Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Michigan

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Turning IRS Agents to Deportation Will Reduce Public Revenues

February 11, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Jon Whiten

Turning IRS Agents to Deportation Will Reduce Public Revenues

The Trump Administration’s plan to turn IRS agents into deportation agents will result in lower tax collections in addition to the harm done to the families and communities directly affected by deportations.

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The (Mostly Untapped) Power of Local Income Taxes

February 5, 2025 • By Rita Jefferson

The (Mostly Untapped) Power of Local Income Taxes

Local income taxes can be an important progressive revenue raiser, as they ask more of higher-income households and are connected to ability to pay. They can raise substantial revenue to fund key public services to make cities and regions better off.

State Tax Watch 2025

January 28, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

State Tax Watch 2025

ITEP tracks tax discussions in legislatures across the country and uses our unique data capacity to analyze the revenue, distributional, and racial and ethnic impacts of many of these proposals. State Tax Watch offers the latest news and movement from each state.

State Rundown 1/15: Tax Debates Heat Up Despite Winter Weather

While frigid temperatures expected across a large swath of the country, major tax proposals are heating up in the states. Governors are giving their State of the State addresses and state lawmakers have begun to convene for 2025. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced plans to expand the state’s Child Tax Credit earlier this year and has since announced nearly $1 billion in income tax cuts. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore unveiled a new tax proposal aimed at helping close the state’s looming revenue shortfall. The plan would increase taxes on the wealthy and cut taxes for many low- and middle-income…

Trump’s Plan to Extend His 2017 Tax Provisions: Updated National and State-by-State Estimates

Trump’s plan to make most of the temporary provisions of his 2017 tax law permanent would disproportionately benefit the richest Americans. This includes all major provisions except the $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) paid.

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The Pitfalls of Flat Income Taxes

January 6, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Eli Byerly-Duke

The Pitfalls of Flat Income Taxes

While most states have a graduated rate income tax, some state lawmakers have recently become enamored with the idea of moving toward flat rate taxes instead. What’s the difference? And are states well served by the transition? In short: A flat tax is one where each taxpayer pays the same percentage of their income whereas […]

State Rundown 12/3: Some States Cast Away Fiscal Responsibility as They Plan for 2025

The 2025 legislative season will be here before we know it, and state lawmakers have begun unveiling their priorities and proposals. Unfortunately, despite stagnating revenue growth, many lawmakers continue to push for deep, regressive tax cuts - often before the full impact of previous tax cuts is felt.

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.

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...

Sales Tax Holidays Miss the Mark When it Comes to Effective Sales Tax Reform

Nineteen states have sales tax holidays on the books in 2024. These suspensions combined will cost states and localities over $1.3 billion in lost revenue this year. Sales tax holidays are poorly targeted and too temporary to meaningfully change the regressive nature of a state’s tax system.

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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.

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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.

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 […]

State Rundown 5/15: The Merry Merry Month of May(be)

Uncertainty abounds in state tax debates lately...

Fairness Matters: A Chart Book on Who Pays State and Local Taxes

State and local tax codes can do a lot to reduce inequality. But they add to the nation’s growing income inequality problem when they capture a greater share of income from low- or moderate-income taxpayers. These regressive tax codes also result in higher tax rates on communities of color, further worsening racial income and wealth divides.

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...

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State Rundown 3/14: Sessions are Heating Up

March 14, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 3/14: Sessions are Heating Up

Many state legislative sessions are in the final stretch...

State Rundown 3/6: Tax Cuts Aren’t Forever, or for Evers

Anti-tax interests finally found the end of the tax cutting appetite in a few states this week...

ITEP’s Kamolika Das Testifies on Pennsylvania’s Upside-Down Tax Code

March 4, 2024

Below is written testimony delivered by ITEP Local Policy Director Kamolika Das before the Pennsylvania House Finance Subcommittee on Tax Modernization & Reform on March 1, 2024. Good afternoon and thank you for this opportunity to testify. My name is Kamolika Das, I live in South Philly, and I’m the Local Tax Policy Director at […]

State Rundown 2/8: Flowers, Chocolates, and Tax Cuts for the Wealthy?

While we were hoping to get progressive tax policy wins for Valentine’s Day, many state lawmakers have another idea in mind...

State Rundown 1/26: Wealth Taxes Drawing Interest Early in Legislative Sessions

Bills are moving and state legislative sessions are picking up across the country, giving elected officials the opportunity to consider two distinct paths when it comes to tax policy...

State Tax Watch 2024

January 23, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

State Tax Watch 2024

Updated July 15, 2024 In 2024, state lawmakers have a choice: advance tax policy that improves equity and helps communities thrive, or push tax policies that disproportionately benefit the wealthy, drain funding for critical public services, and make it harder for low-income and working families to get ahead. Despite worsening state fiscal conditions, we expect […]

Michigan: Who Pays? 7th Edition

January 9, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

Michigan: Who Pays? 7th Edition

Michigan Download PDF All figures and charts show 2024 tax law in Michigan, presented at 2023 income levels. Senior taxpayers are excluded for reasons detailed in the methodology. Our analysis includes nearly 100 percent of state and local tax revenue collected in Michigan. State and local tax shares of family income Top 20% Income Group […]