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.
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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March 4, 2020 ITEP Testimony Regarding Connecticut Senate Bill 16, An Act Concerning the Adult Use of Cannabis
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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Lawmakers should keep in mind that transportation funding woes can be traced to the federal government’s extremely outdated gas tax rate, which has not been raised in more than 26 years—not even to keep up with inflation.
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media mention February 25, 2020 The Chicago Tribune: Recreational marijuana sales in Illinois generated more than $10 million in tax revenue in January
Many dispensaries continue to sell recreational marijuana only on certain days of the week or for restricted hours. Though greater volumes of product continue to filter into the market from… -
media mention February 6, 2020 Politico: Cloudy Forecast for Tax Law Fixes
DECOUPLING DEDUCTIONS: Two-thirds of states with property tax deductions set a $10,000 ceiling along the lines of the TCJA’s cap on federal deductions for state and local taxes, according to… -
blog February 5, 2020 States Can Make Their Tax Systems Less Regressive by Reforming or Repealing Itemized Deductions
Itemized deductions are problematic tax subsidies that need to close. The mortgage interest deduction, for instance, is often lauded as a way to help middle-class families afford homes and charitable deductions are touted as incentivizing gifts to charitable organizations. But the dirty little secret is that itemized deductions primarily benefit higher-income households while largely failing to achieve their purported goals.
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report February 5, 2020 State Itemized Deductions: Surveying the Landscape, Exploring Reforms
State itemized deductions are generally patterned after federal law, though nearly every state makes significant changes to the menu of deductions available or the extent to which those deductions are allowed. This report summarizes the key details of each state’s itemized deduction policies and discusses various options for reforming those deductions with a focus on lessening their regressive impact and reducing their cost to state budgets.
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media mention February 3, 2020 Bond Buyer: IRS SALT regulation allows loophole for pass-through businesses
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blog January 29, 2020 ITEP Urges IRS to End SALT Workaround Scheme for Businesses
A new IRS proposal could once again allow wealthy business owners to use state charitable tax credits–including tax credits for donating to support private and religious K-12 schools–to dodge the federal government’s $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions.
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January 29, 2020 ITEP Comments and Recommendations on REG-107431-19
Comments regarding the possibility that owners of passthrough businesses may be able to circumvent the $10,000 SALT deduction cap of section 164(b)(6) by recharacterizing the nondeductible portion of their state and local income tax payments as deductible expenses associated with carrying on a trade or business.
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media mention January 24, 2020 Politico: The Power of Semantics
States’ use of tax incentives to lure the filming of movies and television shows is one of those policy ideas that experts of basically all political persuasions are against —… -
media mention December 16, 2019 Chicago Tribune: What Happens to the Weed Black Market when Recreational Marijuana Goes Legal Jan. 1? ‘I See It Opening the Door to More Clients,’ One Dealer Says.
Stores selling recreational marijuana will be allowed to operate between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., though operating hours vary by dispensary. Whether stores truly are convenient will depend on how… -
blog December 9, 2019 Legal Cannabis and a Tax Cut, Too
A new ITEP report explains that an income tax cut for cannabis businesses embedded in the MORE Act is probably larger than the new 5 percent sales tax. This means that the average cannabis retailer—and its customers—could expect to pay LESS tax if the MORE Act is signed into law. Congress might have good reasons for structuring legalization this way, but it is an underappreciated aspect of the bill that should be made clearer as this debate progresses.
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report December 9, 2019 Cannabis Legalization: Tax Cut or Tax Hike?
Understanding the full tax consequences of cannabis legalization requires evaluating not only the excise taxes proposed in most legalization bills, but also the effects on the federal income tax liability of cannabis businesses.
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media mention November 26, 2019 CNBC: Blue States File Appeal in Legal Battle Over SALT Tax Deductions
Whether the final rule will ultimately deter people from donating to these funds remains to be seen. “If you’re really passionate about private school vouchers in Georgia, you donate and… -
blog November 25, 2019 A Lump of Coal for 12 States Not Collecting Marketplace Sales Taxes this Holiday Season
The last few years have brought major improvements in how states enforce their sales tax laws on purchases made over the Internet. Less than a decade ago, e-retailers almost never collected the sales taxes owed by their customers. The result was a multi-billion dollar drain on state coffers and a competitive disadvantage for local businesses. But this holiday season looks a bit different.
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media mention October 14, 2019 POLITICO: Cannabis was supposed to be a tax windfall for states. The reality has been different.
In all, five of the nine states that have set up tax systems for legalized marijuana employ cultivation levies on growers, while all but Alaska charge an excise tax specifically… -
media mention October 14, 2019 POLITICO: Cannabis Was Supposed to Be a Tax Windfall for States. The Reality Has Been Different.
In all, five of the nine states that have set up tax systems for legalized marijuana employ cultivation levies on growers, while all but Alaska charge an excise tax specifically… -
media mention September 30, 2019 CNBC: New York Judge Dismisses Blue State Suit Over SALT Tax Deductions
Whether the final rule will ultimately deter people from donating to these funds remains to be seen. “If you’re really passionate about private school vouchers in Georgia, you donate and… -
blog September 26, 2019 A Well-Designed Carbon Tax Could Curb Emissions, Offset Costs for Many Families
A well-designed carbon tax package—that is, levied at a sufficiently high rate and paired with equitable offsets for lower- and middle-income families—could improve both our environment and the fairness of our tax system.
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media mention August 23, 2019 NPR: California Says Its Cannabis Revenue Has Fallen Short Of Estimates, Despite Gains
“After adjusting for population, the Golden State raised the second-least amount of revenue from cannabis taxes during the second quarter among states with legal sales, ahead of only Massachusetts,” according… -
blog August 22, 2019 Why California’s Cannabis Market May Not Tell You Much about Legalization in Your State
New tax data out of California, the world’s largest market for legal cannabis, tell a complicated story about the cannabis industry and its tax revenue potential. Legal cannabis markets take time to establish, and depending on local market conditions, the revenue states raise can vary significantly.
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media mention August 21, 2019 Politico Morning Tax: Moderately Short
In all, the Congressional Research Service found in 2016 that the seven states collect some $563 million a year in taxes on internet access, and some experts worry that the… -
blog August 13, 2019 IRS’s SALT Workaround Regulations Should be Strengthened, Not Rejected
Lawmakers are seeking to achieve a backdoor repeal of the $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes paid (SALT) by invalidating recent IRS regulations that cracked down on schemes that let taxpayers dodge the cap. If successful, their efforts would drain tens of billions of dollars from federal coffers each year, with the vast majority of the benefits going to the nation’s wealthiest families.
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media mention August 12, 2019 Here and Now: The Impact of Company Tax Breaks on Cities
On this nationally syndicated radio program, ITEP research director Carl Davis describes why cities and states should reconsider doling out tax breaks to corporations in exchange for promised economic development… -
media mention August 8, 2019 Associated Press: Oil Unease: Alaska Faces Tough Budget Decisions
Carl Davis, research director with the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said cutting the dividend is regressive, hitting lower-income families particularly hard. He sees no conflict between…