Recent Work

State Rundown 12/17: New and Old State Tax Debates Await in 2021

December 17, 2020 • By ITEP Staff

Our last Rundown of 2020 includes news of yet another misguided proposal to eliminate a state income tax, this time in Arkansas. Florida and Missouri, on the other hand, are looking to modernize their tax codes by becoming the last two states to enforce their own sales taxes on online retailers. Leaders in Maryland and Oregon, meanwhile, are working to decouple the state from unnecessary and regressive tax cuts included in the federal CARES Act. And Missouri and Nevada lawmakers both got updated estimates of the revenue shortfalls they will need to resolve when they convene in 2021. The Rundown…

A Second Round of Direct Cash Payments Could Provide an Average $1,550 to the Poorest Families

December 8, 2020 • By Jenice Robinson

It will not magically become easier for families to put food on the table or make their next rent payment. Policymakers must act. People are struggling because they are either out of work, involuntarily working part-time, trying to financially catch up after being out of work for a spell, or squeaking by because we live in a wealthy democracy that fails to guarantee basics such as access to affordable housing, health care, food, and jobs that pay living wages.

McConnell Balked at More Stimulus Aid to States, Betting Red States Wouldn’t Need It. Now?

December 4, 2020 • By Meg Wiehe

It is December 2020. Sen. McConnell has denied states—and their residents—relief for months. Congress must act now. Even if it does, it is unlikely to provide the robust aid needed to keep communities afloat and positioned for healthy recovery. Lawmakers across the country should be prepared to return to state capitals and city halls in the new year with plans to raise revenue not just to weather this crisis, but also to invest in long-term recovery.

These EITC Reforms Would Help Struggling Families Now and Address Systemic Challenges

December 4, 2020 • By Aidan Davis

The tepid economic recovery is leaving millions behind. The nation still has nearly 10 million jobs less than it did in February, according to the latest jobs report. The number of people living in or near poverty is rising. Twelve million workers are about to lose their unemployment insurance, roughly four in 10 people report experiencing food insecurity for the first time, and conditions are likely to deteriorate further in the weeks ahead as we brace for another deadly surge in COVID cases and new or tightened restrictions on business and personal activity.

COVID-19 Containment Is Key to Recovery—So Is Another Round of Stimulus

December 3, 2020 • By Aidan Davis

You can learn a lot about our leaders from how they act during times of crisis. This December, we are in our 10th month of the pandemic in the United States. With COVID cases climbing, deaths exceeding 270,000 and hospitalizations surpassing 100,000 for the first time, some states have halted reopening plans and imposed new restrictions. Containment of the virus is key to sustained economic recovery. As is another round of federal stimulus.

Lame-Duck Session No Time for Perfection, but a Bold Compromise on COVID Relief Is Needed

December 2, 2020 • By Amy Hanauer

Time for COVID relief is dwindling. A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a $908 billion COVID relief package on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is floating a relief proposal and Sen. Mitch McConnell is circulating a wholly inadequate package. The best chance for legislation may be to include it in an omnibus appropriations bill, which Congress must pass this month. Following is a statement from Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding congressional negotiations over another round of economic relief.

After the Dust Has Settled: How Progressive Tax Policy Fared in the General Election

November 30, 2020 • By Marco Guzman

While the results of the 2020 presidential election are all but set in stone—and a sign of life for progressive policy—the results of state tax ballot initiatives are more of a mixed bag. However, the overall fight for tax equity and raising more revenue to invest in people and communities is trending in the right direction.

State Rundown 11/24: Lawmakers and Families Thankful to Be Nearing End to 2020

November 24, 2020 • By ITEP Staff

Just as people will search their hearts to give thanks this week for the small and large things that got them through a difficult year, state lawmakers are also doing their best to count their blessings while keeping fingers crossed for badly needed federal relief to give them something to be truly grateful for.

State Tax Policy: Innovations to Embrace, Schemes to Avoid

November 20, 2020 • By Amy Hanauer

Better tax policies will help communities emerge from the current staggering fiscal crisis with tax structures that reduce inequality at a time when rich people are thriving and public services are under siege. Preserving public spending will boost the economy and improve lives–and cutting these essentials will not only hurt people but also deepen the downturn, a lesson we learned in the Great Recession’s slow recovery. Other states should take note.

State Rundown 11/13: States Can Find Inspiration in Arizona Ballot Success; Must Look to Congress for More Immediate Help

November 13, 2020 • By ITEP Staff

Although progressive tax policy doesn’t always succeed in in statehouses or voting booths, Arizona voters showed once again that when offered a clear choice, most people resoundingly support requiring fairer tax contributions from rich individuals and highly profitable corporations over allowing their schools and other shared priorities to wither and decay. Still, a similar effort in Illinois and a more complicated measure in California were defeated, and anti-tax zealots in West Virginia and many other states will continue to push for tax cuts for the rich and defunding public investments, leaving much work to be done to advance tax justice.

Biden’s Economic Policy Agenda Deserves Serious Debate, Not Obstruction

November 12, 2020 • By Jenice Robinson

Obstructing policies that improve economic well-being should not be on any party’s legislative agenda, especially when so many are barely keeping their heads above water.

State Rundown 10/28: Anti-Tax Horror Stories Proving Less Spooky in 2020

October 28, 2020 • By ITEP Staff

Even with Halloween coming up this weekend, months of dealing with the horrors of the Covid-19 pandemic have made it hard to scare anyone in the closing months of 2020, which state lawmakers and residents are showing by voting in droves and supporting policies they had been more trepidatious about in recent years.

An Underfunded IRS Allows Corporations to Get Away with Probably Illegal Tax Dodges

October 28, 2020 • By Matthew Gardner

A new look at S&P 500 annual financial reports for 2019 shows that five companies—Chevron, Dell, Eli Lilly, ExxonMobil and General Electric—kept $1 billion in tax breaks they admitted were probably illegal because tax authorities failed to come to a final determination before the statute of limitations ran out.

Trump Says Taxes Will Be Too High on the 2% Who Pay More Under Biden’s Plan

October 22, 2020 • By Steve Wamhoff

The Trump campaign has failed to convince the public that large numbers of Americans would face tax hikes under Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s tax plan. The claim has been widely discredited. For example, ITEP found that the federal taxes that people pay directly would rise for just 1.9 percent of taxpayers in the U.S., and that number does not vary much by state. So, Fox News and other conservative voices are trying out a new argument: Biden’s tax plan would be too burdensome for that 1.9 percent.

Voters Have the Chance in 2020 to Increase Tax Equity in Arizona, Illinois, and California, And They Should

October 22, 2020 • By Marco Guzman

There’s a lot at stake in this election cycle: the nation and our economy are reeling from the effects brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and states remain in limbo as they weigh deep budget cuts and rush to address projected revenue shortfalls.