Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Florida

State Rundown 5/3: Policy Debates Unfold from Capitol to Capital

While the conversations on the debt ceiling heat up in the nation's capital, debates on state tax policy also continue to unfold in capitol buildings across the nation...

State Rundown 4/19: Revenue Discussions Heat Up Like the Temperature

Tax season has ended for most filers, but the topic remains a hot one in states around the country...

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8 Things to Know About State Taxes

April 12, 2023 • By Jon Whiten

8 Things to Know About State Taxes

As Tax Day approaches, it’s worth thinking about not only the taxes that we individually pay but the overall condition of our tax code as well. State tax codes, while perhaps less discussed than the federal system, are critically important. Depending on how they are designed, state taxes can improve or worsen economic and racial […]

Testimony of ITEP’s Marco Guzman Before the Nevada Assembly Committee on Revenue

April 10, 2023

For a video of Marco’s testimony, click here. Thank you, Assemblywoman Anderson, and thank you chairman and members of the Assembly for the opportunity to speak on the topic of Nevada’s state tax system. My name is Marco Guzman, and I am a Senior State Policy Analyst with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy […]

Time: No One Is Talking About What Ron DeSantis Has Actually Done to Florida

March 29, 2023

Media coverage of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s all-but-announced candidacy for president is already in full frenzy, and so far the script is exactly as his handlers would like it to be. Read more.

State Rundown 3/23: A Spring Awakening of Tax Proposals

As nature bursts into life and color with the arrival of spring, state tax proposals are doing the same as the legislative seeds planted by lawmakers earlier this year start to grow, blossom, and in some cases rot. However, some governors are not entirely happy with what state lawmakers have produced.

Revenue-Raising Proposals in President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Plan

President Biden’s latest budget proposal includes trillions of dollars of new revenue that would be paid by the richest Americans, both directly through increases in personal income, Medicare and estate taxes, and indirectly through increases in corporate income taxes.

State Rundown 2/23: Tax Dominos Take Shape, Begin to Fall as Session Heats Up

The 2023 legislative session is in full swing, and dominos continue to be set up as others fall...

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State Rundown 2/9: We <3 Taxes

February 9, 2023 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 2/9: We <3 Taxes

The great women’s philosopher, Pat Benatar, once said “love is a battlefield,” and there’s no greater test of our love for state tax policy than following the ups and downs of state legislative sessions...

Why the States Have a Major Role to Play If We Want Tax Justice

With fears of gridlock in a divided Washington, tax justice champions are building momentum in other places where there's dire need for better tax policy: the states. We can upgrade communities across the country by making 2023 a year to win tax improvements in statehouses.

State Rundown 1/11: Governors Ready to Talk Tax in 2023 State Addresses

Governors have begun their annual trek to the podium in statehouses across the U.S. to lay out their visions for 2023, and so far, taxes look like they will play a major role in debates throughout state legislative sessions...

State Rundown 12/15: State Priorities for 2023 Begin to Take Shape

State leaders have begun to release budget projections for 2023 and a familiar theme has emerged once again: big revenue surpluses, which have many state lawmakers pushing for another round of tax cuts despite the monumental challenges that we as a country face that call for sustainable revenues...

State Child Tax Credits and Child Poverty: A 50-State Analysis

Regardless of future Child Tax Credit developments at the federal level, state policies can supplement the federal credit to deliver additional benefits to children and families. State credits can be specifically tailored to meet the needs of local populations while also producing long-term benefits for society as a whole

Palm Beach Post: As Gas Tax Holiday Ends, Did Florida Drivers Save?

November 1, 2022

Florida reinstituted its per-gallon tax on gasoline sales today after a monthlong reprieve in October implemented by Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers. The savings from the 25.3-cent break on each gallon of gasoline last month appears to have been less obviously impactful to drivers, thanks to another sharp rise in oil prices at the start of October. […]

Tax Foundation’s ‘State Business Tax Climate Index’ Bears Little Connection to Business Reality

The big problem with the Index is that it peddles a solution that not only falls short of the goal of generating business investment, but one that actively harms state lawmakers’ ability to provide the kinds of public goods – like good schools and modern, efficient transportation networks – that businesses need and want.

Tackling wealth inequality through the tax code can boost economic opportunity   Washington, DC: Wealth inequality is rampant in every state and particularly concentrated in a handful of states, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). This extreme wealth hinders economic opportunities for all but the […]

The Geographic Distribution of Extreme Wealth in the U.S.

More than one in four dollars of wealth in the U.S. is held by a tiny fraction of households with net worth over $30 million. Nationally, we estimate that wealth over $30 million per household will reach $26 trillion in 2022 with roughly one-fifth of that amount ($4.5 trillion) held by billionaires.

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State Rundown 9/21: Earth, Wind, Fire & Taxes Edition

September 21, 2022 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 9/21: Earth, Wind, Fire & Taxes Edition

Do you remember/the big tax news innn September? Well, if not, we at ITEP got you covered...

State Rundown 9/7: Labor Day Week Provides Sobering Reminder of Steps Forward, Back

Though Labor Day has passed, advocates on the ground in states across the country are continuing to uphold the spirit of the labor movement...

Gimmicky Sales Tax Holidays Are Short-Term and Ineffective

Everyone loves a deal, so it’s no surprise why the appeal of the state sales tax holiday continues to persist. This year, 20 states will forgo more than $1 billion in combined revenue to enact a variety of sales tax holidays that—like most things that are too good to be true—will do little to provide meaningful benefits and instead undermine funding for public services.

State Rundown 7/27: It’s (Sales Tax) Holiday Season, But Who’s Really Celebrating?

It’s the holiday season – well, the sales tax holiday season, that is. But after taking a closer look, you may notice that there is little to celebrate...

New ITEP Brief Shows How State Sales Tax Holidays Fail to Live Up to the Hype

Twenty states this year have decided to go so far as to forgo a combined $1 billion in vital tax revenue in favor of conveniently popular yet ultimately ineffective sales tax holidays. Whether it’s a state looking for a way to help families manage the rising cost of goods or to celebrate back-to-school shopping season, these policy options are poorly targeted and an inadequate use of state tax revenue that could be doing more to make childcare more affordable, health care more accessible and high-quality education available to everyone.

Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform

Lawmakers in many states have enacted “sales tax holidays” (20 states will hold them in 2022) to temporarily suspend the tax on purchases of clothing, school supplies, and other items. These holidays may seem to lessen the regressive impacts of the sales tax, but their benefits are minimal while their downsides are significant—particularly as lawmakers have sought to apply the concept as a substitute for more meaningful, permanent reform or arbitrarily reward people with specific hobbies or in certain professions. This policy brief looks at sales tax holidays as a tax reduction device.

State Rundown 6/29: Sun’s Out, Session’s (Still) In

Although the sun is shining and Independence Day is right around the corner, many state lawmakers are still indoors hammering out the details of future budgets or still hard at work passing laws...

Creating Racially and Economically Equitable Tax Policy in the South

The South's negative outcomes on measures of wellbeing are the result of a century and a half of policy choices. Lawmakers have many options available to make concrete improvements to tax policy that would raise more revenue, do so equitably, and generate resources that could improve schools, healthcare, social services, infrastructure, and other public resources.