Eli Byerly-Duke
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ITEP Work in Action October 28, 2024 ITEP’s Eli Byerly-Duke on Oklahoma’s Sales Tax Relief Credit
On October 23, 2024, ITEP Policy Analyst Eli Byerly-Duke presented to an interim study in the Oklahoma House focused on modernizing the Sales Tax Relief Credit. Click here for slides… -
blog June 27, 2024 Reality Interrupts the Fever Dream of Income Tax Elimination in Kentucky
Keeping the Kentucky income tax on a march to zero would mean tax hikes for working families or widespread cuts to education, health care, and other public services. Reversing course is certainly the wiser course of action.
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blog May 9, 2024 Iowa Flat Tax Shows Why Such Policies Are a Problem Everywhere
As Iowa lawmakers change the state’s graduated personal income tax to a single flat rate, they are designing a state tax code where the rich will pay a lower rate overall than families with modest means.
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media mention April 25, 2024 Sacramento Bee: Is California Really a High-Tax State? New Findings Question That Claim
Maybe California is not such a high tax state after all — at least for lower income families. “For families of modest means, California is not a high tax state,”… -
media mention April 24, 2024 NewsRadio WFLA: Poorest Floridians Taxed at Higher Rate than Richest Californians
Florida Policy Institute (FPI) and the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released a study today that found California’s tax system is fairer than Florida’s.
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blog April 17, 2024 The Case for More Progressive State and Local Tax Systems, in Charts
In a new chart book, Fairness Matters, we further explore our Who Pays? data with new graphics that reinforce the findings in the main report and demonstrate how state-level tax decisions shape economic divides for better and worse.
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brief April 16, 2024 Is California Really a High-Tax State?
Key Findings For families of modest means, California is not a high-tax state. California taxes are close to the national average for families in the bottom 80 percent of the… -
brief November 2, 2023 America Used to Have a Wealth Tax: The Forgotten History of the General Property Tax
Over time, broad wealth taxes were whittled away to become the narrower property taxes we have today. These selective wealth taxes apply to the kinds of wealth that make up a large share of middle-class families’ net worth (like homes and cars), but usually exempt most of the net worth of the wealthy (like business equity, bonds, and pooled investment funds).The rationale for this pared-back approach to wealth taxation has grown weaker in recent decades as inequality has worsened, the share of wealth held outside of real estate has increased, and the tools needed to administer a broad wealth tax have improved.
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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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blog March 31, 2023 Minnesota’s Tax Code Should Be Based on Ability to Pay, Not Year of Birth
Minnesota lawmakers are considering a carveout that would treat seniors much more favorably than young families. The proposal would fully exempt all Social Security income from state income tax, even for seniors with exceptionally high incomes.
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blog March 23, 2023 States Prioritize Old Over Young in Push for Larger Senior Tax Subsidies
Under a well-designed income tax based on ability to pay, it is simply not necessary to offer special tax subsidies to older adults but not younger families. At the end of the day, your income tax bill should depend on what you can afford to pay, not the year you were born. It’s really as simple as that.
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report March 23, 2023 State Income Tax Subsidies for Seniors
State governments provide a wide array of tax subsidies to their older residents. But too many of these carveouts focus on predominately wealthy and white seniors, all while the cost climbs.
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brief January 17, 2023 The Pitfalls of Flat Income Taxes
Flat taxes have some surface appeal but come with significant disadvantages. Critically, a flat tax guarantees that wealthy families’ total state and local tax bill will be a lower share of their income than that paid by families of more modest means.