Recent Work by ITEP
State Rundown 4/15: Tax Day Delayed but Other Important Work Accelerated
April 15, 2020 • By ITEP Staff
April 15 is traditionally the day federal and state income taxes are due, but like so much else, Tax Day is on hold for the time being. Meanwhile the pandemic’s disastrous and uneven effects on communities and shared institutions are decidedly not suspended. But nor are the efforts of individuals, advocates, and policymakers to develop solutions to respond to the immediate crisis while also building better systems going forward. ITEP’s recommendations for state tax policy responses are now available here, and this week’s Rundown includes experiences and perspectives on paths forward from around the country.
State Options to Shore up Revenues and Improve Tax Codes amid Pandemic
April 15, 2020 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill, Meg Wiehe
The COVID-19 pandemic is an extraordinarily challenging time, as we see harm and struggle affecting the vast majority of our families, businesses, public services, and economic sectors. No one will be unaffected by the crisis, and everyone has a stake in the recovery and faces tough decisions. In the world of state fiscal policy, where revenue shortfalls are likely to be far bigger than can be filled by the initial $150 billion in federal aid or absorbed through funding cuts without causing major harm, tax increases must be among those decisions. Even with more federal support, states will need home-grown…
Our elected officials have to listen to we the people and change their approach. Going forward, corporate voices cannot continue to steer. Instead, families, communities and working individuals have to lead our policymaking so it better helps people struggling now.
State Rundown 4/9: Pandemic’s Fiscal Effects Slowly Coming into Focus
April 9, 2020 • By ITEP Staff
The COVID-19 pandemic continued this week to wreak havoc on lives and communities around the world. The fiscal fallout of the virus in the states is growing as well, and beginning this week to come into sharper focus. This week’s Rundown brings together what we know of that slowly clarifying picture and how states are responding so far.
Addressing the COVID-19 Economic Crisis: Advice for the Next Round
April 7, 2020 • By Steve Wamhoff
Americans need many things right now beyond tax cuts or cash payments. But for people whose incomes have declined or evaporated, money is the obvious, immediate need to prevent missed rent or mortgage payments, skipped hospital visits and other cascading catastrophes. So, what should Congress do next to get money to those who need it?
Last week, President Trump destroyed everyone’s coronavirus press conference bingo card by announcing that a conversation he had with celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck inspired him to propose restoring a corporate tax deduction for business entertainment expenses. Trump’s own signature tax plan repealed this break two years ago.
Returning to the Economic Status Quo After COVID-19 Crisis Should Not Be an Option
April 6, 2020 • By Jenice Robinson
It will take immense imagination, unyielding political will and a fundamental reordering of our policy priorities to adequately address the problems of this moment and unrig our economy.
State Rundown 4/3: States Welcome Federal Aid, Seek Further Solutions
April 3, 2020 • By ITEP Staff
States and families got good news this week as Congress came together to pass major aid to help during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. But that bright spot came amid an onslaught of very difficult news about the public health crisis and the economic and fiscal fallout accompanying it. This week’s Rundown brings you the latest on these developments and state and local responses to them.
Federal Relief Bill Doesn’t Go Far Enough: Q&A with Meg Wiehe
April 2, 2020 • By ITEP Staff, Meg Wiehe, Stephanie Clegg
The final version of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act enacted last week included rebate provisions that will reach most low-, moderate- and middle-income adults and children, but not everyone. Meg Wiehe sits down for a Q&A to discuss who benefits from the rebate provision, who is excluded and how states can respond to support communities.
Sales Taxes and Social Distancing: State and Local Governments May Face Their Steepest Sales Tax Decline Ever
April 2, 2020 • By Carl Davis, ITEP Staff, Meg Wiehe
One pressing question is what will an economic downturn in which consumers are anxious, facing job loss, or simply spending their time sheltering in place and not spending money in typical ways, mean for states’ ability to raise revenue?
ITEP in the News
CNBC: Why Trump Tax Deductions – For Tips, Car Loans and More – May Not Carry Large Benefits for Low Earners
Houston Chronicle: The Biggest Winners in Texas from Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
Newsweek: Did Republicans Just Kill the Filibuster?
AP News: Ohio Budget Bill With Browns Stadium Funding, LGBTQ+ Restrictions Heads to Gov. Mike DeWine
CNBC: How the Republican Megabill Targets Immigrant Finances
ITEP Work in Action
More Perfect Union: The One Big Beautiful Bill Is a Big Corporate Cash Grab
Center for Law and Social Policy: Senate Budget Reconciliation Bill Sacrifices the Well-Being of Working Families to Give Tax Breaks to Billionaires
CBPP: Missouri Poised to Enact Appalling Giveaway to its Richest Residents
NC Budget & Tax Center: It’s Time for a Millionaire’s Tax in North Carolina
Nebraska Legislature: Poverty Elimination Action Plan
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ITEP is a non-profit, non-partisan tax policy organization. We conduct rigorous analyses of tax and economic proposals and provide data-driven recommendations to shape equitable and sustainable tax systems.
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