Publication Search Results
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report September 19, 2013 Tennessee is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
Read the Report in PDF Form See all “Low Tax for Who?” states New data from the Census Bureau appear to lend support to Tennessee’s reputation as a “low tax… -
report September 19, 2013 South Dakota is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
Read the Report in PDF Form See all “Low Tax for Who?” states New data from the Census Bureau lend support to South Dakota’s reputation as a “low tax state,”… -
report September 19, 2013 Florida is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
New data from the Census Bureau appear to lend support to Florida’s reputation as a “low tax state,” ranking it 45th nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income.1 But focusing on the state’s overall tax revenues has led many observers to overlook the fact that different taxpayers experience Florida’s tax system very differently. In particular, the poorest 20 percent of Florida residents pay significantly more of their income (13.2 percent) in state and local taxes than any other group in the state. For low-income families, Florida is far from being a low tax state.2 In fact, only two states tax their poorest residents more heavily than Florida.
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report September 19, 2013 Arizona is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
New data from the Census Bureau appear to lend support to Arizona’s reputation as a “low tax state,” ranking it 35th nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income.1 But focusing on the state’s overall tax revenues has led many observers to overlook the fact that different taxpayers experience Arizona’s tax system very differently. In particular, the poorest 20 percent of Arizona residents pay significantly more of their income (12.9 percent) in state and local taxes than any other group in the state.2 For low-income families, Arizona is far from being a low tax state. In fact, only four states tax their poorest residents more heavily than Arizona.
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brief August 19, 2013 A Closer Look at TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights)
Colorado has become infamous for its Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, a constitutional amendment restricting growth in revenue collections to an arbitrary “population-plus-inflation” formula. Although TABOR has had significant negative effects on Colorado’s finances, similar proposals have surfaced in at least 30 states over the past decade. None of these proposals were approved, and in five states they were placed directly on a state-wide ballot where they were rejected by voters. Even in Colorado itself, citizens voted to suspend TABOR for five years in an effort to allow the s
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report August 14, 2013 Tax Expenditure Reports: A Vital Tool with Room for Improvement
State and local tax codes include a huge array of special tax breaks designed to accomplish almost every goal imaginable: from encouraging homeownership and scientific research, to building radioactive fallout shelters and caring for “exceptional” trees. Despite being embedded in the tax code, these programs are typically enacted with tax policy issues like fairness, efficiency, and sustainability only as secondary considerations. Accordingly, these programs have long been called “tax expenditures.” They are essentially government spending programs that happen to be housed in the tax code for ease of administration, political expedience, or both.
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report August 14, 2013 Tax Incentives: Costly for States, Drag on the Nation
Tax incentives are intended to spur economic growth that would not have otherwise occurred. More specifically, these narrowly targeted tax breaks are usually offered in an attempt to convince businesses to relocate, hire, and/or invest within a state’s borders.
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report July 24, 2013 Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
Sales taxes are an important revenue source, comprising close to half of all state revenues in 2012. But sales taxes are also inherently regressive because the lower a family’s income, the more of its income the family must spend on things subject to the tax.
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report July 10, 2013 Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contributions (2013)
In the public debates over federal immigration reform, much has been made of the argument that undocumented immigrants would be a drain on federal, state and local government resources if granted legal status under reform. But it is also true that the 11.2 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States are already taxpayers, and that their local, state and federal tax contributions would increase under reform.
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report June 12, 2013 Testimony: Evaluating the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Reforms in DC’s Bill 20-199
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Matt Gardner. I am the Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a Washington-DC-based nonprofit research group. ITEP’s research focuses on federal and state tax policy with an emphasis on sustainability and fairness in the tax laws.