Recent Work by ITEP

ITEP Testimony on HB 567 Income Tax Reform

February 18, 2009 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today focuses on one bill introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives: HB 567, which concerns reforming the state’s individual income tax structure. In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of this bill on the overall fairness of Missouri’s tax system. This bill would make the overall tax structure more equitable and […]

ITEP’s Public Comments to the Governor’s 21st Century Tax Reform Commission

September 15, 2008 • By ITEP Staff

We appreciate the opportunity to submit comments on ways to improve Minnesota’s business climate. Historically, Minnesota has ranked above the national average in terms of many economic and social indicators. These public services are what foster economic development and what businesses look for when making location decisions. In fact, “research shows an emerging consensus that […]

Latest IRS Data Reveal Fundamental Mismatches in the States

August 15, 2008 • By ITEP Staff

Data released late last week by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indicate that 10 states have greater concentrations of reported income among their very wealthiest residents than the country as a whole. Unfortunately, the tax systems in those ten states generally ignore that very important reality. Of those ten states: • four lack a broad-based […]

Fair and Sustainable Tax Reform: Options for Louisiana

June 15, 2008 • By ITEP Staff

Louisiana lawmakers are in what appears to be an enviable position. At a time when legislators in many other states face daunting budget shortfalls, Louisiana enjoys a projected short-term budget surplus for the upcoming fiscal year. But Louisiana’s tax system remains troubled in one important sense. It is profoundly unfair, imposing much higher effective tax […]

Building a Better Tax Cut: An Alternative to SB 87

May 19, 2008 • By ITEP Staff

On Wednesday, May 14, 2008, the House Ways and Means Committee approved SB 87, a measure originally sponsored by Senator Buddy Shaw and now backed by Governor Bobby Jindal. The measure would reduce state income taxes by close to $300 million per year, but a new analysis by the Washington, DC-based Institute on Taxation and […]

ITEP Testimony on Combined Reporting, Before the Massachusetts General Court Joint Committee on Revenue

March 5, 2008 • By ITEP Staff

Over the past few months, a strong consensus appears to have developed here in Massachusetts, a consensus that the Commonwealth should put a stop to tax avoidance by large and profitable businesses and adopt a new approach to its corporate excise tax – a method of taxation commonly referred to as combined reporting. I want […]

Assembly’s Tax Plan: More Revenue, Less Fairness

November 20, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

The tax plan approved by the Maryland General Assembly on Monday will help provide the revenue necessary to fund vital public services in Maryland, but, according to the latest analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), working families will bear the brunt of the tax changes contained in the plan. All told, […]

Senate Plan Falls Hardest on Low-Income Marylanders

November 15, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

A new analysis of the tax legislation approved by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Tuesday shows that the Senate’s tax changes would impose the largest tax hikes, as a share of income, on low- and middle-income Marylanders. The analysis also shows that the Senate plan’s regressive impact is in sharp contrast to the […]

ITEP Testimony on Governor’s Plan: Expanding the Sales Tax

November 7, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today focuses on the sales tax legislation included in the Tax Reform Act of 2007. In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of the bill’s expansion of the sales tax base to include more services. The proposed changes are an important first step toward a more sustainable Maryland tax system. But, because […]

ITEP Testimony on Governor’s Plan: Improving the Income Tax

November 1, 2007 • By ITEP Staff

My testimony today focuses on the proposed changes to Maryland’s personal income tax put forward by Governor O’Malley and the impact that those changes would have on Marylanders at different income levels. Before I present the substance of my analysis of the Governor’s proposal, however, I would like to describe three important contexts for you […]