Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Virginia

The Commonwealth Institute: Senate’s Version of HB2313 Still Lacks Offsetting Relief Measures

February 21, 2013

While the Senate’s version of Governor McDonnell’s transportation bill looks very different from the bill passed by the House – and it is – the two versions have one major problem in common: they rely on regressive tax increases that will have low-income Virginians paying a greater share of their income towards funding transportation. As […]

The Atlantic: Do D.C. Residents Pay More Taxes Than Their Neighbors?

February 7, 2013

(Original Post) Katherine Toran11:55 AM ET  I recently had a conversation with a friend who was moving and said she preferred to live in Maryland than in D.C. because D.C. residents pay higher taxes. She wasn’t the first local to tell me that. But is this claim true? It appears in this case, conventional wisdom […]

The Philadelphia Post: When it Comes to Taxes in Pennsylvania, It’s Good to be Rich

January 31, 2013

(Original Post) When everybody comes out to vote, (i.e. presidential elections) Pennsylvania’s a blue state. And at least in certain pockets, it behaves much like the northeastern liberal states the surround it, like New Jersey, Maryland, and New York. When it comes to taxation, however, it looks a lot more like Texas or Alabama. According […]

USA Today: Time to tweak gas taxes? States weigh options

January 25, 2013

(Original Post) Larry Copeland, USA TODAY7:47a.m. EST January 25, 2013 A great tax debate is breaking out in state capitals from Vermont to Texas: How do we maintain and expand our vital-but-aging networks of roads, bridges and urban transit systems? For nearly a century, the nation has funded projects primarily with revenue from gasoline taxes. […]

Politico: Ambitious governors dominate tax debate

January 23, 2013

(Original Post) By: Rachael BadeJanuary 22, 2013 04:41 PM EST Looking for the next big tax debate? Talk to a governor — preferably one with presidential ambitions. From Louisiana to New York, and Wisconsin to Massachusetts, some of the nation’s most prominent governors in both parties — more than a few of whom have grander […]

The Commonwealth Institute: Governor’s Transportation Tax Hike Hits Low-Income Virginians Hardest

January 17, 2013

The tax and fee hikes proposed by Governor McDonnell to fund transportation will take a far larger share of income from Virginians at the low end of the income spectrum than those with higher incomes who are better able to pay. The governor proposes to increase the state sales tax to 5.8 percent, eliminate the […]

Think Progress: Virginia Governor Promotes ‘New, Innovative’ Plan To Tax The Poor To Pay For Roads

January 16, 2013

(Original Post) By Pat Garofalo on Jan 14, 2013 at 5:30 pm Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA)Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) was on Fox News today to discuss his new plan to shift the cost of highway construction from drivers to the poor, which he will accomplish by eliminating his state’s gas tax and replacing it […]

Think Progress: Louisiana Governor’s New Plan Would Raise Taxes On Bottom 80 Percent Of Residents

January 16, 2013

(Original Post) By Pat Garofalo on Jan 15, 2013 at 3:10 pm Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) recently rolled out a plan to replace his state’s personal income and corporate taxes with an increased sales tax. Such a move would shift taxes from the rich to the poor, who are disproportionately hit by the sales […]

The Commonwealth Institute: The Road Less Taken: Creating Fair Taxes As Well As Better Highways

January 15, 2013

In the face of a funding crisis, Governor Kaine and the General Assembly face a difficult choice: Raise taxes and fees or enter into the next biennium with little money for the state’s expansive transportation system. A repeal of abusive driver fees and the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling that regional components of the Transportation Funding […]

West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy: Making Work Pay: A State Earned Income Tax Credit for West Virginia

January 14, 2013

Due to the EITC’s overwhelming success, 24 states have their own SEITC programs modeled after the federal credit. A West Virginia SEITC would increase tax fairness and provide families with additional income to help them close the gap between what they earn and what they need to meet basic expenses. Read the Full Report (PDF)

West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy: Giving Credit to West Virginia- A State EITC Would Help Struggling Families

January 14, 2013

Power Point Presentation before 80th West Virgina Legislature House Health and Human Resources Committee Chairman Perdue Read the Full Report (PDF)

Bloomberg/BNA: Virginia Transportation Proposal Signals Shift in National Funding Conversation

January 10, 2013

Original Post (by subscription only) January 10, 2013 by Heather Caygle Key Development: Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell proposes eliminating state’s gas tax and using additional dedicated sales tax revenue to fund transportation programs. Next Steps: Federal and state governments will examine funding solutions for surface transportation programs in 2013. A recent proposal by Virginia Gov. […]

Augusta Free Press: The tax burden on the … who, again?

January 8, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) November 18, 2009 by chrisgrahamStory by Chris Graham If you believe the partisan rhetoric, it’s the wealthy who bear the tax burden, and who are deserving of tax breaks to get the economy moving. A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Virginia Organizing Project puts […]

Richmond Times-Dispatch: States Taxing the Rich: A Very Bad or Good Idea

January 8, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) NEAL PEIRCE © WASHINGTON POST WRITERS GROUPPublished: September 20, 2009 WASHINGTON In a dramatic break from tax trends of recent decades, eight states have voted this year to push up the percentages of income that their wealthiest citizens must pay. Connecticut is the latest to take this step, following Delaware, Hawaii, […]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri income tax repeal makes headway in Senate

January 4, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) 02.11.2010 11:41 am By Virginia Young Post-Dispatch Jefferson City Bureau JEFFERSON CITY — A Senate committee set the stage this morning for debate on major changes in the state’s tax structure. On a party-line vote of 4-2, the Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment (SJR29) eliminating […]

Tri-Parish Times: Will Jindal go for more sin taxes?

January 4, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) By TOM ASWELL During the 1988 presidential race, Vice President George H.W. Bush proclaimed, “Read my lips: no new taxes!” That famous line helped him defeat Michael Dukakis but when he was forced to back-track on that promise, it was his eventual undoing. Bill Clinton’s own pithy campaign slogan “It’s the […]

Change.org: D.C. Needs Fairer Taxes, Not More Safety Net Cuts

January 3, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) by Kathryn Baer November 18, 2010 12:56 PM (PT) Like state and local governments across the country, the District of Columbia is facing a budget shortfall. We’ve got a $175 million gap that’s got to be closed right now. And our total local budget (pdf) is only somewhat over $6.1 billion. […]

CNN: By the Numbers- Politics in 2013

January 3, 2013

(Original Post) By Amy Roberts, CNN Libraryupdated 11:14 AM EST, Thu January 3, 2013 (CNN) — Two-thousand-thirteen promises to be an interesting political year — with two governors races that will be closely watched, the very real possibility of another special Senate election in Massachusetts, a possible debate in Washington over immigration reform as the […]

Virginian-Pilot: Back-to-school shoppers hit stores for tax holiday

December 21, 2012

Original Post August 6, 2011 by Carolyn Shapiro Rich Tourville stopped Friday morning at JCPenney at Greenbrier Mall to pick up a birthday present and back-to-school clothes for his son, who will turn 5 on Sunday. The Chesapeake dad didn’t realize he would save the 5 percent Virginia sales tax on those items. The state’s […]

Baltimore CityBizList: Tax Flight Debate Is One-Sided, Professor Says

December 21, 2012

by Len Lazarick August 12, 2011 Professor Roy Meyers, the government budgeting expert at UMBC, says the focus of our ongoing stories and comment strings “on the flight/plight of the millionaires is a bit one-sided.” Meyers is afraid that the discussion of Maryland’s tax structure will go down the sorry path of the national debate, […]

Fox Business: Sales Tax Holidays: Not All that Meets the Eye

December 21, 2012

Original Post August 17, 2011 by Kathryn Glass There are very few situations in life that are truly a win-win, but the idea of a week of shopping sans sales tax seems like a scenario with little downside. On the surface, it is difficult to devise a disadvantage for a tax break on back-to-school shopping. […]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Effort to kill Missouri income tax has begun in earnest

December 21, 2012

Original Post September 26, 2011 by Virginia Young JEFFERSON CITY • Wrestling with your state income tax return? Missouri legislators are weighing a plan that would do away with that chore. But before you celebrate, be aware that it’s not a tax cut. While state individual and corporate income taxes would be eliminated, the lost […]

News Leader: Verizon workers, protesters, seek to ‘Unify Main Street’

December 21, 2012

10:27 PM, Nov. 3, 2011 Written by Spencer Dennis OLIVUE — It wasn’t a strike, and it wasn’t a protest. As the Occupy movement seems to gain steam, local supporters are branching out and digging in. “This is a barbecue,” said Donald Bush, a supporter of Occupy Staunton who, along with Verizon union workers, was […]

The Courier-Journal: Study names Yum! Brands among companies “dodging” state taxes

December 19, 2012

(Original Post) Posted on December 9, 2011 by Chris Otts A new report names Louisville-based Yum! Brands as one of 68 Fortune 500 companies that paid no state corporate income taxes in at least one year between 2008-2010, despite earning profits for shareholders. The report doesn’t say that Yum! has been shorting the state of […]

Washington Post: Some companies paid little or no state tax

December 19, 2012

(Original Post) By Danielle Douglas, Published: December 11 Some of the Washington area’s biggest public companies paid little to no state income taxes by using a myriad of tax breaks and other tactics, according to a research report released last week. Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy examined 265 […]