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March 4, 2020
ITEP Testimony Regarding Connecticut Senate Bill 16, An Act Concerning the Adult Use of Cannabis
This testimony explains the advantages of the cannabis tax structure proposed in Connecticut’s Senate Bill 16 and offers additional background information as well as ideas for potential changes to the bill.
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blog
March 3, 2020
Administration Once Again Touts Misleading Information on 2017 Tax Law
The Trump administration has remained consistently on message about its 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. More than two years after the passage of the… -
blog
March 2, 2020
The Latest Wildly Misleading Argument Against Taxing the Rich
Anti-tax activists’ convoluted claims that the rich pay too much in taxes broke new ground with an op-ed published last week in the Wall Street Journal. Penned by former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm and John Early, a former official of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the piece is particularly misleading. The so-called evidence in support of their argument against raising taxes on the rich fails to correctly calculate effective tax rates.
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blog
February 27, 2020
State Rundown 2/27: Leaps Forward Needed for Tax Justice
This weekend’s Leap Day should be a welcome extra day for state lawmakers, advocates, and observers who care about tax and budget policy, as there is an overflow of proposals and information to digest. Most importantly, as emphasized in our “What We’re Reading” section, there are never enough days in a month to do justice to the importance of Black History Month and Black Futures Month. In state-specific debates, Oregon and Washington leaders are hoping to take a leap forward in raising funds for homelessness and housing affordability measures. Lawmakers in West Virginia and Wisconsin could use a day to return to the drawing board on recently rejected tax cut proposals. New Jersey and Rhode Island leaders have proposed forward-thinking progressive income tax measures. And lawmakers continue to work overtime on needed gas tax updates in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Utah.
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blog
February 26, 2020
Federal Inaction on the Gas Tax is Costing Us Dearly
Lawmakers should keep in mind that transportation funding woes can be traced to the federal government’s extremely outdated gas tax rate, which has not been raised in more than 26 years—not even to keep up with inflation.
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blog
February 21, 2020
Tax Cuts Floated by White House Advisors Are an Attempt to Deflect from TCJA's Failings
Now that multiple data points reveal the current administration, which promised to look out for the common man, is, in fact, presiding over an upward redistribution of wealth, the public is being treated to pasta policymaking in which advisors are conducting informal public opinion polling by throwing tax-cut ideas against the wall to see if any stick. But the intent behind these ideas is as transparent as a glass noodle.
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blog
February 20, 2020
State Rundown 2/20: Property Taxes and School Finance Take Center Stage
Property taxes and education funding are a major focus in state fiscal debates this week. California voters will soon vote on borrowing billions of dollars to fill just part of the funding hole created in large part by 1978’s anti-property-tax Proposition 13. Nebraska lawmakers are debating major school finance changes that some fear will create similar long-term fiscal issues. And Idaho and South Dakota leaders are looking to avoid that fate by reducing property taxes in ways that will target the families who most need the help. Meanwhile, Arkansas, Nevada, and New Hampshire are taking close looks at their transportation needs and funding sources. And a new business tax subsidy in Ohio doesn’t look great in light of research covered in our “What We’re Reading” section shedding light on the lack of economic benefit from such subsidies.
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blog
February 19, 2020
How Democratic Presidential Candidates Would Raise Revenue
One of the biggest problems with the U.S. tax code in terms of fairness is that investment income, which mostly flows to the rich, is taxed less than the earned income that makes up all or almost all of the income that working people live on.
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blog
February 18, 2020
States Can Lead on Making the EITC Benefit More Young and Older Workers
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (or EITC) lifts millions out of poverty each year, but it is not created equal for everyone. Childless workers under 25 and over 64 receive no benefit from the existing federal credit. In the absence of immediate federal action, states have led–and continue to lead–the way.
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report
February 18, 2020
Expanding State EITCs: Age Enhancements and a Credit Increase for Workers without Children in the Home
For 45 years, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has benefited low- and moderate-income workers. Yet, throughout its history, the EITC has provided little or no benefit to workers without children in the home—a group that includes noncustodial parents whose children live the majority of the year with another parent.