• press release  January 15, 2019

    Gov. Cuomo Has the Right Idea on How to Tax Recreational Cannabis

    Following is a statement by Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the cannabis tax structure unveiled by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

  • blog  January 10, 2019

    State Rundown 1/10: States Should Resolve to Pursue Equitable Tax Options

    This week we released a handy guide of policy options for Moving Toward More Equitable State Tax Systems, and are pleased to report that many state lawmakers are promoting policies that are in line with our recommendations. For example, Puerto Rico lawmakers recently enacted a targeted EITC-like credit for working families, and leaders in Virginia and elsewhere are working toward similar improvements. Arkansas residents also saw their tax code improve as laws reducing regressive consumption taxes and enhancing income tax progressivity just went into effect. And there is still time for governors and legislators pushing for regressive income tax cuts in multiple states to consult the research and pursue equitable options instead! We have a lot of news to kick off 2019, but be sure to make it down to our “What We’re Reading” section for recent reports on how the federal shutdown is affecting states, previews of the issues likely to dominate legislative sessions this year, and more.

  • report  January 9, 2019

    Moving Toward More Equitable State Tax Systems

    New and returning policymakers have a tremendous opportunity to improve their constituents’ lives and their states’ economies through tax policy. This report distills the findings of “Who Pays?” into policy recommendations that can serve as a guide to new lawmakers, advocates, and others seeking to improve their state’s tax codes. It explains the importance of favoring taxes on income and wealth over taxes on consumption, the value of certain targeted tax benefits for families living in poverty, the need to abandon ineffective, unnecessary tax subsidies for high-income households, and the promise of bold new options for improving the regressive distributional outcomes of state and local tax policies.

  • blog  January 9, 2019

    A New Quick-Start Guide to “Who Pays?”

    For those looking to start improving on these inequitable tax systems today, we now also offer a helpful companion to “Who Pays?” called “Moving Toward More Equitable State Tax Systems.” This new report distills the findings of “Who Pays?” into a set of policy recommendations – from the foundational to the aspirational – that residents of every state can draw from and start work on now.

  • blog  January 8, 2019

    How to Think About the 70% Top Tax Rate Proposed by Ocasio-Cortez (and Multiple Scholars)

    The uproar deliberately steers clear of any real policy discussion about what a significantly higher marginal tax rate would mean. Her critics are mostly the same lawmakers who enacted a massive tax cut for the rich last year that was not debated seriously or supported by serious research. Meanwhile, multiple scholarly studies conclude a 70 percent top tax rate would be an optimal way to tax the very rich. Ocasio-Cortez has brought more attention to the very real need to raise revenue and do it in a progressive way.

  • blog  December 24, 2018

    ITEP's 12 Days of Tax Policy

    Sometimes policy developments move at a rapid-fire pace, so we’re taking time over the next 12 days to reflect on some of the most significant federal and state tax policy developments and/or tax policy analyses that happened this year.

  • blog  December 20, 2018

    ITEP Winter Reading (and Listening) List

    It’s that time of year again. Members of Congress and the White House are negotiating the federal budget. Winter temperatures are unpredictable due to climate change. And news outlets, organizations and others are releasing end-of-year lists and the tax wonks at ITEP are joining the chorus. If you’re lucky enough to have some time off over the next couple of weeks or find yourself curling up on the couch this winter in need of a way to pass the time, the tax policy wonks at ITEP have compiled a winter reading/listening list that will appeal to wonks and non-wonks alike.

  • blog  December 19, 2018

    State Rundown 12/19: Time to Rest and Recharge for Big Year Ahead

    With many people enjoying time off over the next couple weeks, and the longest nights of the year coming over the weekend, now is a good time to get plenty of rest and relaxation in advance of what is likely to be a very busy 2019 for state fiscal policy and other debates. Among those debates, Kentucky lawmakers will be returning to topics they could not resolve in a brief special session held this week, New Jersey and New York will both be deciding how to legalize and tax cannabis, and gas tax updates will be on the agenda in Alabama and Illinois. Feel free to cozy up by the fire with some offerings from our “What We’re Reading” section, including eye-opening information on how much corporate subsidies are costing our schools and other services, what states are and should be doing to prepare for long-term needs and a potential recession, and hopeful guidance on how we can do more to stem inequality by strengthening taxes on unearned income like capital gains and inheritances. We at ITEP will be taking our own advice and resting next week, and look forward to returning with more state tax and budget news in the new year!

  • blog  December 17, 2018

    Five Things to Know on the One-Year Anniversary of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

    While it has only been a year since passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), it’s clear the law largely is both a debacle and a boondoggle. Below are the five takeaways about the legacy and continuing effect of the TCJA.

    1. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will substantially increase income, wealth, and racial inequality.
    2. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will continue to substantially increase the deficit.
    3. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is not significantly boosting growth or jobs.
    4. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act continues to be very unpopular.
    5. Despite the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s lack of popularity and ill effects, many Republican lawmakers are calling for even more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.

  • report  December 17, 2018   

    Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: One Year Later

    One year ago, federal lawmakers hastily enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. So rushed was its passage that provisions of the legislative text were scrawled in the margins. Congress passed the law on a party-line vote but there was no such partisan division among the broader public. Polling showed a solid majority of Americans disapproved of the tax bill and believed it was another giveaway to the nation’s wealthiest citizens.