Reports

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 […]

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 […]

Oregon is one of nine states that currently allow taxpayers to claim federal income taxes paid as a deduction on personal income tax forms. Under current law, Oregon taxpayers can deduct up to $3,000 of federal personal income tax on their Oregon tax returns. This analysis assesses the impact of two possible changes to the […]

The Commission on Virginia’s State and Local Tax Structure for the 21st Century has an opportunity to offer a vision for equitable and sensible reform. Equity, simplicity and the interaction of the state’s tax system with the federal tax system should be critical components of this vision. Read the Full Report (PDF)

The state of Louisiana is currently facing a substantial budget shortfall. Recent estimates suggest that legislators crafting the state’s fiscal year 2001 state budget must make up almost $5401 million in revenues through budget cuts or tax increases. Among the more prominent revenue-raising solutions recently under discussion have been an extension of the state’s “temporary” […]

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has analyzed the proposed “Virginia Children’s Educational Opportunity Act 2000” (H.B. 68 and S.B. 336), to measure the effects of the bill’s proposed tuition subsidies on Virginia families with children by income group. H.B. 68 and S.B. 336 would provide Virginia parents with children in kindergarten though […]

In 1996, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released a report entitled Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States.1 One of the findings of the study was that in 1995, Alabama had a regressive tax structure— that middle- and low-income Alabamians paid a higher share of income in […]

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy today released an analysis showing that states with high income tax burdens have experienced more rapid economic growth than states with low income tax burdens during the past two decades. The ITEP report, released in response to a recent Cato Institute analysis of the impact of a Tennessee […]

Tennessee’s state legislature is currently considering several proposals for increasing state tax revenues to cover newly emerging budget deficits. The following analysis compares the distributional effects of two proposals that would create broadbased income taxes in Tennessee. Read the Full Report (PDF)

A recent report by the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) tries to make the case that adoption of an income tax in Tennessee would stunt the growth of the state’s economy and cause a sharp rise in state government outlays. NTU’s arguments, however, are unpersuasive. Read the Full Report (PDF)

A recent report by the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) tries to make the case that adoption of an income tax in New Hampshire would stunt the growth of the state’s economy and cause a sharp rise in state government outlays. NTU’s arguments, however, are unpersuasive. Read the Full Report (PDF)

The proposal being considered, to create an alternative flat-rate income tax of 5.75 percent of Federal Adjusted Gross Income, with an exclusion for capital gains income for assets held more than five years, would be a significant tax cut targeted exclusively to the wealthiest people in Rhode Island. Ninety-eight percent of the benefits of this […]

First, is Kentucky a low or high tax state? The best measure of overall tax level, in my view, is taxes as a share of personal income. By that measure Kentucky is close to the national average. Because there are many other states also close to the national average, Kentucky’s rank among the states goes […]

In recent years, the tax treatment of capital gains income has been one of the most hotly contested issues in federal tax policy. This debate has recently spilled over onto the state level in Oregon with the consideration of SB 535. Oregon’s personal income tax currently subjects capital gains to the same graduated rate structure […]

Oregonians will soon be considering whether to allow taxpayers to deduct more of their federal income taxes from the Oregon personal income tax. Under current law, Oregon taxpayers can deduct up to $3,000 of federal personal income tax on their Oregon tax returns. One proposed change pending before the Legislative Assembly would increase this limit […]

Since the beginning of 1995, a series of tax changes have been enacted that are reducing New York State tax collections by several billions of dollars per year. One question which has not been adequately examined in this tax-cutting period has been the extent to which these tax cuts have, or have not, improved the […]

An analysis of more than 550 Minnesota economic development disclosure reports— tracking more than $176 million in loans, grants, and tax increment financing (TIF) by cities, regional bodies and state agencies—reveals high costs, low wages, and an absence of standards to ensure that job subsidies produce an effective return on taxpayers’ investment. Lacking standards, the […]

Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee for the opportunity to appear today. I will be discussing three aspects of House Bill 109, the Hager/Below/Fernald Education Funding and Property Tax Relief Plan. I will be addressing the income tax revenue estimate, the distributional impact and the economic impact of this legislation. Read the […]

Several proposals for reforming the Maryland personal income tax have recently been suggested, including accelerating previously enacted rate cuts, increasing retirement income exemptions, and introducing new rate cuts above those enacted in 1997. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has analyzed the consequences of one such plan: an increase in the retirement income exemption […]

This report offers an examination of these and other issues pertaining to the tax system of Iowa and the state’s economic and social environment. Included in the study is an assessment of the merits and shortfalls of a number of tax reform options. We hope this report will prove to be useful to both the […]

Minnesota is to be commended for having a detailed tax expenditure budget-most states do not. The report, prepared by the Department of Revenue, is a useful resource for the development of state tax and spending policy. Read the Full Report (PDF)

It is beyond the scope of this testimony to do a complete analysis of the New Hampshire tax system. The following table, however, shows that New Hampshire, as with most states, has a regressive tax system–with middle- and lower-income taxpayers paying a higher share of their income in New Hampshire state and local taxes than […]

This report will examine Minnesota’s major taxes, who pays these taxes, and how taxation has changed over time. The study will also examine Minnesota’s economic and social indicators, and state and local spending trends. In addition, the study will address how well equipped Minnesota is to handle future needs. Finally, the study will address the […]

This study looks at taxes paid by income group, as shares of income, for every state and the District of Columbia. Our primary finding is that by an overwhelming margin, most state and local tax systems take a greater share of income from middle- and low-income families than from the wealthy. That is to say, […]