Maryland

As federal aid ends and economic uncertainty grows, local governments face tough budget choices. Now is the time for localities to protect vulnerable residents and build stronger, more equitable fiscal foundations.

The predominant feature of the tax and spending bill working its way through Congress is a massive tax cut for the richest 1 percent — a $114 billion benefit to the wealthiest people in the country in 2026 alone.

The Senate tax bill under debate right now would bring very large tax cuts to very high-income people. In total, the richest 1 percent would receive $114 billion in tax cuts next year alone. That would amount to nearly $61,000 for each of these affluent households.

As the Washington, D.C. region heads toward a likely recession, local policymakers will need to look to new revenue sources to help lessen the pain. In D.C., lawmakers ought to adopt a simple reform that would raise substantial revenue and make the District’s business tax system fairer.

The poorest fifth of Americans would receive 1 percent of the House reconciliation bill's net tax cuts in 2026 while the richest fifth of Americans would receive two-thirds of the tax cuts. The richest 5 percent alone would receive a little less than half of the net tax cuts that year.

With spring in full bloom ,many state lawmakers are reaching tax policy agreements. Out west, lawmakers in North Dakota and Texas have moved major property tax cuts. Meanwhile, in the east and south, Vermont appears likely to pass an expansion to its Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, and South Carolina lawmakers are aiming to make deep, drastic cuts to the state’s income tax.

The final budget adopted by the Maryland General Assembly shows progress in advancing tax equity in the state while boosting state revenues to address the state’s budget deficit. To help close a $3.3 billion budget deficit, Maryland legislators enacted much-needed tax reforms and progressive revenue raisers that help meet the state’s needs while making the […]

Want to know more about the tax and spending megabill that President Trump recently signed into law? We've got you covered.

Attempts by the Department of Homeland Security to secure private information from the IRS on people who file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is a violation of federal privacy laws that protect taxpayers. It is also a change that could seriously damage public trust in the IRS, which could jeopardize billions of dollars in tax payments by hardworking immigrant families.

Residents and state lawmakers across the country are pushing back against anti-tax measures and are looking for ways to protect revenue and advance proposals that would raise revenue in progressive ways. This comes at a time when federal policy brings significant risks for state tax revenue.

Summary The new presidential administration and Congress have indicated that they intend to bring about a dramatic federal retreat in funding for health care, food assistance, education, and other services that will push more of the responsibility for providing these essential services to the states. Meeting these new obligations would be a challenging task for […]

While all eyes are on the Trump administration’s tariffs on foreign imports, state lawmakers are moving forward with a mix of deep, regressive tax cuts and progressive revenue raisers.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) supports millions of workers and families and continues to grow in states and localities across the country. Today, 31 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico offer EITCs. Local EITCs can also now be found in Montgomery County, Maryland, New York City, and San Francisco, where they benefited 700,000 households in 2023.

This week, we celebrate 50 years of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the impact it's had on millions of workers and families. In 2023 alone, the latest year of available data, the federal EITC alongside the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit lifted 6.4 million people and 3.4 million children out of poverty.

State lawmakers around the country are navigating a range of potential hazards this week. Leaders in Maryland and Washington are facing budget holes but are smartly working to get out of them through progressive taxes on those with the most ability to pay. Both North Dakota and Washington state are looking to fill literal potholes […]

March Madness kicks off today and the pressure is on as many states’ legislative sessions are nearing the final buzzer. Some state lawmakers are seemingly competing for the title of most regressive state tax policies while others are looking to lift up best practices for more equitable outcomes.   The Mississippi legislature landed on a […]

A bevy of tax cut proposals sprung to life this week while others were signed into law. In Kentucky, lawmakers are working to make it easier for the legislature to enact income and business tax cuts. The governor in Idaho signed into law a personal and corporate income tax cut.

Many states with corporate income taxes include some amount of federally defined Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) in their tax bases. Twenty-one states plus D.C. include some amount of GILTI in their tax calculations in 2025.

Proposals from governors in both New Jersey and Wisconsin include provisions to tax high-income earners. Meanwhile, several major tax proposals are advancing in the great plains, with Iowa considering a major cut to unemployment taxes, North Dakota advancing new benefits for private schools, and Wyoming cutting property taxes. The District of Columbia is facing a more than a $1 billion revenue shortfall over the next three years, compared to previous estimates, and a mild recession due in large part to the layoffs of federal workers. 

While the federal tax code has some policies focused on raising income of low earners, it contains fewer provisions designed specifically to address wealth inequality. A renter tax credit offers a simple, administratively practical means of reaching low-wealth populations through the federal tax code without requiring a comprehensive measurement of every household’s wealth.

Below is a list of tax expenditure reports published in the states.