Louisiana
Flat Taxes: ‘All Sizzle and No Steak’
• By ITEP Staff
While most states have a graduated rate income tax, some state lawmakers have recently become enamored with the idea of moving away from graduated rate personal income taxes and toward flat rate taxes instead. But flat taxes create problems for ordinary families and let the wealthy off the hook. When faced with a flat income […]
State Rundown 11/30: ‘Lame Duck’ December Could Have Major Tax Implications
• By ITEP Staff
As federal lawmakers begin their lame duck deliberations, the revival of the expanded child tax credit remains a strong possibility...
State Child Tax Credits and Child Poverty: A 50-State Analysis
• By Aidan Davis
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
State Rundown 11/2: Midterms on the Mind
• By ITEP Staff
Next Tuesday, voters will head to the polls to not only elect local and national leaders, but also let their voices be heard on a range of tax policy issues that could improve or worsen their state tax codes...
State Rundown 9/21: Earth, Wind, Fire & Taxes Edition
• By ITEP Staff
Do you remember/the big tax news innn September? Well, if not, we at ITEP got you covered...
Boosting Incomes and Improving Tax Equity with State Earned Income Tax Credits in 2022
• By Aidan Davis
States continued their recent trend of advancing EITCs in 2022, with nine states plus the District of Columbia either creating or improving their credits. Utah enacted a 15 percent nonrefundable EITC, while the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Vermont and Virginia expanded existing credits. Meanwhile, Connecticut, New York and Oregon provided one-time boosts to their EITC-eligible populations.
State Rundown 9/7: Labor Day Week Provides Sobering Reminder of Steps Forward, Back
• By ITEP Staff
Though Labor Day has passed, advocates on the ground in states across the country are continuing to uphold the spirit of the labor movement...
State Rundown 7/27: It’s (Sales Tax) Holiday Season, But Who’s Really Celebrating?
• By ITEP Staff
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...
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
• By Marco Guzman
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…
New ITEP Report Examines the Path to Equitable Tax Policy in the South
• By Kamolika Das
“From the inception of the emerging American nation, the South is a central battleground in the struggles for freedom, justice, and equality. It is the location of the most intense repression, exploitation, and reaction directed toward Africans Americans, as well as Native Americans and working people generally. At the same time the South is the […]
Creating Racially and Economically Equitable Tax Policy in the South
• By Kamolika Das
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.
State Rundown 6/8: Tax Policy Features Prominently During Budget and Primary Season
• By ITEP Staff
As voters head to the polls to weigh in on their state’s primary elections and legislators convene to hash out budget deals, tax policy remains atop the agenda...
State Rundown 5/25: Tax Discussions Heating Up as Summer Begins
• By ITEP Staff
While the temperature ticks up outside, the temperature in state legislatures around the country has fallen slightly. But with several states still dealing with ongoing tax and budget issues, this summer could be a hot one...
State Rundown 5/11: Mid-Year Special Elections and Primary Season Kicks Off with Taxes in the Spotlight
• By ITEP Staff
As 2022 inches closer to its midpoint, important tax policy decisions are being put in the hands of voters, as special elections and the primary season begin...
Public Problems Demand Public Solutions
• By Amy Hanauer
Long-term troubles for this country and this planet now demand our attention. Progressive tax policy would transform our ability to tackle them.
State Rundown 4/13: Recent State Budgets Prove Not All Tax Cuts are the Same
• By ITEP Staff
Two prominent blue states made headlines this past week when they passed budget agreements that include relief for taxpayers, and fortunately, the budget plans don’t include costly tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy...
Bloomberg: Did You Pay Your ‘Fair Share’ of Federal Income Tax This Year?
March 31, 2022
And according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the impact would have a definite geographic tilt. The states where more than 40% of residents would face tax increases are largely in the South, including Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Georgia, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Florida. read more
State Rundown 3/16: The Scramble to Curb Rising Gas Prices is On
• By ITEP Staff
Rising gas prices have lawmakers around the country searching for ways to ease the pressure on consumers and almost half the states are considering reducing or temporarily repealing their gas tax, but another idea is taking hold...
New 50-State Analysis: Poorest Two-Fifths Would Bear the Brunt of Sen. Rick Scott’s Proposed Tax Increase
• By ITEP Staff
“Billionaires are getting richer, and some of them are altogether avoiding taxes or paying a tiny percentage relative to their income and wealth. The 2017 tax law further worsened inequality by giving huge tax breaks to the rich. It’s inconceivable that a lawmaker would propose to single out the most vulnerable households for higher taxes.” --Steve Wamhoff
State-by-State Estimates of Sen. Rick Scott’s “Skin in the Game” Proposal
• By Steve Wamhoff
A proposal from Sen. Rick Scott would increase taxes for more than 35% of Americans, with the poorest fifth of Americans paying 34% of the tax increase.
State Rundown 1/13: The Tax Cuts Cometh, But There Is a Better Way
• By ITEP Staff
As expected, with the start of many new legislative sessions around the country, lawmakers have introduced a slew of tax cut plans following better-than-expected budget outlooks that have, so far, weathered the impact of the pandemic...
State Rundown 12/15: Making Our State Tax Naughty or Nice List & Checking it Twice
• By ITEP Staff
As the holiday season kicks into full gear, we’re putting the finishing touches on our State Tax Naughty or Nice list, and it looks like some late entrants are making a good case to be included...
Bloomberg: SALT Debate Forces Rich Americans to Confront Widening Tax Gap
December 10, 2021
Lawmakers in Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio and Oklahoma have also approved cuts to their top personal income tax going into effect either this year or in future years. “There are states moving in different directions,” said Carl Davis, research director at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. […]
State Rundown 11/23: Thankful for Tax Advocates Like You!
• By ITEP Staff
Here at ITEP we want to give thanks and say we’re grateful for all of the hard work that advocates in states across the country are doing to secure progressive tax policy victories...
State Rundown 11/10: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…Election Season?!
• By ITEP Staff
If the leaves are turning colors and you find yourself walking out of the office into pitch-black darkness, it only means that time of the year is upon us—and no, I'm not talking about the holiday season. Before that, it’s the equally important election season...
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