Carl Davis
Carl Davis is the research director at ITEP, where he has worked since 2008. Carl works on a wide range of issues related to both state and federal tax policy. He has advised policymakers, researchers, and advocates on tax policy issues in nearly every state. Much of his work relates to the link between taxes and economic growth, and the shortcomings of dynamic scoring and supply-side economic theories.
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media mention October 7, 2024 Education Week: How States Use Tax Credits to Fund Private School Choice: An Explainer
Most of the biggest recent developments in the world of private school choice have centered around education savings accounts, a twist on the private school voucher that parents can spend… -
media mention October 1, 2024 CBS News: What Are Tim Walz’s Economic Policies? Here’s a Look at What He’s Done in Minnesota.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz may be best known for his Midwestern roots, having grown up in Nebraska and spent years as a public school teacher and football coach in Minnesota. But voters will get a chance during his debate Tuesday with vice presidential rival Sen. JD Vance on CBS to hear more about Walz’s views on taxes and the economy, a critical issue in the November election.
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media mention July 31, 2024 States Newsroom: Study Says Undocumented Immigrants Paid Almost $100 Billion in Taxes
A new study shows that undocumented immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue in 2022 while many are shut out of the programs their taxes… -
media mention February 20, 2024 Audio: ITEP’s Carl Davis Talks to Ohio Newsroom About That State’s Upside-Down Tax Code
Ohio’s poorest residents pay a greater percentage of their income to state and local taxes than the richest Ohioans, according to a recent report from the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. It found that Ohio has the 15th most unequal tax system in the country.
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media mention January 30, 2024 Audio: ITEP’s Carl Davis Discusses Idaho’s Regressive Tax System
Idaho has the 36th most regressive tax system in the nation, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
The Who Pays report says that low- and middle-income families in Idaho pay more in taxes than the wealthy, and the institute also says that disparity has only gotten worse over the last five years.
May Roberts, Policy Analyst at the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy, and Carl Davis, Research Director at the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, joined Idaho Matters to break down the study.
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media mention January 29, 2024 CBS News: Vermont Wants to Fix Income Inequality by Raising Taxes on the Rich
Across the U.S., the rich generally pay a lower share of their income in taxes than low earners, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). A recent analysis by the left-leaning think tank found that the average effective state and local tax rate paid by residents to their home state is 7.2% for the top 1% of earners; for the lowest-earning 20%, that rate tops 11%.
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media mention January 23, 2024 Audio: ITEP’s Carl Davis Discusses North Carolina’s Upside-Down Tax Code
Ever since Republicans took control of the North Carolina legislature in 2011, they’ve passed income tax cut after income tax cut and bragged repeatedly of the supposed enormous benefits this has afforded to average North Carolinians
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media mention January 12, 2024 MarketWatch: Moving to Florida Might Not Be the Tax Play It’s Cracked Up to Be — Unless You’re Loaded
Florida, Texas and Tennessee have become hot real-estate markets in recent years, in part because they offer the allure of low taxes and cheap living costs. But a new analysis of how… -
media mention January 10, 2024 The Guardian: Forty-Four of 50 US States Worsen Inequality with ‘Upside-Down’ Taxes
A total of 44 of the 50 US states worsen inequality by making the wealthy pay a lesser share of their income in taxes than lower income people, a new… -
media mention January 9, 2024 HuffPost: Most States Have Tax Codes That Are Rigged To Benefit The Wealthy: Report
A sweeping new analysis of taxes across the country reveals that in four out of every five states, the top 1% are paying a lower tax rate than their middle-class and… -
media mention October 20, 2023 Wall Street Journal: How Will States Pay for Roads When Gas Taxes Evaporate?
As electric vehicles become more popular and gasoline sales decline, governments are struggling to find new ways to fund infrastructure. Read more. -
media mention October 15, 2023 Forbes: Mapping Billionaire Wealth: Where The Richest Americans Live Now Vs. Two Decades Ago
Extreme wealth has been consolidating in the United States. Read more. -
map August 15, 2023 Does Your State Offer Tax Credits for Private K-12 School Voucher Contributions?
Twenty-one states provide public support to private and religious K-12 schools through school voucher tax credits.
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media mention May 16, 2023 The Texas Tribune: Why Tax Policy Experts Fear the Texas House Plan to Lower Property Taxes Could Have Dire Ripple Effects
Both the House and the Senate’s proposals on property tax cuts would give modest savings to the typical Texas homeowner, but critics say the House plan could create vast inequities… -
map April 19, 2023 How is Adult-Use Cannabis Taxed by Your Local Government?
Twenty states have legalized the sale of cannabis for general adult use. Cannabis taxes vary considerably depending on local authority. Some states allow local governments to levy standalone excise taxes applying narrowly to cannabis purchases. Most local excise taxes on cannabis are levied in states that do not permit local governments to levy general sales taxes.
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map April 19, 2023 How is Adult-Use Cannabis Taxed in Your State?
Twenty states have legalized cannabis sales for general adult use. Every state allowing legal sales applies a cannabis tax based on the product’s quantity, its price, or both. ITEP research indicates that taxes based on quantity will be more sustainable over time because prices are widely expected to fall as the cannabis industry matures.
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media mention March 13, 2023 Kansas Legislators’ War on the Poor Opens Worrisome New Front: School Vouchers and Tax Avoidance
Kansas legislative leaders have declared war on the poor. They have pushed bills penalizing those receiving government assistance through the House Welfare Reform Committee. They have advocated a flat tax plan that benefits… -
media mention February 28, 2023 Wall Street Journal: New Jersey Is Latest State to Push Tax Relief Despite Economic Uncertainty
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday will propose another $2 billion in property-tax rebate checks as part of a $53 billion state budget, a state treasury official said, making it the… -
media mention January 26, 2023 Wisconsin Examiner: Tax Analyst Says Flat-Rate System Will Benefit Wealthy at the Expense of the Majority
The wealthiest Wisconsin residents already pay a smaller share of their incomes in state taxes than the rest of the population, and replacing the state’s current graduated-rate income tax structure… -
media mention January 4, 2023 Vox: The Ultrarich are Getting Cozy in America’s Tax Havens at Everyone Else’s Expense
More states are slashing or eliminating taxes, lessening the burden mostly for the wealthy. What does that cost the rest of us? Read more. -
media mention November 11, 2022 Policy for the People Podcast: Our Labor, Their Fortunes: Billionaires Capture Oregon’s Wealth
Wealth inequality is at mind-boggling levels in Oregon and elsewhere. Listen to Research Director Carl Davis talk about the trends here. -
media mention October 13, 2022 Insider: These Are the Wealthiest US States, According to a New Report — and a Wealth Tax on the Country’s Richest Would Raise $415 Billion
Wealth inequality has been on the rise over the last few decades, and some states have residents sitting on a whole lot of cash. A new report from the Institute on… -
media mention September 3, 2022 Yahoo: Handful of States Debate Whether to Tax Forgiven Student Loans
A handful of states could still end up taxing President Biden’s recently announced student loan forgiveness of up to $20,000. Read more. -
media mention June 2, 2022 Wall Street Journal: States Help Business Owners Save Billions in Federal Taxes
“That’s logical from any individual state’s perspective, but in the big national scheme of things, it’s hard to see how this is a good thing,” said Carl Davis, research director… -
media mention April 27, 2022 The Hill: Pot taxes surpass those from alcohol in legalization states
The report, from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, found the 11 states where marijuana is legal pulled in just shy of $3 billion in excise taxes on pot…