Recent Work by ITEP
Many cities, counties, and townships across the country are in a difficult, or at least unstable, budgetary position. Localities are responding to these financial pressures in a variety of ways with some charging ahead with enacting innovative reforms like short-term rental and vacancy taxes, and others setting up local tax commissions to study the problem.
State Rundown 8/8: States Laying the Groundwork for Future Tax Battles
August 8, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
Whether they’re in a special session, gearing up for one, or prepping for 2025, states around the country are focusing on important tax fights...
Minnesota stands apart from the rest of the country with a moderately progressive tax system that asks slightly more of the rich than of low- and middle-income families. Recent reforms signed by Gov. Tim Walz have contributed to this reality.
Sales Tax Holidays Miss the Mark When it Comes to Effective Sales Tax Reform
August 6, 2024 • By Marco Guzman
Nineteen states have sales tax holidays on the books in 2024. These suspensions combined will cost states and localities over $1.3 billion in lost revenue this year. Sales tax holidays are poorly targeted and too temporary to meaningfully change the regressive nature of a state’s tax system.
Undocumented immigrants pay taxes that help fund public infrastructure, institutions, and services in every U.S. state. Nearly 39 percent of the total tax dollars paid by undocumented immigrants in 2022 ($37.3 billion) went to state and local governments.
Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants
July 30, 2024 • By Carl Davis, Emma Sifre, Marco Guzman
Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Providing access to work authorization for undocumented immigrants would increase their tax contributions both because their wages would rise and because their rates of tax compliance would increase.
Four states expanded or boosted refundable tax credits for children and families, and the District of Columbia is poised to create a new Child Tax Credit. These actions — in Colorado, Illinois, New York, Utah, and D.C. — continue the recent trend of improving the well-being of children and families with refundable tax credits.
State Rundown 7/25: Summertime Hits Different in Different States
July 25, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
State lawmakers will have a lot to discuss when they compare notes on how they spent their summer vacations this year...
Major tax cuts were largely rejected this year, but states continue to chip away at income taxes. And while property tax cuts were a hot topic across the country, many states failed to deliver effective solutions to affordability issues.
Improving Refundable Tax Credits by Making Them Immigrant-Inclusive
July 17, 2024 • By Emma Sifre, Marco Guzman
Undocumented immigrants who work and pay taxes but don't have a valid Social Security number for either themselves or their children are excluded from federal EITC and CTC benefits. Fortunately, several states have stepped in to ensure undocumented immigrants are not left behind by the gaps in the federal EITC and CTC. State lawmakers should continue to ensure that immigrants who are otherwise eligible for these tax credits receive them.
ITEP in the News
USA Today: Would Mamdani's 'Millionaire Tax' Chase the Rich Out of New York City?
Rolling Stone: Every Dirty Gift Trump’s Big Bill Gives the Fossil Fuel Industry
Washington Post: Conservatives Are Asking Trump for Another Big Tax Cut
NC Newsline: NC Lawmakers Urged to Act as Federal Cuts Threaten State Services
The American Prospect: Right-Wing State Tax ‘Revolution’ Rolls On
ITEP Work in Action
Florida Policy Institute: What Floridians Should Know About the FY 2025-26 Tax Package
The Bell Policy Center: Colorado’s Rural Communities Will Suffer from the Federal Budget Bill
CAP: A New Immigration System To Safeguard America’s Security, Expand Economic Growth, and Make Us Stronger
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: Statement on Final Passage of Federal Budget Reconciliation Bill
More Perfect Union: The One Big Beautiful Bill Is a Big Corporate Cash Grab
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