California
State Rundown 1/22: Cautious Tone Noticeable in Most Statehouses
• By ITEP Staff
Most states are adopting a very cautious approach so far this year as legislators begin their sessions and governors make their annual addresses, thanks to ongoing economic uncertainty and federal retrenchment.
States Can Push Back Against Reckless Federal Tax Policy. Here’s How.
• By Aidan Davis, Wesley Tharpe
They should take steps to protect and boost their own revenues. And they should take a second look at their own tax cuts.
Local Governments Are Increasingly Strapped: 2026 Will Bring New Challenges and New Opportunities
• By Kamolika Das
2025 saw an intensification of state and local tax fights across the country, as well as growing experimentation with local-option taxes, levies, fees, and tourism taxes aimed at keeping budgets afloat while also navigating political constraints imposed by state legislatures.
State Rundown 1/14: New Year Brings New Resolutions for Funding Key Priorities
• By ITEP Staff
State governors are beginning to lay out their top priorities as legislatures reconvene in statehouses around the country.
Curbing Tax Deductions for Executive Pay is a Federal Tax Change States Should Get Behind
• By Matthew Gardner
This provision in last summer’s tax law could actually make budget-balancing a little bit easier for states if they follow suit.
State Rundown 1/7: New Year, New Opportunities for Progressive Revenue
• By ITEP Staff
As we kick off a new year, several states are facing revenue shortfalls. Some lawmakers are approaching the challenge with sustainable and equitable solutions.
Governor Gavin Newsome: FACT: California’s Population Increased…Again
• By ITEP Staff
California’s population increased again, marking the third consecutive year of growth and signaling a continued return to long-term demographic stability.
Texas Property Tax Plan Mimics California’s Damaging Prop 13
• By Neva Butkus, Rita Jefferson
This proposal would disrupt the state’s housing market and jeopardize local revenues while doing very little to help workers and families struggling to pay their property tax bills – just as Prop 13 did in California.
State Rundown 12/10: ‘Tis the Season to Reclaim Lost Revenue
• By ITEP Staff
property tax debates are taking place throughout the nation.
Re-Examining 529 Plans: Stopping State Subsidies to Private Schools After New Trump Tax Law
• By Miles Trinidad, Nick Johnson
The 2025 federal tax law risks making 529 plans more costly for states by increasing tax avoidance and allowing wealthy families to use these funds for private and religious K-12 schools.
Local Vacancy Taxes: A Tool but Not a Panacea
• By Rita Jefferson
Vacancy taxes will not single-handedly solve problems in cities, but they are worth considering to address housing shortages, land use, and building thriving communities.
State Tax Dollars Shouldn’t Subsidize Federal Opportunity Zones
• By Eli Byerly-Duke
The Opportunity Zones program benefits wealthy investors more than it benefits disadvantaged communities.
State and Local Policymakers Can Resist Austerity Even Amid Historic Federal Retreat
• By Kamolika Das
The progressivity of the federal tax code has been waning. State and local policymakers should respond by protecting their revenue bases, promoting equity, and safeguarding vulnerable communities from harmful budget cuts.
In 2025, Voters Said Yes to Public Resources and Community Investments
• By Rita Jefferson
Important tax measures were on the ballot this week, and the outcomes are clear: many voters support new state and local spending to support critical services in their communities.
States Begin Decoupling from Flawed ‘QSBS’ Tax Break
• By Nick Johnson, Sarah Austin
A costly tax break for wealthy venture capitalists is drawing some critical attention from state policymakers.
Oil and Gas Companies Are Paying Less Tax to the U.S. than to Foreign Governments
• By Matthew Gardner
Since 2017, these companies paid $135 billion in income taxes to foreign governments, but just $29 billion to the U.S.
The Wealth Proceeds Tax: A Simple Way for States to Tax the Wealthy
• By Sarah Austin, Carl Davis
Taxing the proceeds generated by wealth through a new Wealth Proceeds Tax is a simple way for states to raise billions in new revenue and improve the fairness of their tax systems.
State Rundown 10/27: As Temperatures Cool Tax Policy Heats Up
• By ITEP Staff
States across the nation are debating how best to respond to costly new federal tax cuts.
Some Members of Congress Will Cash in from New Tax Law
• By ITEP Staff
Many lawmakers who were vocal supporters of this bill will see direct personal benefits while most of their constituents benefit little or will be worse off.
The Potential of Local Child Tax Credits to Reduce Child Poverty
• By Kamolika Das, Aidan Davis, Galen Hendricks, Rita Jefferson
Local governments have a critical role to play in reducing child poverty. Local Child Tax Credits could provide large tax cuts to families at the bottom of the income scale, lessening the overall regressivity of state and local tax systems.
San Francisco Chronicle: New SALT cap means savings for California homeowners. Here’s how much
October 6, 2025
Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said his organization’s analysis found less SALT savings for Californians than Redfin reported. He ran the new SALT rules through ITEP’s tax microsimulation model, which uses a database of taxpayer and census records to create a computer model of state […]
Quite Some BS: Expanded ‘QSBS’ Giveaway in Trump Tax Law Threatens State Revenues and Enriches the Wealthy
• By Sarah Austin, Nick Johnson
States should decouple from the federal Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exemption.
State Earned Income Tax Credits Support Families and Workers in 2025
• By Neva Butkus
Nearly two-thirds of states now have an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Momentum continues to build on these credits that boost low-paid workers’ incomes and offset some of the taxes they pay, helping lower-income families achieve greater economic security.
State Child Tax Credits Boosted Financial Security for Families and Children in 2025
• By Neva Butkus
Child Tax Credits (CTCs) are effective tools to bolster the economic security of low- and middle-income families and position the next generation for success.
Colorado Lawmakers Help Fill Trump-Induced Shortfall by Tackling Offshore Corporate Tax Avoidance
• By ITEP Staff
As the Trump megabill blows holes in state budgets, Colorado is leading with reforms to curb offshore tax avoidance and roll back wasteful corporate subsidies.
Institute on Taxation
and Economic Policy
ITEP is a non-profit, non-partisan tax policy organization. We conduct rigorous analyses of tax and economic proposals and provide data-driven recommendations to shape equitable and sustainable tax systems.
Subscribe to ITEP Emails
Tax research and policy news in your inbox.
Promote Fair Tax Policy
Your gift to ITEP promotes tax justice. With your help, we do research that supports taxing millionaires and billionaires, taxing big corporations and raising revenue for the things our people, our communities and our planet need.
Together, we can create a country with more economic justice, more racial justice, more climate justice… and more tax justice.