Montana
This report explains the workings, and problems, with state-level tax subsidies for private K-12 education. It also discusses how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has exacerbated some of these problems by allowing taxpayers to claim federal charitable deductions even on private school contributions that were not truly charitable in nature. Finally, an appendix to this report provides additional detail on the specific K-12 private school tax subsidies made available by each state.
Montana Budget & Policy Center: A Montana Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
September 30, 2016
Approximately 83,000 Montanans received the federal EITC in 2014. If Montana established a state EITC, these same working families would receive additional support through boosted wages and would be better able to meet their family’s needs. Additionally, low-income families receiving a state EITC would face a reduced tax burden.
Fast Company: For All We Know, Undocumented Immigrants Pay A Higher Tax Rate Than Donald Trump
September 8, 2016
“We don’t know how much tax Donald Trump pays because he won’t release his returns. But we do know how much undocumented immigrants contribute annually. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s 50 state study, America’s “11 million” pay $11.64 billion a year in state and local taxes.” Read more
The Folly of State Capital Gains Tax Cuts
August 17, 2016 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill, Meg Wiehe
Read the brief in a PDF here. The federal tax system treats income from capital gains more favorably than income from work. A number of state tax systems do as well, offering tax breaks for profits realized from local investments and, in some instances, from investments around the world. As states struggle to cope with […]
Montana Budget & Policy Center: The Montana We Could Be
July 30, 2016
In Montana, the higher a household’s income, the lower share of that income it tends to pay in state and local taxes [see Chart 1]. One reason for this is that people who make less money end up paying a larger share of their income in local sales taxes and property taxes.
Voice of America: Undocumented Valedictorian: I’m Cheating No One Out of College
June 29, 2016
“A 2016 report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that undocumented immigrants pay well over $11 billion a year in state and local taxes. Contributions range from almost $2.2 million in Montana, which has an estimated 4,000 undocumented residents, the ITEP report says, to more than $3.1 billion in California, home to […]
Higher Education Income Tax Deductions and Credits in the States
March 22, 2016 • By Carl Davis
Read full report in PDF Download detailed appendix with state-by-state information on deductions and credits (Excel) Every state levying a personal income tax offers at least one deduction or credit designed to defray the cost of higher education. In theory, these policies help families cope with rising tuition prices by incentivizing college savings or partially […]
Undocumented Immigrants’ State & Local Tax Contributions (2016)
February 24, 2016 • By Lisa Christensen Gee, Meg Wiehe
This report was updated in March 2017 Read as a PDF. (Includes Full Appendix of State-by-State Data) Report Landing Page Public debates over federal immigration reform often suffer from insufficient and inaccurate information about the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants particularly at the state level. The truth is that undocumented immigrants living in the United […]
American Press: Lawmakers examine income tax
February 22, 2016
“Three identical measures would allow voters to decide whether they want to eliminate the federal income tax deduction that is allowed on state income tax forms. The deduction is in the constitution. The change would raise $748 million annually, and the vote to decide the issue would take place Nov. 8. Only three states — […]
Read the Report in PDF Form An individual savings account can serve as an emergency reserve – a financial cushion to sustain yourself in the event of an emergency. “Rainy day” funds are much like individual saving accounts, but on a statewide scale. Lawmakers use rainy day funds to set aside state tax revenue during […]
Watchdog Arena: Fair is fair? Perception versus reality in tax fairness across the states
October 5, 2015
“So what makes a certain tax regime fair or unfair? WalletHub recently surveyed some 1,050 people asking them their perception about tax fairness in their states–how much a given income bracket should pay–and then compared it to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-wing think tank in favor of higher taxes […]
The Spokesman Review: Idaho tax balance too much for GOP?
October 5, 2015
“At this point, you’ve got to wonder why anyone would still harp about cutting taxes in Idaho. For one thing, the state is hardly overtaxed. Whenever the State Tax Commission looks at tax burdens, it finds Idaho’s near the bottom. By one recent measure, the state is ranked 49th out of the 50 states and […]
Forbes: Immigrants Are Good for Us
May 6, 2015
A terrific report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) says that immigrants who entered the country illegally paid about $12 billion in state and local taxes in 2012. The revenue per state, of course, varies. ITEP found that these immigrants paid about $3 million in Montana (where few live), but over $3.2 billion in […]
Flathead Beacon: Senate Hears About Tax-Cut Plan by GOP Representatives
April 21, 2015
Heather O’Loughlin, research director at the Montana Budget and Policy Center, opposed the bill. Across-the-board tax cuts would favor the wealthy and have little impact on people earning low and middle-level incomes, she said. The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-partisan organization that works on federal, state and local tax policy, ran the […]
Undocumented Immigrants’ State & Local Tax Contributions (2015)
April 15, 2015 • By Matthew Gardner, Meg Wiehe
This report was updated February 2016 Read as a PDF. (Includes Full Appendix of State-by-State Data) Report Landing Page In the public debates over federal immigration reform, sufficient and accurate information about the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants is often lacking. The reality is the 11.4 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States pay billions […]
State governments provide a wide array of tax breaks for their elderly residents. Almost every state that levies an income tax now allows some form of income tax exemption or credit for citizens over age 65 that is unavailable to non-elderly taxpayers. And most states provide special property tax breaks to the elderly. Unfortunately, too many of these breaks are poorly-targeted, unsustainable, and unfair. This policy brief surveys federal and state approaches to reducing taxes for older adults and suggests options for designing less costly and better targeted tax breaks for elderly taxpayers.
The Daily Item: Tax the Rich More
March 16, 2015
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy ranks Pennsylvania at No. 6 in the Institute’s “Terrible 10” states that taxes low income earners up to seven times as much of their income in taxes as the top 1 percent are taxed on their income. Washington, Florida and Texas top the list of the “Terrible 10” […]
The Patriot News: There’s a Reason Pennsylvania Makes the Top 10 Terrible Tax States
March 11, 2015
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy ranks Pennsylvania at number six in the its “Terrible 10” states that tax low income earners up to seven times as much, as a percentage of income, as the top one percent are taxed. Washington, Florida and Texas top the list of the “Terrible 10” states, and Delaware, Montana […]
Montana Budget & Policy Center: Investing in Montana’s Working Families
February 2, 2015
In Montana, thousands of families struggle to make ends meet. One of the most promising policy opportunities to support working families and boost our economy is the enactment of a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The Great Recession and other economic trends made it harder for Montana’s families to live above the poverty line. […]
Minnesota Post: In study on tax fairness, Minnesota looks … fair
January 15, 2015
“In The Washington Post, Niraj Shoshi reports, “State taxes favor those with the highest incomes. That’s according to a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report, which finds that on average the bottom fifth of earners pay proportionally twice as much of their incomes in state and local taxes as the […]
CNN: Five Immigration Myths Debunked
November 24, 2014
Myth # 1: They don’t pay taxes Undocumented immigrants are already U.S. taxpayers. Collectively, they paid an estimated $10.6 billion to state and local taxes in 2010, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a research organization that works on tax policy issues. Contributions varied by state. In Montana they contributed $2 […]
Montana Budget & Policy Center: Montana’s Tax System – How Do We Stack Up?
April 15, 2014
On Tax Day, we all spend some extra time thinking about how much we pay in taxes. Even more so for low- and middle-income families, who contribute a larger share of their income than high income people do. The difference is significant – Montana low-income families pay 6.4% of their income in taxes, compared to […]
Stateline: Hunting Lost Revenue in Offshore Tax Havens
March 10, 2014
(Original Post) By Elaine S. Povich, Staff Writer Some states are going after multinational corporations which avoid state taxes by stashing some of their earnings in offshore tax havens, an effort aimed at recouping some of the more than $20 billion states lose to such gimmicks each year. Shifting income to subsidiaries in places like […]
The Orlando Sentinel: Disney triples offshore profits, saving on U.S. taxes
December 10, 2013
(Original Post) December 9, 2013|By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel The Walt Disney Co. has nearly tripled the amount of profit it is keeping in offshore subsidiaries, saving the company $315 million in U.S. income taxes, new regulatory filings show. The move helped Disney, one of the largest taxpayers in Florida, cut its reported effective tax […]
USA Today: The most tax-friendly states for business
October 15, 2013
(Original Post) Charley Blaine, 24/7 Wall St. 11 a.m. EDT October 12, 2013 Taxes are necessary for a functioning government, but according to one group, many states are crippling regional business growth with tax structures that are too expensive or complex. The Tax Foundation’s 2014 State Business Tax Climate Index graded all 50 states based […]
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