Recent Work by ITEP

Census Numbers Show the Power of the Tax Code to Direct Resources to Low-Income Families

September 10, 2019 • By Jessica Schieder

Refundable federal tax credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), lifted 7.9 million people out of poverty in 2018. This latest analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau demonstrates the power of federal programs to alleviate poverty and help low-income families keep up with the increasing cost of living.

How Tax Policy Can Help Mitigate Poverty, Address Income Inequality

September 10, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

Analysts at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy have produced multiple recent briefs and reports that provide insight on how current and proposed tax policies affect family economic security and income inequality.

Major Federal Tax Credit Proposals

September 10, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

In 2019, several federal lawmakers have introduced tax credit proposals to significantly expand existing tax credits or create new ones to benefit low- and moderate-income people. While these proposals vary a great deal and take different approaches, all build off the success of the EITC and CTC and target their benefits to families in the bottom 60 percent of the income distribution who have an annual household income of $70,000 or less.

How Do State Tax Sales of Over-the-Counter Medication?

September 6, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

While most states levy general sales taxes on items that consumers purchase every day, those taxes often contain carveouts for some necessities such as rent, groceries, and medicine. Prescription drugs, for instance, are currently exempt from state sales tax in 44 of the 45 states levying such taxes (Illinois is the only exception, charging a […]

Why Local Jurisdictions’ Heavy Reliance on Fines and Fees Is a Tax Policy Issue

September 4, 2019 • By Meg Wiehe

The exposé (Addicted to Fines: Small Towns Are Dangerously Dependent) raises two important issues that policymakers have the power to address. One, lack of revenue at the local level is linked to a broader challenge with state tax systems. Two, fines and fees often entrap lower-income people in a cycle of debt and, in some jurisdictions, ultimately criminalize poverty by casting unpaid fines as misdemeanor crimes.

Where Does Your State Fall on the ITEP Tax Inequality Index?

August 30, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

The vast majority of state and local tax systems exacerbate the economic divide by taxing low- and middle-income families at higher rates than the wealthy. This map distills an exhaustive analysis of state and local tax codes into one key number, the ITEP Tax Inequality Index, to show the degree to which each state’s tax […]

ICYMI: A Brief Summary of Our August Blogs and Reports

August 29, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

DESPITE CONTRARY CLAIMS, NUMBERS SHOW TRUMP TAX LAW STILL FAVORS THE WEALTHY GOP leaders continue to misrepresent who benefits from the 2017 Trump-GOP tax law, most recently claiming most “of the tax overhaul went into the pockets of working families and Main Street businesses who need it most, not Wall Street.” But the numbers prove […]

New Analysis: A Third of NC Taxpayers Won’t Benefit from Proposed Tax Refund Plan

August 29, 2019 • By Guest Blogger

North Carolina Senate and House leaders are moving forward with a flawed proposal to spend the majority of the state’s revenue over collections, more than $600 million, to issue tax refund checks of $125 per taxpayer ($250 for married couples).

State Rundown 8/29: August or Ugh-ust Summer Tax Debates?

August 29, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

The hottest, stickiest month of the year has left a grimy feeling on several state tax debates, as Idaho lawmakers find themselves unable to fund the state’s priorities after years of cutting taxes, Alaskans express their support for public investments to their governor’s polling office and then watch the governor slash them anyway, New Jersey lawmakers go to bat for ineffective and corrupt business tax subsidies, and residents of North Carolina watch their representatives pursue cheap political points over sound investments and thoughtful policy. Nonetheless, residents and advocates on the other side of these and other debates have fought long…

Updated Estimates from ITEP: Trump Tax Law Still Benefits the Rich No Matter How You Look at It

August 28, 2019 • By Steve Wamhoff

President Trump’s allies in Congress continue to defend their 2017 tax law in misleading ways. Just last week, Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee stated that most “of the tax overhaul went into the pockets of working families and Main Street businesses who need it most, not Wall Street.” ITEP’s most recent analysis estimates that in 2020 the richest 5 percent of taxpayers will receive $145 billion in tax cuts, or half the law's benefits to U.S. taxpayers.