New York
State Rundown 6/13: Decisions are falling into place, but some states will come back for more
• By ITEP Staff
State budgets are falling into place as lawmakers near the end of their legislative sessions...
State Rundown 6/6: A Tale of Two Tax Laws
• By ITEP Staff
This week, it was the best of times or, in some cases, the worst of times for tax policy in two different states...
States Should Opt Into IRS Direct File as the Program is Made Permanent
• By Jon Whiten
While there is plenty of room to expand Direct File at the federal level, states can take matters into their own hands and bring this benefit to their residents by opting into the program.
Better Tax Codes Help Boost Teacher Pay
• By Alex Welch
There are a variety of factors that affect teacher pay. But one often overlooked factor is progressive tax policies that allow states to raise and provide the funding educators and their students deserve.
State Rundown 4/24: It’s Crunch Time
• By ITEP Staff
Many state legislative sessions are wrapping up...
Fairness Matters: A Chart Book on Who Pays State and Local Taxes
• By ITEP Staff
State and local tax codes can do a lot to reduce inequality. But they add to the nation’s growing income inequality problem when they capture a greater share of income from low- or moderate-income taxpayers. These regressive tax codes also result in higher tax rates on communities of color, further worsening racial income and wealth divides.
These Three Local EITCs Are Boosting Family Incomes at Tax Time
• By Andrew Boardman
This tax season more than 800,000 households in New York City, Maryland's Montgomery County, and San Francisco are set to receive a boost through local refundable EITCs. These credits put dollars directly into the pockets of low-income households, equipping families with resources to better make ends meet and invest in their futures. In turn, they can help build stronger, fairer, and more resilient communities.
Who Pays Taxes in America in 2024
• By Steve Wamhoff
America's tax system is just barely progressive, and not nearly as progressive as many suggest or as progressive as it could be. There is plenty of room for lawmakers to improve the progressivity of the tax code to combat economic, wealth, and racial inequality.
State Rundown 4/3: Some States Buck the Trend on Foolish Tax Policy
• By ITEP Staff
This week tax cuts were debated across the upper Midwest...
Capital & Main: Extreme Wealth Is on the Ballot This Year — Will Americans Vote to Tax the Rich?
April 3, 2024
On March 7, President Joe Biden reintroduced proposals to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans and the nation’s most profitable corporations. The move virtually ensures that the nation’s extreme wealth inequality — more than one in four dollars in the country is held by a tiny sliver of households with a net worth over $30 million — will be part of the national election debate. But excessive wealth may take center stage in at least 10 states, ranging from…
State Rundown 3/20: Investments Over Cuts
• By ITEP Staff
Over the past week Utah continued its slow march toward a more inequitable tax code...
States Move to Tax the Top in 2024
• By Marco Guzman, Miles Trinidad
These forward-thinking states are demonstrating the wide variety of options for policymakers who want to raise more from the wealthiest people, rein in corporate tax avoidance, create fair tax codes and build strong communities.
State Rundown 3/14: Sessions are Heating Up
• By ITEP Staff
Many state legislative sessions are in the final stretch...
Local Mansion Taxes: Building Stronger Communities with Progressive Taxes on High-Value Real Estate
• By Andrew Boardman
More than one dozen cities and counties levy progressive taxes on high-price real estate transactions — sometimes called mansion taxes — and over a dozen more are considering such policies. By asking buyers and sellers with greater financial means to contribute more to the common good, these policies are equipping communities with resources to make progress on critical challenges of local and national concern.
Revenue-Raising Proposals in President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Plan
• By Steve Wamhoff
President Biden’s most recent budget plan includes proposals that would raise more than $5 trillion from high-income individuals and corporations over a decade. Like the budget plan he submitted to Congress last year, it would partly reverse the Trump tax cuts for corporations and high-income individuals, clamp down on corporate tax avoidance, and require the wealthiest individuals to pay taxes on their capital gains income just as they are required to for other types of…
ITEP’s Marco Guzman Testifies in Favor of Tax Fairness Bills in Connecticut
• By Marco Guzman
Good afternoon, Senator Fonfara, Representative Horn, and members of the Committee, and thank you for this opportunity to testify. My name is Marco Guzman and I'm a senior policy analyst with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP, and we’re a nonprofit research organization that focuses on state, local, and federal tax policy issues.
ITEP’s Kamolika Das Testifies on Pennsylvania’s Upside-Down Tax Code
• By Kamolika Das
Below is written testimony delivered by ITEP Local Policy Director Kamolika Das before the Pennsylvania House Finance Subcommittee on Tax Modernization & Reform on March 1, 2024. Good afternoon and thank you for this opportunity to testify. My name is Kamolika Das, I live in South Philly, and I’m the Local Tax Policy Director at […]
State Rundown 2/28: States Keep Busy While Washington Stalls
• By ITEP Staff
State legislative sessions are in full swing with New Jersey and Oklahoma both particularly active this week...
IRS Commissioner, New GAO Report Highlight Importance of Proper IRS Funding
• By Joe Hughes
A new GAO report and Commissioner Werfel’s testimony highlight the value and necessity of a well-funded and functioning IRS. Most families and businesses do their best to pay taxes accurately and on time. The nation benefits from a modern revenue agency that can make this process as easy and simple as possible and identify complex tax schemes that deprive the country of revenues.
State Rundown 2/14: Our Love Language is Taxes
• By ITEP Staff
As many of you may know, we love taxes, along with the many great things they provide for our communities...
What Do We Mean By “The Rich” — and Does it Matter?
• By Michael Ettlinger
It doesn’t matter if someone with a family income of $800,000 per year thinks they aren’t rich because they can’t quit their jobs and retire to a luxury home on the beach in Malibu. They can call themselves what they want. The point is that they are richer than 99 percent of the population and can afford to pay more.
Three Things to Know This Tax Filing Season
• By Joe Hughes
The IRS Direct File pilot is currently open to eligible taxpayers here. Millions of American families have now received their W-2s for 2023, signaling the start to a new tax filing season. The IRS has set January 29 as the first date that people can file their tax returns for the previous year, and the […]
State Rundown 1/26: Wealth Taxes Drawing Interest Early in Legislative Sessions
• By ITEP Staff
Bills are moving and state legislative sessions are picking up across the country, giving elected officials the opportunity to consider two distinct paths when it comes to tax policy...
New York Times: Vermont Becomes Latest State to Propose Wealth Taxes
January 23, 2024
Lawmakers in Vermont are introducing legislation this week that would impose new taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents, joining a growing national campaign being pushed by Democrats who believe that the measures will gain traction as states reckon with post-pandemic budget squeezes
State Tax Watch 2024
• By ITEP Staff
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 […]
