Recent Work by ITEP
As state legislative sessions ramp up across the country, property taxes are one of many issues dominating tax policy conversations in statehouses.
Intuit Helped Limit Americans’ Tax Filing Options While Raking in Millions in Tax Breaks
January 28, 2026 • By Joe Hughes
As tax filing season begins, families have fewer options than last year, thanks to the heavy lobbying efforts of big tax-preparation corporations like Intuit (the parent company of TurboTax).
An Analysis of a Potential Reduction in Massachusetts’ Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Rate
January 26, 2026 • By Eli Byerly-Duke, Matthew Gardner
A ballot initiative in Massachusetts has proposed cutting the base rate for nearly all income sources from 5 to 4 percent. In 2026, this would cost the state about $5 billion per year of which $347 million would come from the reduced rate on long-term capital gains.
How the Wealthy Exploit the Tax Code: Q&A with Professor Ray Madoff, Author of ‘The Second Estate’
January 26, 2026 • By Brakeyshia Samms
Her timely book, The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy, walks readers through federal tax policy history and the modern-day legal maneuvers the wealthy use to pay little to no taxes
State Rundown 1/22: Cautious Tone Noticeable in Most Statehouses
January 22, 2026 • By ITEP Staff
Most states are adopting a very cautious approach so far this year as legislators begin their sessions and governors make their annual addresses, thanks to ongoing economic uncertainty and federal retrenchment.
States Can Push Back Against Reckless Federal Tax Policy. Here’s How.
January 22, 2026 • By Aidan Davis, Wesley Tharpe
They should take steps to protect and boost their own revenues. And they should take a second look at their own tax cuts.
Local Governments Are Increasingly Strapped: 2026 Will Bring New Challenges and New Opportunities
January 21, 2026 • By Kamolika Das
2025 saw an intensification of state and local tax fights across the country, as well as growing experimentation with local-option taxes, levies, fees, and tourism taxes aimed at keeping budgets afloat while also navigating political constraints imposed by state legislatures.
State Rundown 1/14: New Year Brings New Resolutions for Funding Key Priorities
January 14, 2026 • By ITEP Staff
State governors are beginning to lay out their top priorities as legislatures reconvene in statehouses around the country.
Curbing Tax Deductions for Executive Pay is a Federal Tax Change States Should Get Behind
January 9, 2026 • By Matthew Gardner
This provision in last summer’s tax law could actually make budget-balancing a little bit easier for states if they follow suit.
Show Me Where We’re Going: Missouri’s Fiscally Irresponsible Path Will Be Paid for by Everyday People
January 8, 2026 • By Logan Liguore
Missouri lawmakers have been pushing regressive and shortsighted tax policies that undermine everyday workers and sabotage the Show-Me State’s ability to raise revenue.
ITEP in the News
The Guardian: Washington State’s ‘Historic’ Millionaire Tax Takes Aim at Super-Rich – Will It Succeed?
Video: ITEP's Amy Hanauer Discusses How to Make the Federal Tax Code Fairer on WHYY
Politico: Governors Forgo Past Response to High Gasoline Prices
Stateline: Gas Prices Rise Again As Some States Consider Tax Holidays
USA Today: Californians Want To Tax Billionaires. They’re Threatening To Leave.
ITEP Work in Action
Brookings: The Caregiving Crisis and the 2026 Vote
Gov. Evers Vetoes Bill Requiring Wisconsin to Opt Into Nationwide Expansion of Private Voucher Schools
Oxfam: The Case for Fairly Taxing the Rich in New York
Economic Policy Institute: How ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Helped Ensure a Swift Post-COVID Recovery
Maine Center for Economic Policy: Nurses and Plumbers Shouldn’t Pay the Same Tax Rate As Multi-Millionaires. LD 229 and LD 1089 Change That.
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