Recent Work by ITEP

State Rundown 2/15: Tax Overhauls Debated Around the Country

February 15, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

This week we are following a number of significant proposals being debated or introduced including reinstating the income tax in Alaska and eliminating the tax in West Virginia, establishing a regressive tax-cut trigger in Nebraska, restructuring the Illinois sales tax, moving New Mexico to a flat income tax and broader gross receipts tax, and updating […]

‘IMPROVE’ Act Fails to Improve Tennessee’s Regressive Tax Code

February 13, 2017 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal (dubbed the IMPROVE Act) to raise the state’s gas tax while cutting three other taxes would essentially be a tax cut for the state’s wealthiest residents and a tax increase for the lowest-income Tennesseans. While the gas tax is badly in need of an update to fund maintenance and investment […]

Tax Justice Digest: What to watch in the states, debunking the supply-side myth

February 9, 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.  What to Watch in the States in 2017 State and federal gas taxes are the cornerstone of our […]

State Gasoline Taxes: Built to Fail, But Fixable

February 9, 2017 • By Carl Davis

Every state levies taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, usually just called "gas taxes." These taxes are an important source of state revenue--particularly for transportation--but their poor design has resulted in sluggish revenue growth that fails to keep pace with state infrastructure needs. This ITEP Policy Brief explains how state gas taxes work, their importance as a transportation revenue source, the problems confronting gas taxes, and the types of gas tax reforms that are needed to overcome these problems.

Lawmakers Should Not Use Disproven Trickle-Down Myth to Ramrod Tax Cuts for the Rich

February 8, 2017 • By Misha Hill

For more than four decades, supply-side ideologues have promoted the myth that tax cuts for the wealthy are self-financing and the benefits eventually trickle down to everyone else, despite real-life evidence that tax cuts for the rich benefit the rich. Not even the reality of 40 years of widening income inequality or the current economic […]

State Rundown 2/8: Lessons of Kansas Tax-Cut Disaster Taking Hold in Kansas, Still Lost on Some in Other States

February 8, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

This week we bring news of Kansas lawmakers attempting to fix ill-advised tax cuts that have wreaked havoc on the state’s budget and schools, while their counterparts in Nebraska and Idaho debate bills that would create similar problems for their own states, as well as tax cuts in Arkansas that were proven unaffordable within one […]

Dodging Tough Fiscal Decisions with State Tax Cut Triggers and Phase-Ins

February 6, 2017 • By Carl Davis

The most challenging problem that tax-cutting state lawmakers face is dealing with the budgetary tradeoffs that tax cuts require. Should education spending be reduced? Should investments in infrastructure be halted? Should the state cut back on transfers to local governments and require them to pick up the slack? Or should other taxes and fees be […]

What to Watch in the States: Gas Tax Hikes and Swaps

February 2, 2017 • By Carl Davis

This is the second installment of our six part series on 2017 state tax trends. The introduction to this series is available here. State tax policy can be a divisive issue, but no area has generated more agreement among lawmakers across the country than the need to raise new revenues to fund infrastructure improvements. The […]

What to Watch in the States: Further Attempts to Weaken or Eliminate Progressive Taxes

February 2, 2017 • By Aidan Davis

This is the third installment of our six-part series on 2017 state tax trends. The introduction to this series is available here. As we described last week, many states are gearing up for challenging budget debates this year. But the need to address revenue shortfalls has not stopped lawmakers in many states from pursuing harmful […]

State Rundown 2/1: 2017 State Tax Debates Getting Real

February 1, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

This week’s Rundown brings news of tax cuts passed in Arkansas and advanced in Idaho, proposals to exempt feminine hygiene products from sales taxes in Nevada and Michigan, revenue shortfalls forcing tough choices in Louisiana and Maine, and more governors’ state of the state addresses and budget proposals setting the stage for yet more tax […]