Neva Butkus

States are Boosting Economic Security with Child Tax Credits in 2023

Fourteen states now provide Child Tax Credits to reduce poverty, boost economic security, and invest in children. This year alone, lawmakers in three states created new Child Tax Credits while lawmakers in seven states expanded existing credits. To maximize impact, lawmakers should consider making their credits fully refundable, not including an earnings requirement, setting a maximum amount per child instead of per household, setting state-specific phase-out ranges that target low- and middle-income families, indexing to inflation, and offering the option of advanced payments.

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Boosting Incomes, Improving Equity: State Earned Income Tax Credits in 2023

September 12, 2023 • By Aidan Davis, Neva Butkus

Boosting Incomes, Improving Equity: State Earned Income Tax Credits in 2023

Nearly two-thirds of states (31 plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) have an Earned Income Tax Credit, an effective tool that boosts low-paid workers’ incomes and helps lower-income families achieve greater economic security. This year, 12 states expanded and improved EITCs.