Recent Work
2048 items
Leaving Money on the Table: “Federal Offset” Provides Incentive for States to Rely on Progressive Income Taxes
April 10, 2010 • By ITEP Staff
Seven states—Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming—have chosen to make up for the lack of an income tax by increasing their reliance on general sales taxes.1 The result is an “upside down” state tax system, which imposes higher effective tax rates on middle- and low-income families than on the best-off taxpayers. But […]
Last week, an Alabama legislative committee approved a bill, House Bill 1, that would take an important step towards making one of the most unfair tax systems in the nation somewhat less unfair. Some opponents of the bill have characterized it as a “redistribution of wealth” from the best-off families to low-income taxpayers. However, these […]
Maryland’s Millionaire Migration Debate: Understanding the Relevance of the New Jersey Migration Studies
March 25, 2010 • By ITEP Staff
As the debate over extending the Maryland “millionaires’ tax” continues, numerous lawmakers and advocates have recently begun to look toward New Jersey’s experience with its own “halfmillionaires’ tax” to help inform their understanding of the issues at work. In particular, two studies of New Jersey’s migration patterns—one from Boston College and one from Princeton University—have […]
Proposed Repeal of Refundable Low Income Credit Would Hurt the Poorest Georgians
March 25, 2010 • By ITEP Staff
Earlier this week, the tax writing committee in the Georgia House of Representatives quietly approved a bill, HB 1219, that would increase Georgia taxes by about $20 million a year by paring back a tax credit that only affects the very poorest Georgians. The bill’s proponents have repeatedly implied that the beneficiaries of the existing […]
ITEP’s Testimony Before the MD House Ways & Means Committee on Preserving Maryland’s “Millionaires’ Tax”
March 23, 2010 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony today focuses on Senate Bill 913, which would temporarily extend, through 2014, the “millionaires’ tax” that is currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. This testimony emphasizes that the “millionaires’ tax” makes Maryland’s tax system at least somewhat less unfair than it otherwise would be; that claims about the negative impact […]
My testimony today focuses on one bill introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives: HB 2034, which would reform the state’s individual income tax structure. My testimony will discuss the impact of this bill on the yield and fairness of Missouri’s income tax. HB 2034 would raise over a billion dollars a year to fund […]
ITEP’s Testimony Before the MD Senate Budget and Tax Committee on Preserving Maryland’s “Millionaires’ Tax”
March 11, 2010 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony today focuses on Senate Bill 913, which would temporarily extend, through 2014, the “millionaires’ tax” that is currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. This testimony emphasizes that the “millionaires’ tax” makes Maryland’s tax system at least somewhat less unfair than it otherwise would be; that claims about the negative impact […]
Media outlets are reporting that leaders in the New Mexico legislature reached a tentative agreement in the days leading up to this week’s special legislative session that would impose over $220 million a year in new Gross Receipts Taxes (GRT) and cigarette taxes. Reports also indicate that the agreement does not include any provisions to […]
In a special legislative session starting March 1, the New Mexico Legislature will consider a variety of revenue-raising options to close the state’s budget deficit. Some of the options under consideration—especially those approved by the state Senate earlier this year—would fall much more heavily on low- and middle-income families than on the best-off New Mexicans. […]
Determining the Statewide Sales Tax Rate Under SJR 29 and HJR 56
February 9, 2010 • By ITEP Staff
Senate Joint Resolution 29 and House Joint Resolution 56 are currently being debated in the Missouri Legislature. The proposals would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to dramatically change the state’s revenue structure by eliminating the individual income and corporate income/franchise taxes and replacing them with a greatly expanded sales tax. The new statewide […]
In evaluating SJR 29, policymakers should have a clear understanding of how broad the tax base could actually be under such a plan, what the tax rate would actually have to be in order to make the plan revenue-neutral overall, and how the plan overall would affect Missourians at different income levels. My testimony presents […]
In 2008, to compensate for the anticipated loss of revenue due to the repeal of a law subjecting the provision of computer services to the state’s sales tax, Maryland enacted a temporary change in its income tax. That change, which is in effect only through the end of this year, created a new top income […]
Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States 3rd Edition
November 18, 2009 • By Carl Davis, Matthew Gardner
Who Pays? is a comprehensive analysis of state and local tax systems in all fifty states. The study, released on November 18, 2009, shows that on average, state and local tax systems require the poorest taxpayers to pay the highest effective tax rates. Read the Full Report (PDF)
A Progressive Strategy for Meeting Illinois’ Current and Future Revenue Needs
October 19, 2009 • By Matthew Gardner
Over the course of the past year, Illinois’ personal income tax has received a great deal of attention. In March, Governor Pat Quinn put forward a plan to raise the existing income tax rate of 3 percent to 4.5 percent and to increase the value of personal and dependent exemptions from $2,000 to $6,000; the […]
A more thorough examination of preliminary tax return data for 2007 and 2008 suggests that, while Maryland millionaires may have moved, their most likely destination was a different income group. Read the Full Report (PDF)
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