Newsweek: States’ Pursuit of Top-Heavy Tax Cuts Is Disconnected from Reality

The following is an excerpt of an opEd by Aidan Davis, ITEP senior policy analyst, and Neva Butkus, policy analyst, published on Feb. 4 in Newsweek:

One report after another in recent months revealed that the nation’s richest individuals gained wealth during the pandemic while ordinary families financially stood still or faced impossible decisions—such as between paying rent or putting food on the table. But this fact hasn’t stopped certain states from pursuing tax policies that put even more money in high-income households’ pockets.

States have repeatedly tried this approach, always with the false promise that sometime tomorrow, the middle class will benefit from today’s tax cuts for businesses and the wealthiest people. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, a handful of states cut taxes, claiming that doing so would boost growth and turn their economies around. These cuts led to revenue shortfalls and stifled lawmakers’ ability to fund key priorities, such as education, health care and infrastructure. Read more

---