Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

California

Los Angeles Times: Here Are 4 Campaign Promises from Trump. What Are Their Chances if He Wins?

October 16, 2024

The economic impacts would be huge. In California, an estimated 1.5 million workers — 7% of the state’s labor force — are undocumented, according to the Pew Research Center. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank, found that undocumented workers paid $96.7 billion in taxes in 2022, including $8.5 billion in California.

Los Angeles Times: Trump Says He Would Uncap the State and Local Tax Deduction

September 19, 2024

Days after mingling with wealthy donors in Beverly Hills and the Bay Area, former President Trump said that if he is reelected, he would reinstate a tax break that benefits residents of high-tax states such as California.

ITEP’s Kamolika Das Responds to Misleading Baltimore Sun Op-ed

September 19, 2024

ITEP Local Policy Director Kamolika Das had this letter to the editor published in the Baltimore Sun on September 18: David F. Tufaro’s recent commentary about the Renew Baltimore campaign is wildly misleading (“Baltimore’s high property taxes sustain a broken system,” Sept. 15). The Renew Baltimore proposal to drastically cut and permanently cap Baltimore’s property tax […]

Extending Temporary Provisions of the 2017 Trump Tax Law: Updated National and State-by-State Estimates

The TCJA Permanency Act would make permanent the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that are set to expire at the end of 2025. The legislation would disproportionately benefit the richest Americans. Below are graphics for each state that show the effects of making TCJA permanent across income groups. See ITEP’s […]

State Earned Income Tax Credits Support Families and Workers in 2024

Nearly two-thirds of states (31 plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) have an Earned Income Tax Credit. These credits 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 2024

Fifteen states plus the District of Columbia provide Child Tax Credits to reduce poverty, boost economic security, and invest in children. This year alone, lawmakers in three states – Colorado, New York, and Utah – expanded their Child Tax Credits while lawmakers in the District of Columbia created a new credit that will take effect in 2025.

State Rundown 9/5: Property Tax Policy Continues to Make Headlines

Property tax bills are undeniably a concern for many low- and moderate-income households across the nation...

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Which States Have Joined IRS Direct File?

September 5, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

Which States Have Joined IRS Direct File?

The IRS has opened its free tax filing service called Direct File to every state for the 2025 tax filing season. Direct File was made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which provided new resources for the IRS to improve customer service and ensure taxpayers claim the benefits and deductions for which they are […]

Steven Moore Sanchez

August 26, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

Steven Moore Sanchez

As Development Manager, Steven manages ITEP’s fundraising strategy and activities, helping to grow and sustain the organization. Prior to joining ITEP, Steven served as Development Coordinator at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, where he managed relations with donor partners and collaborated closely with senior staff on development activities. He previously worked as a Development […]

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Local Tax Trends in 2024

August 14, 2024 • By Kamolika Das

Local Tax Trends in 2024

Many cities, counties, and townships across the country are in a difficult, or at least unstable, budgetary position. Localities are responding to these financial pressures in a variety of ways with some charging ahead with enacting innovative reforms like short-term rental and vacancy taxes, and others setting up local tax commissions to study the problem.

America’s Voice: Immigrants Contribute a Lot – Just Ask the Researchers

August 13, 2024

Recent research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) reveals that undocumented immigrants contributed an astounding $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Six of the most immigrant-populous states accounted for a combined $21.1 billion of these contributions, with California leading the way at $8.5 billion in tax revenue. The research further showed that these workers pay into programs that they’re barred from accessing, and in most areas pay higher state and local tax rates than their wealthiest neighbors. 

State and Local Tax Contributions by Undocumented Immigrants

Undocumented immigrants pay taxes that help fund public infrastructure, institutions, and services in every U.S. state. Nearly 39 percent of the total tax dollars paid by undocumented immigrants in 2022 ($37.3 billion) went to state and local governments.

McClatchy DC: Undocumented Immigrants in California Are Paying Billions in Taxes. Here’s How Much.

July 30, 2024

Amid pledges for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants by presidential candidate Donald Trump, a new study has highlighted the increasingly positive economic effects of this community. The report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington-based progressive research group, found undocumented immigrants nationwide paid an estimated $96.7 billion in taxes in 2022. About $37.3 billion was spent on state and local taxes, and the rest went to federal taxes.

Contact: Jon Whiten ([email protected]) Immigration policies have taken center stage in public debates this year, but much of the conversation has been driven by emotion, not data. A new in-depth study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy aims to help change that by quantifying how much undocumented immigrants pay in taxes – both […]

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Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants

July 30, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants

Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Providing access to work authorization for undocumented immigrants would increase their tax contributions both because their wages would rise and because their rates of tax compliance would increase.

State Rundown 7/25: Summertime Hits Different in Different States

State lawmakers will have a lot to discuss when they compare notes on how they spent their summer vacations this year...

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Improving Refundable Tax Credits by Making Them Immigrant-Inclusive

July 17, 2024 • By Emma Sifre, Marco Guzman

Improving Refundable Tax Credits by Making Them Immigrant-Inclusive

Undocumented immigrants who work and pay taxes but don't have a valid Social Security number for either themselves or their children are excluded from federal EITC and CTC benefits. Fortunately, several states have stepped in to ensure undocumented immigrants are not left behind by the gaps in the federal EITC and CTC. State lawmakers should continue to ensure that immigrants who are otherwise eligible for these tax credits receive them.

Tax the Wealthy and Reject Austerity for a More Just and Thriving Democracy

Two of the last five presidents won office over the objection of the majority of the people; California, with 65 times more people, has the same voting power in the U.S Senate as Wyoming; and the U.S. Supreme Court just permitted South Carolina lawmakers to dilute Black votes in drawing districts. These obvious flaws undermine our claim to be a strong democracy. One less appreciated but similarly undemocratic trend is our extreme inequality that supercharges the power and wealth of corporations and the uber-rich, weakens what the public sector can deliver, and often feeds on itself.

New York Times: Newsom Uses Annual State Address to Confront Republicans Across the Nation

June 27, 2024

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, whose liberal state has been hammered by Republicans for months as a hellscape of homelessness, crime and high taxes, used his annual State of the State address on Tuesday to slam “conservatives and delusional California bashers” and defend “the California way of life.”

State Rundown 6/26: Summer Special Sessions Are In, Anti-tax Ballot Initiatives Out

Many families are heading out on summer vacations, but legislators across the country are heading back to statehouses for special sessions...

Sacramento Bee: Governor Gavin Newsom Claims California Is Not a ‘High-Tax State.’ Is He Correct?

June 26, 2024

“Here’s the truth Republicans never tell you: California is not a high tax state,” Gov. Gavin Newsom declared Tuesday in his taped State of the State address.

States Should Enact, Expand Mansion Taxes to Advance Fairness and Shared Prosperity

The report was produced in partnership with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and co-authored by CBPP’s Deputy Director of State Policy Research Samantha Waxman.[1] Click here to use our State Mansion Tax Estimator A historically large share of the nation’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few, a reality glaring in […]

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State Rundown 6/6: A Tale of Two Tax Laws

June 6, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 6/6: A Tale of Two Tax Laws

This week, it was the best of times or, in some cases, the worst of times for tax policy in two different states...

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State Rundown 5/30: Sessions Are In for Summer

May 30, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 5/30: Sessions Are In for Summer

Legislative sessions across the country are still very much in for summer, which means more pencils, more budgets, and more tax plans...

States Should Opt Into IRS Direct File as the Program is Made Permanent

While there is plenty of room to expand Direct File at the federal level, states can take matters into their own hands and bring this benefit to their residents by opting into the program.