Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

New Mexico

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Legislative Momentum in 2022: New and Expanded Child Tax Credits and EITCs

• By Neva Butkus

State legislatures across the country made investments in their future, centering children, families, and workers by enacting and expanding state Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs), Child Tax Credits (CTCs), and other refundable credits this session. In total, seven states either expanded or created CTCs this session. Connecticut, New Mexico, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont […]

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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…

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State Rundown 7/13: Let’s Make a Deal

• By ITEP Staff

From the Bay State to the Golden State, lawmakers across the nation are making deals and negotiating budgets with major tax implications...

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State Rundown 4/6: Late-Session Surprises Pt. 2

• By ITEP Staff

Last week we highlighted how several states were pushing through regressive tax cuts as their legislative sessions are coming to a close. Well, this week many of those same states took further actions on those bills and it’s safe to say we’re even less impressed than before...

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

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State Rundown 3/23: Spring Brings More Tax Happenings

• By ITEP Staff

Spring is around the corner and like those pesky allergies that come along with it, equally pesky tax proposals continue to pop up in states across the U.S....

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State Rundown 3/9: One State Stands Out Amid the Avalanche of Tax Cuts

• By ITEP Staff

The avalanche of regressive tax-cut proposals coming out of state legislatures has not slowed over the course of the winter months, but one state has provided a shot of hope to advocates of tax equity...

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A Better Alternative: New Mexico Prioritizes Targeted, Temporary Tax Cuts

• By Marco Guzman

New Mexico stands in stark contrast to the many examples of poorly targeted tax-cut proposals currently being considered around the country.

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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

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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.

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State Rundown 2/16: Spending Priorities Emerge as the Votes Are Counted

• By ITEP Staff

State lawmakers have been busy working out deals and negotiating how best to use excess revenues, and as the votes are beginning to come in, spending priorities are becoming clearer...

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State Rundown 2/10: Dems Also Set Sights on Tax Cuts

• By ITEP Staff

While record state revenue surpluses have led to big pushes in red states to make unnecessary permanent income and corporate tax cuts, Democrats are also getting in on the tax-cut mania...

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Federal EITC Enhancements Help More Than One in Three Young Workers

• By Aidan Davis

More than one in three young adults would benefit from workers without children being eligible to receive the federal EITC. This policy change would bolster young adults’ economic security.

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State Rundown 2/2: The First Tax Cut Domino Falls…

• By ITEP Staff

One-time payments have become a common theme around the country, as Idaho is one of roughly eleven states with plans to provide tax relief in a similar fashion...

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State Rundown 1/26: States Offering Preview of Tax Themes and Trends for 2022

• By ITEP Staff

Governors and legislators are beginning to settle on and advance tax bills that could drastically shape the future of their states and several trends and themes are beginning to emerge...

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State Rundown 1/20: Governors Eyeing Tax Cuts in Yearly Addresses

• By ITEP Staff

A common theme is emerging out of states, as governors around the U.S. begin the year with their annual state speeches, and the news does not bode well for long-term growth and sustainable budgets...

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Investing in a Joint Future: Harnessing State Tax Codes

• By Aidan Davis

Rather than resorting to tax cuts, which can eventually create revenue shortfalls, lawmakers should determine whether they have adequately invested in people and communities. There are better ways to leverage tax systems to help those who need it most.

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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...

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Boosting Incomes and Improving Tax Equity with State Earned Income Tax Credits in 2021

• By Aidan Davis

The EITC benefits low-income people of all races and ethnicities. But it is particularly impactful in historically excluded Black and Hispanic communities where discrimination in the labor market, inequitable educational systems, and countless other inequities have relegated a disproportionate share of people to low-wage jobs.

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State Income Taxes and Racial Equity: Narrowing Racial Income and Wealth Gaps with State Personal Income Taxes

• By Carl Davis, Jessica Schieder, Marco Guzman

10 state personal income tax reforms that offer the most promising routes toward narrowing racial income and wealth gaps through the tax code.

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State Rundown 9/15: It’s a Little Too Quiet…

• By ITEP Staff

Though we can’t fault anyone for being distracted by the major stories of the day, we at ITEP remain committed to keeping you up to date on what’s happening in the tax world around you...

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Extending Federal EITC Enhancements Would Bolster the Effects of State-Level Credits

• By Aidan Davis

The EITC expansion targets workers without children in the home. In 2022 it would provide a $12.4 billion boost, benefiting 19.5 million workers who on average would receive an income boost of $730 dollars.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Proposals to Repeal the Cap on Federal Tax Deductions for State and Local Taxes (SALT)

• By Carl Davis, ITEP Staff, Steve Wamhoff

Even though Democrats in Congress uniformly opposed the TCJA because its benefits went predominately to the rich, many Democratic lawmakers now want to give a tax cut to the rich by repealing the cap on SALT deductions.

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State Experimentation with Sales Tax Holidays Magnifies Their Flaws

• By Dylan Grundman O'Neill

It’s back-to-school shopping season, so…everyone who buys a cell phone in Arkansas this weekend will do so sales-tax-free. For this whole week in Connecticut, and for the entire spring in New Mexico, the corporate owners of highly profitable multinational restaurant chains had the option to pocket their customers’ taxes rather than remit them to the state to fund vital public services, pass along those savings to their customers, or give a much-needed boost to their…

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Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform

• By Dylan Grundman O'Neill

Policymakers tout sales tax holidays as a way for families to save money while shopping for “essential” goods. On the surface, this sounds good. However, a two- to three-day sales tax holiday for selected items does nothing to reduce taxes for low- and moderate-income taxpayers during the other 362 days of the year. Sales taxes are inherently regressive. In the long run, sales tax holidays leave a regressive tax system unchanged, and the benefits of…