Local income taxes can be an important progressive revenue raiser, as they ask more of higher-income households and are connected to ability to pay. They can raise substantial revenue to fund key public services to make cities and regions better off.
Rita Jefferson
Rita is a Local Policy Analyst who focuses on equity and fairness. Prior to joining ITEP, Rita worked for the Cook County Treasurer’s Office on research related to property taxation, tax collection, and municipal debt. She has also worked on issues including fines and fees, state block grants, and homelessness prevention.
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brief February 5, 2025 The (Mostly Untapped) Power of Local Income Taxes
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blog January 14, 2025 Policymakers Unwisely Propose Cutting Property Taxes in Favor of Sales Taxes
Lawmakers across the country are taking aim at property taxes with a new strategy: raising sales taxes instead. Doing so would create a regressive tax shift that puts unfair burdens on renters and reduces the strength of local government revenues.
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media mention December 17, 2024 Crain’s Chicago Business: Cook County’s Property System is Complex and Burdensome. Here’s How It Can Be Fixed.
Discontent about property tax increases persists not only among Chicagoans, but also among Cook County residents and property owners nationwide. Relief is what everyone wants, as seen by the rate at which municipalities put property tax-related referendums and legislation on the ballots in 2024, says Rita Jefferson, a policy analyst for the Institute of Taxation & Economic Policy, or ITEP.
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brief December 5, 2024 How Local Governments Raise Revenue — and What it Means for Tax Equity
Local taxes are key to thriving communities. One in seven tax dollars in the U.S.—about $886 billion annually—is levied by local governments in support of education, infrastructure, public health, and other priorities. Three fourths of this funding comes from property taxes, 18 percent comes from sales and excise taxes, and six percent comes from income taxes.
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blog October 17, 2024 2024 Local Tax Ballot Measures: Voters in Dozens of Communities Will Shape Local Policy
Next month, voters across the country will weigh in on many local ballot measures that will have a profound effect on the adequacy of our local tax systems and whether cities and communities can fund public needs. These are in addition to statewide ballot questions, many of which have local implications this year.
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media mention July 15, 2024 Route 50: States, Cities Consider ‘Mansion Taxes’ to Fund Affordable Housing
States and cities have been throwing darts at the wall, trying to find dedicated funding to tackle affordable housing needs. Nationwide, tens of millions of families are struggling amid a housing shortage with rent and housing costs. Home prices are up about 60% over the past decade, adjusted for inflation. And about a quarter of renters—some 12 million households—spend more than half their income on housing, which is far above the recommended 30%. To support affordable housing development and other initiatives in the rapidly growing Denver area, Mayor Mike Johnston on Monday unveiled a proposed new tax that would add 0.5% atop Denver’s current effective 8.81% sales tax rate. The tax is estimated to bring in $100 million a year in proceeds for the efforts.
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media mention July 10, 2024 Education Week: A State Considers a Future in Which Schools Can’t Rely on Property Taxes
What would a world without property taxes look like? In every state, revenue from property taxes is one of the biggest sources of K-12 school funding. But that could change soon as efforts ramp up in a handful of states to abandon property taxes altogether, or at least as a funding source for schools.