Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Kansas

On Election Day, Voters Across the Country Chose to Invest in Their States & Communities

On election day, voters across the country — in states red and blue and communities rural and urban — approved a wide range of state and local ballot measures on taxation and public investment. The success of these measures clearly shows that voters are willing to invest in public priorities that feel tangible and close to home.

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State Rundown 10/24: Tricks, Treats, and Tax Policy

October 24, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 10/24: Tricks, Treats, and Tax Policy

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is proposing a regressive tax reform package that would enact a flat personal and corporate income tax while expanding the state’s sales tax base and eliminating certain exemptions to make up for a portion of the lost revenue. West Virginia continues to chip away at its personal income tax, one of the state’s few progressive revenue options. And advocates in New York are rallying around a package of progressive tax legislation that would tax capital gains at higher rates, enact higher income tax brackets on multi-millionaires, and tax unrealized capital gains of billionaires.

2024 Local Tax Ballot Measures: Voters in Dozens of Communities Will Shape Local Policy

Next month, voters across the country will weigh in on many local ballot measures that will have a profound effect on the adequacy of our local tax systems and whether cities and communities can fund public needs. These are in addition to statewide ballot questions, many of which have local implications this year.  

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 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...

State Rundown 8/8: States Laying the Groundwork for Future Tax Battles

Whether they’re in a special session, gearing up for one, or prepping for 2025, states around the country are focusing on important tax fights...

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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.

Which States Improved Child Tax Credits and EITCs in 2024?

Four states expanded or boosted refundable tax credits for children and families, and the District of Columbia is poised to create a new Child Tax Credit. These actions — in Colorado, Illinois, New York, Utah, and D.C. — continue the recent trend of improving the well-being of children and families with refundable tax credits.

Five Tax Takeaways from 2024 State Legislative Sessions 

Major tax cuts were largely rejected this year, but states continue to chip away at income taxes. And while property tax cuts were a hot topic across the country, many states failed to deliver effective solutions to affordability issues.

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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.

Reality Interrupts the Fever Dream of Income Tax Elimination in Kentucky

Keeping the Kentucky income tax on a march to zero would mean tax hikes for working families or widespread cuts to education, health care, and other public services. Reversing course is certainly the wiser course of action.

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...

NPR: Kansas Lawmakers Will Consider Tax Cuts During Their Special Session

June 18, 2024

Kansas' Republican-led Legislature is pushing for tax cuts. But critics worry about repeating the failed tax cuts from 2012 that blew holes in the state’s budgets for years.

State Rundown 6/13: Decisions are falling into place, but some states will come back for more

State budgets are falling into place as lawmakers near the end of their legislative sessions...

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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...

Capital & Main: The Return of Trickle-Down Economics

June 6, 2024

The return of trickle-down economics — the much-criticized theory that tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy eventually result in job growth and higher wages for the middle class and working class — has inspired a fierce debate in the Kansas Legislature that has gone on for months. A bill that included a flat 5.25% personal income tax, an 8% reduction from the current rate for top earners, was approved by Republicans in both chambers, though critics say it would disproportionately benefit the wealthy in the state. The top 20% of earners in Kansas — those with average annual incomes above…

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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...

State Rundown 5/22: When One Legislative Session Closes, Another Opens

State legislatures are wrapping up, but don’t stray too far from your state capital or you’ll miss out on the action...

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State Rundown 5/9: Special Sessions in the Air

May 9, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 5/9: Special Sessions in the Air

This week, special sessions with major tax implications are in the air...

State Rundown 5/2: Vetoes and New Major Tax Proposals

This week, many states took steps toward enacting tax cuts...

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State Rundown 4/24: It’s Crunch Time

April 24, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 4/24: It’s Crunch Time

Many state legislative sessions are wrapping up...

State Rundown 4/17: Tax Cut Proposals and the Consequences of Bad Tax Cuts

Happy (belated) Tax Day!

State Rundown 4/3: Some States Buck the Trend on Foolish Tax Policy

This week tax cuts were debated across the upper Midwest...

State Rundown 3/28: Tax Cut Madness, But Our Brackets Bet on Tax Fairness

While madness is typically reserved for basketball in March, several high-profile, regressive tax cuts are making their way through state legislatures this week...