Data released late last week by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indicate that 10 states have greater concentrations of reported income among their very wealthiest residents than the country as a whole. Unfortunately, the tax systems in those ten states generally ignore that very important reality. Of those ten states: • four lack a broad-based […]
Louisiana lawmakers are in what appears to be an enviable position. At a time when legislators in many other states face daunting budget shortfalls, Louisiana enjoys a projected short-term budget surplus for the upcoming fiscal year. But Louisiana’s tax system remains troubled in one important sense. It is profoundly unfair, imposing much higher effective tax […]
On Wednesday, May 14, 2008, the House Ways and Means Committee approved SB 87, a measure originally sponsored by Senator Buddy Shaw and now backed by Governor Bobby Jindal. The measure would reduce state income taxes by close to $300 million per year, but a new analysis by the Washington, DC-based Institute on Taxation and […]
March 5, 2008 • By ITEP Staff
Over the past few months, a strong consensus appears to have developed here in Massachusetts, a consensus that the Commonwealth should put a stop to tax avoidance by large and profitable businesses and adopt a new approach to its corporate excise tax – a method of taxation commonly referred to as combined reporting. I want […]
The tax plan approved by the Maryland General Assembly on Monday will help provide the revenue necessary to fund vital public services in Maryland, but, according to the latest analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), working families will bear the brunt of the tax changes contained in the plan. All told, […]
A new analysis of the tax legislation approved by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Tuesday shows that the Senate’s tax changes would impose the largest tax hikes, as a share of income, on low- and middle-income Marylanders. The analysis also shows that the Senate plan’s regressive impact is in sharp contrast to the […]
My testimony today focuses on the sales tax legislation included in the Tax Reform Act of 2007. In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of the bill’s expansion of the sales tax base to include more services. The proposed changes are an important first step toward a more sustainable Maryland tax system. But, because […]
My testimony today focuses on the proposed changes to Maryland’s personal income tax put forward by Governor O’Malley and the impact that those changes would have on Marylanders at different income levels. Before I present the substance of my analysis of the Governor’s proposal, however, I would like to describe three important contexts for you […]
My testimony examines a problem facing not just Maryland, but a number of different states – the erosion of the corporate income tax and the related emergence of profitable “zero-tax corporations.” I also will discuss the single best strategy available to lawmakers seeking to respond to the problem of corporate tax avoidance – mandatory combined […]
Early in the 2007 legislative session Missouri Governor Matt Blunt and House Speaker Rod Jetton made eliminating the state’s personal income tax on Social Security benefits a priority. In May, the legislature passed a bill that would eliminate the income tax on Social Security benefits for some better-off seniors. This bill is currently awaiting Governor […]
Over the past few years, a number of states, seeking to address longstanding flaws in their corporate income taxes and significant declines in the revenue they yield, have instituted a major reform: combined reporting. Combined reporting requires multi-state corporations to report the income earned by both the parent corporation and all of its subsidiaries and […]
My testimony today focuses on the revenue-raising tax reform bill, House Bill 750 and Illinois’ current tax structure. In particular, my testimony will discuss the state’s current tax structure and reveal the opportunity that HB 750 provides. Read the Full Report (PDF)
My testimony focuses on Legislative Bill 683, which would expand the Nebraska Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of this bill on the overall fairness of Nebraska’s tax system. Read the Full Report (PDF)
States currently face a number of fiscal challenges, ranging from unresolved structural deficit, to underlying flaws in their existing tax systems, to the demands posed by ambitious initiatives such as improved access to health care. In response, some policymakers are casting about for new alternatives for generating revenue that do not seem to require visible or difficult changes in law. One such alternative that has gained in popularity in the past few years is a broad-based gross receipts tax.
February 28, 2007 • By ITEP Staff
My testimony today examines a problem facing not just Maryland, but a number of different states – the erosion of the corporate income tax and the related emergence of profitable “zero-tax corporations.” I also will discuss the single best strategy available to lawmakers seeking to respond to the problem of corporate tax avoidance – mandatory […]