Recent Work
2048 items
How do personal taxes on total investment income compare to taxes on earnings right now? This paper addresses that question. The analysis includes both the individual income tax, which applies in varying degrees to both earnings and investment income, and Social Security and Medicare taxes, which apply only to wages and selfemployment earnings. The central […]
In recent months, lawmakers in a number of states have suggested that a particular type of sales tax, called the value-added tax or VAT, might be a cure-all for state budgetary problems. Although Michigan is the only state that currently relies on a VAT as a major revenue source, several other states have recently considered implementing this type of tax. This policy brief evaluates the case for (and against) implementing a VAT at the state level.
Corporate income taxes are in decline. Corporate tax revenues represent a smaller piece of the federal and state tax pie than at almost any time since World War II. While it is possible to diagnose some of the reasons for this decline on the federal level, very little public information is available to help policymakers evaluate the health of the corporate taxes collected by state governments. For this reason, some policymakers have called for better public disclosure of how much the biggest corporations are paying in state taxes. This policy brief evaluates arguments in favor of (and against) requiring detailed…
Does Personal Income Tax Progressivity Inhibit Economic Growth?
April 15, 2004 • By ITEP Staff
What is the relationship between income tax burdens and state economic growth? A December 2003 study by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA), titled Income Tax Progressivity in Oklahoma: Hindering Economic Growth, Variating State Revenue, attempts to weigh in on this issue. The authors of the report claim that Oklahoma’s personal income tax is […]
The Distributional Impact of SB 1374’s Personal Income Tax Changes
March 30, 2004 • By ITEP Staff
The Missouri personal income tax currently applies a graduated rate structure with tax rates ranging from 1.5 percent to 6 percent of taxable income. This rate structure is applied to a tax base that starts with federal adjusted gross income, but allows a variety of special deductions and exemptions that allow some Missourians to reduce […]
My testimony today focuses on two revenue-raising tax bills introduced in the Maryland House of Delegates: HB 1061, the “Millionaire’s Tax Surcharge,” and HB 1306, the “Maryland Progressive Income Tax Reform Act of 2004.” In particular, my testimony will discuss the impact of each bill on the fairness of the Maryland tax system, and will […]
Tax Options for Arkansas: Funding Education After the Lake View Case
July 15, 2003 • By ITEP Staff
The purpose of this study is to analyze the implications of the Lake View case for the future of financing public education in Arkansas. The study has three broad goals: First, the report provides a detailed menu of revenue- raising options that could be used to meet the Lake View spending mandates. Second, the report […]
Simplicity is generally seen as a virtue in tax systems. The National Council of State Legislatures argues that a properly functioning tax system should “facilitate taxpayer compliance by avoiding a maze of taxes, forms and filing requirements.”1 Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack has echoed this sentiment, calling for a move to a “postcard” income tax in […]
The Impact of Imposing a “Flat Tax” on Missouri Personal Income
January 28, 2003 • By ITEP Staff
The Missouri personal income tax currently applies a graduated rate structure with tax rates ranging from 1.5 percent to 6 percent of income. This rate structure is applied to a tax base that starts with federal adjusted gross income, but allows a series of special deductions and exemptions that allow some Missourians to reduce their […]
Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems of All 50 States [2003 Edition]
January 15, 2003 • By ITEP Staff
State governments are facing a profound fiscal crisis. In the past year, states have grappled with mounting budgetary shortfalls, as tax revenues have slumped while spending pressures have continued to grow—and these problems will probably get even worse in the upcoming year. As state and local governments are forced to make hard decisions about how […]
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NEW HAMPSHIRE: Impact of Options for Reforming New Hampshire’s Tax System (PowerPoint)
August 20, 2002 • By ITEP Staff
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The current fiscal shortfall represents a shortterm challenge to Illinois lawmakers—but it also provides an opportunity for lawmakers to craft tax reform solutions that will ensure the longterm solvency of Illinois state and local governments. We hope this report will prove useful to both the policy makers and the citizens of Illinois as they seek […]
In April of 2001, Alabama legislators considered a pair of bills, HB 577 and HB 578, designed to modify the state’s personal income tax structure by creating a state Earned Income Tax Credit while increasing the state’s standard deduction and personal exemption. The bills also would have eliminated a deduction for federal personal income taxes […]
“Further Evidence” on the Linkage Between Income Taxes and Economic Growth?
October 13, 2000 • By ITEP Staff
Examining economic growth rates before and after a single policy change without attempting to control for other causal factors is not an exercise which should be taken seriously. The impact of tax law changes on economic growth is, rightly, a topic of great interest. But Dye’s analyses add precisely nothing to our understanding of the […]
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