These forward-thinking states are demonstrating the wide variety of options for policymakers who want to raise more from the wealthiest people, rein in corporate tax avoidance, create fair tax codes and build strong communities.
Marco Guzman
Marco Guzman, along with other members of the state policy team, conducts research and analysis to support state policymakers across the country.
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blog March 20, 2024 States Move to Tax the Top in 2024
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ITEP Work in Action March 11, 2024 ITEP’s Marco Guzman Testifies in Favor of Tax Fairness Bills in Connecticut
Good afternoon, Senator Fonfara, Representative Horn, and members of the Committee, and thank you for this opportunity to testify. My name is Marco Guzman and I’m a senior policy analyst with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP, and we’re a nonprofit research organization that focuses on state, local, and federal tax policy issues.
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media mention March 4, 2024 Deseret News: The Utah Legislature Approved Another Tax Cut. Here’s What Taxpayers Need to Know
Utah lawmakers dropped the state’s income tax rate again this year. The reduction in the individual and corporate state income tax rate from 4.65% to 4.55% adds up to nearly $170 million, slightly more than the amount set aside in December for an unspecified tax cut by the powerful Executive Appropriations Committee made up of legislative leadership. The higher price tag is due to updated revenue forecasts showing an anticipated increase in income tax collections and the Legislature’s longtime Republican supermajority left little doubt they intended to continue to lower the state income tax rate. A tax cut was announced as a top GOP priority even before the session began in mid-January.
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blog January 17, 2024 Worthwhile Ideas for a Stronger and Fairer D.C. Tax Code
The nation’s capital has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to advance a stronger and fairer local tax code. New draft recommendations from a key advisory panel will help leaders make the most of the moment.
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media mention January 10, 2024 Fast Company: Florida Can’t Get Enough of Tax Holidays. But They’re Not the Magic Bullet Ron DeSantis Claims
Floridians saved more than $475 million on tax-free holidays—but it comes at the expense of the state’s schools and infrastructure. Read more. -
ITEP Work in Action September 9, 2023 ITEP’s Marco Guzman: Making a More Robust Property Tax Circuit Breaker in Colorado
ITEP Senior State Policy Analyst Marco Guzman gave a presentation on property tax circuit breakers to the Colorado General Assembly’s Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Tax Policy on September 7, 2023.… -
media mention August 15, 2023 Editorial: Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday is Mostly Hype
It’s just about back-to-school time, and Gov. Phil Murphy and other Democratic state leaders are showing their love for New Jersey families by offering this special giveaway: 20 cents in… -
blog August 3, 2023 A Lot for A Little: Gimmicky Sales Tax Holidays Are an Ineffective Substitute for Real Sales Tax Reform
This year, 19 states will forgo a combined $1.6 billion in tax revenue on sales tax holidays—politically popular, yet ultimately ineffective gimmicks with minimal benefits and significant downsides.
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brief August 2, 2023 Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
Nineteen states have sales tax holidays on the books in 2023, and these suspensions will cost nearly $1.6 billion in lost revenue this year. Sales tax holidays are poorly targeted and too temporary to meaningfully change the regressive nature of a state’s tax system. Overall, the benefits of sales tax holidays are minimal while their downsides are significant.
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media mention August 2, 2023 Chalkboard News: Some States Offer Back-to-School Tax Holidays. Do They Work?
As back-to-school shopping is expected to cost consumers an all-time high, some states have implemented sales-tax holidays aimed at providing some relief. Read more. -
ITEP Work in Action April 10, 2023 Testimony of ITEP’s Marco Guzman Before the Nevada Assembly Committee on Revenue
For a video of Marco’s testimony, click here. Thank you, Assemblywoman Anderson, and thank you chairman and members of the Assembly for the opportunity to speak on the topic of… -
blog February 28, 2023 New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut Should Keep Corporate Taxes Strong, Extend Surcharges
At a time when corporations are seeing record profits while not paying their fair share of federal taxes, state corporate income taxes can and should play a role in raising sustainable revenue and adding progressivity to state tax codes. Right now, lawmakers in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut have a unique opportunity to extend targeted tax changes that have raised billions of dollars from profitable corporations for meaningful public investments.
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blog November 9, 2022 Massachusetts Voters Score Win for Tax Fairness with ‘Fair Share Amendment’
In a significant victory for tax fairness, Massachusetts voters approved Question 1—commonly known as the Fair Share Amendment—Tuesday night with 52 percent of the vote. The new constitutional amendment creates a 4 percent surcharge on income over $1 million, and the revenue will specifically fund education and transportation projects in the Bay State.
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blog August 18, 2022 Gimmicky Sales Tax Holidays Are Short-Term and Ineffective
Everyone loves a deal, so it’s no surprise why the appeal of the state sales tax holiday continues to persist. This year, 20 states will forgo more than $1 billion in combined revenue to enact a variety of sales tax holidays that—like most things that are too good to be true—will do little to provide meaningful benefits and instead undermine funding for public services.
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blog July 20, 2022 New ITEP Brief Shows How State Sales Tax Holidays Fail to Live Up to the Hype
Twenty states this year have decided to go so far as to forgo a combined $1 billion in vital tax revenue in favor of conveniently popular yet ultimately ineffective sales tax holidays. Whether it’s a state looking for a way to help families manage the rising cost of goods or to celebrate back-to-school shopping season, these policy options are poorly targeted and an inadequate use of state tax revenue that could be doing more to make childcare more affordable, health care more accessible and high-quality education available to everyone.
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brief July 20, 2022 Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
Lawmakers in many states have enacted “sales tax holidays” (20 states will hold them in 2022) to temporarily suspend the tax on purchases of clothing, school supplies, and other items. These holidays may seem to lessen the regressive impacts of the sales tax, but their benefits are minimal while their downsides are significant—particularly as lawmakers have sought to apply the concept as a substitute for more meaningful, permanent reform or arbitrarily reward people with specific hobbies or in certain professions. This policy brief looks at sales tax holidays as a tax reduction device.
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blog March 17, 2022 Arizona Ruling Preserves High-Income Interests Over Education Investments, Popular Vote
An Arizona court decision delivered an unfortunate blow to voters and those in the state who favor a progressive, adequate tax system that can fund critical priorities including K-12 education.
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blog March 9, 2022 A Better Alternative: New Mexico Prioritizes Targeted, Temporary Tax Cuts
New Mexico stands in stark contrast to the many examples of poorly targeted tax-cut proposals currently being considered around the country.
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blog October 4, 2021 State Income Tax Reform Can Bring Us Closer to Racial Equity
To pave the way for a more racially equitable future, states must move away from poorly designed, regressive policies that solidify the vast inequalities that exist today.
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report October 4, 2021 State Income Taxes and Racial Equity: Narrowing Racial Income and Wealth Gaps with State Personal Income Taxes
10 state personal income tax reforms that offer the most promising routes toward narrowing racial income and wealth gaps through the tax code.
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ITEP Work in Action September 9, 2021 Wisconsin Budget Project: Wisconsin’s Billion-Dollar Tax Cut Leaves out a Huge Chunk of Households
Shutting low-income families out of the tax cut will further skew Wisconsin’s tax system, which already requires people with low incomes to pay a higher share of their incomes in… -
brief August 25, 2021 The One Thing Missing From the Qualified Business Income Deduction Conversation: Racial Equity
When crafting tax policy, lawmakers and bill authors often work backward, using a patchwork of changes to help achieve their stated goal. One important consideration that is routinely left out is what impact the change will have on racial equity. Such is the case with the qualified business income deduction, which is helping to further enrich wealthy business owners, the overwhelming majority of whom are white. At present, white Americans own 88 percent of private business wealth despite making up only 60 percent of the population. Meanwhile, Black and Hispanic families confronting much higher barriers to entrepreneurship each own less than 2 percent, despite making up 13 percent and 19 percent of the population, respectively.
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media mention July 15, 2021 Newsweek: Joe Biden’s Stimulus Is Financing GOP’s Billionaire Tax Cuts
“We saw that many states are using better-than-expected revenue outlooks as an excuse to cut personal and corporate income taxes,” Marco Guzman, state policy analyst at the Institute on Taxation… -
blog July 7, 2021 In Drive to Cut Taxes, States Blow an Opportunity to Invest in Underfunded Services
Many states find themselves in a peculiar fiscal situation right now: federal pandemic relief money has been dispersed to states and revenue projections have exceeded expectations set during the pandemic. Meanwhile, more and more workers are returning to jobs as vaccines roll out and typical economic activity resumes. Some states, however, have decided to squander their unexpected fiscal strength on tax cuts.
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blog April 27, 2021 Inclusive Child Tax Credit Reform Would Restore Benefit to 1 Million Young ‘Dreamers’
As the Biden administration maps out the next steps in America’s response to the coronavirus pandemic—through what is now being called the American Families Plan—it should make sure a proposed expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) includes undocumented children who have largely been left out of federal relief packages this past year. Prior to 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, all children regardless of their immigration status received the credit as long as their parents met the income eligibility requirements. This change essentially excluded around 1 million children and their families.