Recent Work by ITEP

Return of the Moderate: A Kansas Force Awakens

February 28, 2017 • By Lisa Christensen Gee

Before the tea party wave of 2010 that brought Gov. Sam Brownback to power and inspired the disappointing “real life experiment” in tax policy, Kansas was primarily governed by a moderate bipartisan coalition. One thing the last few weeks in the Kansas capital has clearly demonstrated is that this coalition is back and they mean […]

What to Watch in the States: State-Federal Relationship Shifting

February 28, 2017 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill

So far in this series on tax policy topics to watch in 2017, we’ve covered important state debates in areas such as attempts to weaken or eliminate progressive taxes and needed updates to gas taxes and sales taxes. As if those topics weren’t enough to keep state lawmakers up at night, they will be making […]

States Should Require Combined Reporting of Corporate Income

February 27, 2017 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill

An important aspect of a 21st century tax code is ensuring that corporate income taxes are easy for corporations to follow, but not easy for them to avoid. As our newly updated policy brief on Combined Reporting of State Corporate Income Taxes explains, “combined reporting” remains an essential tool for states to achieve these goals. […]

Why, West Virginia, Why?

February 24, 2017 • By Aidan Davis

A recently introduced Senate Bill in West Virginia (SB 335) would ultimately eliminate the state’s personal and corporate income taxes, do away with the sales and use tax, and reduce the state’s severance tax. Under the plan, the revenue lost from this assortment of diverse taxes would be replaced by an 8 percent broad-based general […]

Tax Justice Digest: The Problems with a Border Adjustment Tax

February 24, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately.  Regressive and Loophole-Ridden: Issues with the House GOP Border Adjustment Tax Proposal In recent weeks, the Republican congressional […]

Combined Reporting of State Corporate Income Taxes: A Primer

February 24, 2017 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill, Meg Wiehe

Over the past several decades, state corporate income taxes have declined markedly. One of the factors contributing to this decline has been aggressive tax avoidance on the part of large, multi-state corporations, costing states billions of dollars. The most effective approach to combating corporate tax avoidance is combined reporting, a method of taxation currently employed in more than half of the states that tax corporate income. The two most recent states to enact combined reporting are Rhode Island in 2014 and Connecticut in 2015. In several states, including Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont, lawmakers adopted the policy after…

State Rundown 2/23: Regressive Tax Proposals Multiplying

February 23, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

This week saw a nearly successful attempt to right the fiscal ship in Kansas; regressive tax proposals introduced in WestVirginia, Georgia, and Missouri; ongoing gas tax fights in Indiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee; and further tax and budget wrangling in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and beyond. — Meg Wiehe, ITEP State Policy Director, @megwiehe Both […]

The Border Adjustment Tax Creates More Problems Than It Solves

February 22, 2017 • By Richard Phillips

In recent weeks, the Republican congressional leadership’s effort to introduce a comprehensive tax reform bill has increasingly faced opposition from major business groups and skeptical lawmakers from across the aisle. The primary source of dissent thus far is that the most prominent tax framework, the House GOP’s “Better Way” tax blueprint, contains a radical provision […]

Regressive and Loophole-Ridden: Issues with the House GOP Border Adjustment Tax Proposal

February 22, 2017 • By Matthew Gardner, Richard Phillips

In the summer of 2016, House Republicans released a blueprint for tax reform that is likely to be used as the starting point for major tax legislation in 2017.[1] One of the most radical provisions is a proposal to shift the corporate tax code from a residence-based to a destination-based system through applying a border adjustment on exports and imports. This proposal has major flaws that would make it a challenge to implement. Further, it is inherently regressive, rife with loopholes and would violate international agreements.

What to Watch in the States: Modernizing Sales Taxes for a 21st Century Economy

February 15, 2017 • By Misha Hill

This is the fourth installment of our six-part series on 2017 state tax trends. The introduction to this series is available here.   State lawmakers often find themselves looking for ways to raise revenue to fund vital public services, fill budget gaps, or pay for the elimination or weakening of progressive taxes. Lately, that search has […]