Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Wisconsin

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State Rundown 5/21: Big and Not-So Beautiful Tax Cut Bills Abound in States

• By ITEP Staff

As a sprawling, regressive tax bill continues to take shape at the federal level, many states are moving forward with major tax cut proposals of their own.

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State Rundown 5/15: State Tax Debates Carry On in the Midst of Chaotic Federal Tax Landscape

• By ITEP Staff

Even as most major headlines have been about the ever-changing landscape of federal tax policy, the latest “ideas of the week," and now the House tax bill, state tax policy continues to be a priority for lawmakers.

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Trump 2025 Tax Law: Research and Resources

• By ITEP Staff

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

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State Rundown 5/1: State Tax Debates Wrapping Up, and Just Beginning

• By ITEP Staff

The rampant uncertainty this year extends far beyond the national economy and federal policy, as many state legislatures are declaring their tax and budget debates finished, and just getting started, sometimes in the same breath.

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Missouri is Sleepwalking into a Half-Billion Dollar Tax Cut for the Rich

• By Carl Davis

Missouri lawmakers are debating a tax cut that will mostly benefit the wealthiest in the state, while relying on an unrealistic estimate of what it will cost.

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IRS Cooperation with ICE Will Damage Public Trust, Putting Tax Revenues in Jeopardy

• By Marco Guzman

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.

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State Rundown 3/6: In the Shadow of Chaotic Federal Policymaking States Seek to Tax the Top, Cut Taxes

• By ITEP Staff

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…

Sarah Austin

• By ITEP Staff

Sarah is a Senior Analyst at ITEP. She focuses her research on progressive revenue-raising options for states. Before joining ITEP in 2025, Sarah served as senior policy advisor to the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. Prior to that, she served as the research and policy director at the Maine Center for Economic Policy […]

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Turning IRS Agents to Deportation Will Reduce Public Revenues

• By Carl Davis, Jon Whiten

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

• By Rita Jefferson

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.

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State Rundown 1/30: The Revenue Decrease is in the Details

• By ITEP Staff

More details on this year’s batch of major tax proposals are emerging from statehouses - and some revenue cuts look like they could be steep. A governor-backed and House-passed plan in Mississippi would phase out the personal income tax, while a recent tax cut proposal out of Idaho is anchored by a $253 million dollar income tax cut.  

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State Rundown 1/9: New Year, New Pushes for Tax Policy Changes

• By ITEP Staff

It’s a new year, and state legislatures across the country are resolved to write new tax policy. Tax debates are heating up nearly everywhere in the early days of 2025, but states’ fiscal situations vary dramatically. New York is considering expanding the state’s Child Tax Credit following Gov. Hochul’s proposed expansion. On the other side […]

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

• By Steve Wamhoff

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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On Election Day, Voters Across the Country Chose to Invest in Their States & Communities

• By Kamolika Das

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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Extending Temporary Provisions of the 2017 Trump Tax Law: Updated National and State-by-State Estimates

• By Steve Wamhoff

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 […]

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Local Tax Trends in 2024

• By Kamolika Das

Many cities, counties, and townships across the country are in a difficult, or at least unstable, budgetary position. Localities are responding to these financial pressures in a variety of ways with some charging ahead with enacting innovative reforms like short-term rental and vacancy taxes, and others setting up local tax commissions to study the problem.

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

• By Marco Guzman

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

• By ITEP Staff

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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Which States Improved Child Tax Credits and EITCs in 2024?

• By Neva Butkus

Four states expanded or boosted refundable tax credits for children and families, and the District of Columbia is poised to create a new Child Tax Credit. These actions — in Colorado, Illinois, New York, Utah, and D.C. — continue the recent trend of improving the well-being of children and families with refundable tax credits.

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Improving Refundable Tax Credits by Making Them Immigrant-Inclusive

• By Emma Sifre, Marco Guzman

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.

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States Should Enact, Expand Mansion Taxes to Advance Fairness and Shared Prosperity

• By Carl Davis, Erika Frankel

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 […]

Democrats: President Biden Delivers for Wisconsin While Trump Backs Billionaires Over Working Families

• By ITEP Staff

Today, President Biden’s visit to Racine, Wisconsin will underscore how his economic agenda is uplifting Wisconsin families by creating good-paying jobs, cutting costs, and building the middle class. Just last week, Trump spent his short time in Wisconsin lying about President Biden’s economic wins, because he knows that his only defense against President Biden’s successful record is to lie in a desperate attempt to hide how he failed Wisconsin families.

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Tax History Matters: A Q&A with Professor Andrew Kahrl, Author of ‘The Black Tax’

• By Brakeyshia Samms

In his new book, The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America, Professor Andrew Kahrl walks readers through the history of the property tax system and its structural defects that have led to widespread discrimination against Black Americans.

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State Rundown 4/3: Some States Buck the Trend on Foolish Tax Policy

• By ITEP Staff

This week tax cuts were debated across the upper Midwest...

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

• By ITEP Staff

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