ITEP – Page 101 – Informing tax policy debate nationwide

blog October 17, 2018
New Report Finds that Upside-down State and Local Tax Systems Persist, Contributing to Inequality in Most States

State and local tax systems in 45 states worsen income inequality by making incomes more unequal after taxes. The worst among these are identified in ITEP’s Terrible 10. Washington, Texas, Florida, South Dakota, Nevada, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Wyoming hold the dubious honor of having the most regressive state and local tax systems in the nation. These states ask far more of their lower- and middle-income residents than of their wealthiest taxpayers.
blog October 17, 2018
Low-Tax States Are Often High-Tax for the Poor

ITEP analysis reveals that many states traditionally considered to be “low-tax states” are actually high-tax for their poorest residents. The “low tax” label is typically assigned to states that either lack a personal income tax or that collect a comparatively low amount of tax revenue overall. But a focus on these measures can cause lawmakers to overlook the fact that state tax systems impact different taxpayers in very different ways, and that low-income taxpayers often do not experience these states as being even remotely “low tax.”
report October 17, 2018
Low Tax for Whom? Indiana is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty

Indiana’s tax system has vastly different impacts on taxpayers at different income levels. For instance, the lowest-income 20 percent of Hoosiers contribute 12.8 percent of their income in state and local taxes — considerably more than any other income group in the state. For low-income families, Indiana is far from being a low tax state; in fact, it is the eighth highest-tax state in the country for low-income families.
report October 17, 2018
Low Tax for Whom? Oklahoma is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty

Oklahoma’s tax system has vastly different impacts on taxpayers at different income levels. For instance, the lowest-income 20 percent of Oklahomans contribute 13.2 percent of their income in state and local taxes — considerably more than any other income group in the state. For low-income families, Oklahoma is far from being a low tax state; in fact, it is the fifth highest-tax state in the country for low-income families.
report October 17, 2018
Low Tax for Whom? Florida is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty

Florida’s tax system has vastly different impacts on taxpayers at different income levels. For instance, the lowest-income 20 percent of Floridians contribute 12.7 percent of their income in state and local taxes — considerably more than any other income group in the state. For low-income families, Florida is far from being a low tax state; in fact, it is the ninth highest-tax state in the country for low-income families.
blog October 12, 2018
State Rundown 10/12: Local Jurisdictions Fighting for Revenues, Independence

Voters all around the country are educating themselves for the upcoming elections, notably this week around ballot initiatives in Arizona and Colorado and competing gubernatorial tax proposals in Georgia and Illinois. But not all eyes are on the elections, as the relationship between state and local policy made news in Delaware, Idaho, North Dakota, and Ohio.
report October 11, 2018
ITEP Comments and Recommendations on Proposed Section 170 Regulation (REG-112176-18)

The IRS recently proposed a commonsense improvement to the federal charitable deduction. If finalized, the regulation would prevent not just the newest workarounds to the $10,000 deduction for state and local taxes (SALT), but also a longer-running tax shelter abused by wealthy donors to private K-12 school voucher programs. ITEP has submitted official comments outlining four key recommendations related to the proposed regulation.
report October 11, 2018
Race, Wealth and Taxes: How the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Supercharges the Racial Wealth Divide

A newly released report by Prosperity Now and the Institution on Taxation and Economic Policy, Race, Wealth and Taxes: How the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Supercharges the Racial Wealth Divide, finds that the TCJA not only adds unnecessary fuel to the growing problem of overall economic inequality, but also supercharges an already massive racial wealth divide to an alarming extent.
blog October 10, 2018
'Financial Exposure' Showcases Tax Misconduct by Powerful Individuals and Corporations

Elise J. Bean’s Financial Exposure reiterates the point that tax avoidance and tax evasion were endemic to our financial system long before allegations against a sitting president brought them to the forefront of the public consciousness.
blog October 4, 2018
State Rundown 10/4: Ballot/Election Season in Full Swing

South Carolina lawmakers have finally passed a federal conformity bill in response to last year’s federal tax-cut legislation. Voters in many states are hearing a lot about tax-related questions they’ll see on the ballot in November, particularly residents of Florida, Montana, and Oregon, where corporate donors and other anti-tax interests are spending major sums to alter policy in their states. And states continue to work on ensuring they can collect online sales taxes and, in some states, online sports betting taxes.