• blog  March 4, 2021

    State Rundown 3/4: Progressive Tax Proposals Steal the Show

    Although lawmakers in some states continue to push for expensive and regressive tax cuts that would primarily benefit wealthy households, worsen economic and racial injustices, and undermine funding for key public services, this week’s state fiscal news is dominated by efforts to do the opposite. Leaders in the District of Columbia, Maine, Nebraska, New York, Washington, and Wyoming made recent headlines by advocating for policies that improve on upside-down tax codes and generate needed funding for shared priorities like schools and health care.

  • blog  March 3, 2021

    New Estimates on Senate's Slightly Revised Cash Payment

    As the Senate takes up the COVID relief bill passed by the House last week, Senate Democrats have proposed to lower the income level at which the $1,400 cash payments would be phased out. New estimates from ITEP demonstrate that, for most people, the change would make no difference.

  • ITEP Work in Action  March 3, 2021

    Florida Policy Institute: State Resolution Could Result in $1.47 Billion in Lost Wages for Young Workers and Foregone Sales Tax Revenue for Florida

    Florida, lacking a personal income tax, relies on sales tax revenue to support critical areas like education and health and human services. More than 75…
  • news release  March 2, 2021

    ITEP: Senate Should Pass Rescue Plan without Delay

    Senators and representatives can look to recent history—the 2007-2009 recession—for lessons on how to best address the current economic crisis. If we do too little, the economy will stay weak much longer, hurting all of us.

  • blog  March 1, 2021

    Senator Warren Introduces Federal Wealth Tax Legislation

    With the onslaught of news about billionaire wealth soaring while low- and moderate-income families have trouble making ends meet, a federal wealth tax makes good economic and fiscal sense—and the public supports it. One poll found that 64 percent of respondents favor the idea, including a majority of Republicans.

  • blog  February 26, 2021

    How the Minimum Wage Is Becoming a Tax Issue for Congress

    The federal minimum wage is almost comically low. At $7.25 an hour, it is 29 percent below its inflation-adjusted peak in the 1960s. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would lift 900,000 Americans out of poverty. A solid 61 percent of voters support the idea. A majority of lawmakers in both the House and Senate support at least some version of a minimum wage hike. The popular $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan includes a measure that would raise the minimum wage over the next few years to $15. So, what is the problem? And why are lawmakers now talking about using the tax code to mandate a higher minimum wage?

  • blog  February 26, 2021

    An Unequal Recession Will Breed Unequal Recovery Without Bold Investments

    Without bold investments now, experts predict a longer, more unequal recovery. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, the framework for legislation expected to pass this week in the House, would boost economic well-being for those whose livelihoods were most affected by the pandemic-induced economic crisis.

  • blog  February 24, 2021

    State Rundown 2/24: State Tax Debates Quickly Thaw Out with Warmer Weather

    Warming temperatures in many parts of the country this week seem to be thawing out state fiscal debates as well. Multiple states including California, Colorado, Maryland, and New Jersey saw movement on efforts to improve tax credits for low- and middle-income families. Mississippi House lawmakers suddenly rushed through a dangerous bill to eliminate the state’s income tax and shift those taxes onto lower-income households. Montana senators also approved regressive income tax cuts and South Dakota legislators advanced an anti-tax constitutional amendment, while lawmakers in Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Washington made progress on improving the progressivity of their tax codes. Gas tax increases were also discussed in Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming.

  • blog  February 24, 2021

    Income Tax Discussion Continues in Alaska

    Alaska is notoriously reliant on tax and royalty revenue from oil to fund vital public services and institutions, but declining oil prices and production levels have rendered those revenues inadequate to meet the state’s needs. ITEP analysis of potential state income tax options in Alaska shows the potential to raise between $526 million and $696 million per year yet are quite modest compared to personal income tax structures in other states. When measured relative to state residents’ incomes, any of these options would rank among the bottom five lowest state income taxes in the nation.

  • report  February 24, 2021

    Comparing Flat-Rate Income Tax Options for Alaska

    Alaska lawmakers are facing an unprecedented fiscal crisis. The state is more dependent than any other on oil tax and royalty revenues but declines in oil prices and production levels have sapped much of the vitality of these revenue sources. One way of diversifying the state’s revenue stream and narrowing the yawning gap between state revenues and expenses would be to reinstitute a statewide personal income tax. Alaska previously levied such a tax until 1980. This report contains ITEP’s analysis of the distributional impact and revenue potential of a variety of flat-rate income tax options for Alaska, based on draft legislation provided by the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee.