Recent Work by ITEP

How Much Do the Top 1% in Each State Get from the Senate Tax Bill?

June 30, 2025 • By Carl Davis

The Senate tax bill under debate right now would bring very large tax cuts to very high-income people. In total, the richest 1 percent would receive $114 billion in tax cuts next year alone. That would amount to nearly $61,000 for each of these affluent households.

With Fiscal Uncertainty Looming, Louisiana Senate Did the Right Thing on Tax Bills

June 27, 2025 • By Neva Butkus

If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. This is exactly what Louisiana Senators did when they rejected two tax-cut bills that would have created a billion-dollar shortfall in the coming fiscal years.

State Rundown 6/25: The Numbers Don’t Lie, State Budget Edition

June 25, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

Many states are reaching their end-of-June budget deadlines, and major tax policy changes look to have big implications as states are forced, per federal policy, to do more with less.

Analysis of Tax Provisions in the Senate Reconciliation Bill: National and State Level Estimates

June 25, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Jessica Vela, Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff

Compared to its House counterpart, the Senate bill makes certain tax provisions more generous, including corporate tax breaks that it makes permanent rather than temporary. But the bottom line for both is the same. Both bills give more tax cuts to the richest 1 percent than to the entire bottom 60 percent of Americans, and both bills particularly favor high-income people living in more conservative states.

Senate Republicans Rig the Rules to Make Their Tax Bill Look Responsible. It’s Not.

June 24, 2025 • By Jon Whiten, Steve Wamhoff

No matter how much Senate leadership bends the rules to make their tax cuts look better on paper, the cost and impact on the deficit remains the same under a current policy baseline. It’s a move meant to mask the true cost and push a reckless bill through.

State Rundown 6/20: Federal tax policy heats up, states wrap sessions and weigh impacts

June 18, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

As state legislative sessions come to a close, decisions on tax policy are being made. Several southern states have cut taxes, while the northeast is making some more measured reforms.

Alabama Sunsets its Expensive ‘No Tax on Overtime’ Policy

June 18, 2025 • By Neva Butkus

The idea of exempting overtime pay from income tax has gained traction, but there's little evidence it's an effective policy. Alabama tried it in 2023 but ended the policy after just two years. Their reversal highlights how exempting overtime is an expensive gimmick and a distraction from real worker issues.

House Bill’s Deduction for Car Loan Interest Would Not Offset Tariff-Related Auto Price Increases for Most Buyers

June 12, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Sarah Austin

The auto loan interest deduction that recently passed the House is designed, at least in part, to mitigate the impact of tariff-induced price increases on vehicles assembled in America. But the deduction is incapable of offsetting even small-scale price increases, especially for working-class families and others with moderate incomes.

State Rundown 6/11: States in The Eye of a Fiscal Hurricane?

June 11, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

State legislatures are enjoying a relatively quiet period right now, though it is merely a temporary calm before the storm of the federal tax and budget debate begins raging again.

North Carolina Tax Proposal Prioritizes Millionaires Over Everyone Else

June 11, 2025 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill, Miles Trinidad

North Carolina Senators are proposing to yet again ignore the core needs of the majority of North Carolinians in favor of more income tax cuts for the wealthy few. The Senate's budget would take the personal income tax rate to 1.99 percent as soon as 2031 if certain revenue triggers are met, once again delivering billions of dollars in tax cuts mostly to the rich. And the cost of those tax cuts for North Carolina will be steep cuts to the state’s future, including public education and community colleges.