Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Tennessee

The Town Talk: Jindal’s plan to drop state income tax stirs debate

February 5, 2013

Feb 4, 2013 Written by Mike Hasten Gannett Louisiana BATON ROUGE — If legislators agree with Gov. Bobby Jindal’s plan to switch from personal and corporate income taxes, Louisiana would be in line with several states showing job growth. But it could prove to be costly for those not on the high end of the […]

The Paris Post-Intelligencer: The poor paying more, study of taxes declares

January 31, 2013

(Original Post) Published: Thursday, January 31, 2013 11:29 AM CSTIt’s hardly new information, but it bears repeating from time to time to make sure we don’t forget: Tennessee’s tax system punishes the poor. When taxes are calculated as a percentage of income, low-income families in this state pay four times as much as the very […]

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 […]

Business Insider: There’s A Reason Bill Gates And Jeff Bezos Both Call Washington State Home

January 31, 2013

(Original Post) Megan Durisin    | Jan. 31, 2013, 3:43 PM Why does the wealthiest man in America live in Washington? The answer is in a report released this week by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Washington’s tax system is the most disjointed in the nation, leaving rich residents — including Bill Gates, the […]

Knox News: TN Taxes Hardest on Middle and Low-income Families

January 31, 2013

Nashville, Tennessee – Like most state tax systems, Tennessee takes a much larger share from middle- and low-income families than from wealthy families, according to the fourth edition of Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States, released today by the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and […]

The Tennessean: New study calls Tennessee’s tax system ‘unfair’

January 31, 2013

Written by Bobby Allyn The Tennessean Tennessee is often championed as a low-tax state. But for struggling families, it might not be among the fairest. As a percentage of income, state and local governments tax low-income families four times as much as the very wealthy, according to a report released on Wednesday by a pro-income […]

Bloomberg: How Republican Governors Are Pretending to Cut Taxes

January 31, 2013

(Original Post) By Deborah Solomon Jan 31, 2013 10:37 AM ET Republican governors across the U.S. are engaged in an income tax-cutting frenzy, moving to reduce or even eliminate individual income taxes in their states. The changes will increase economic growth and reduce the size of government, they say, and their plans are drawing strong […]

MSNBC: And the rich pay less

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) By Laura Conaway – Wed Jan 30, 2013 4:05 PM EST Just about every state’s tax system treats the rich better than the poor, writes the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in a new report today. The Institute says the states with the most regressive (read: unfair) tax plans are Washington State, […]

Gambit: La.’s poorest pay more than 10% of income in state, local taxes

January 30, 2013

(Original Report) Posted by Charles Maldonado on Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 4:31 PM A national survey of state and local tax codes by Washington think tank the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows that Louisiana’s poorest residents pay the highest levels of state and local taxes as a percent of income — […]

Arkansas Times: Who pays taxes?

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Posted by Max Brantley on Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 9:56 AM Arkansas is on the cusp of a Republican-led charge to reshape taxation. Where they don’t want to cut taxes, they want to dramatically reduce the burden on wealthy taxpayers, by reducing or eliminating the tax on unearned income and by reducing […]

Nashville Scene: We’re No. 6 in Unfair Taxes

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 12:54 PM Tennessee might rank near the bottom nationally in education spending, per capita income and nearly every other quality-of-life category ever devised. But we remain near the top in one measure. Our tax system is really great at sticking it to the […]

Philadelphia Business Journal: Pa. tax system among ‘Terrible 10’ for working families

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) Jan 30, 2013, 1:27pm EST Staff Philadelphia Business Journal Pennsylvania is among the 10 states with the most regressive tax systems in the United States, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says. The group says families in the state earning less than $19,000 a year pay a higher percentage of their incomes, […]

The Hill: State tax systems regressive

January 30, 2013

(Original Post) By Bernie Becker – 01/30/13 07:02 AM ET Practically every state charges a higher share of taxes from lower- and middle-class families than the highest earners, a new study from a liberal-leaning group found. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the bottom 20 percent of earners paid an effective tax […]

Tennesseans for Fair Taxation: Tax Modernization & Economic Stimulus Act

January 15, 2013

This plan will provide much needed tax breaks to 60% of Tennesseans, those low- and middle-income families most likely to put that money back into the local economy. For example:     -A family of four making $20,000 will save over $550 per year.    -A family of four making $35,000 will save over $700 per year.    […]

Tennesseans for Fair Taxation: The Real Budget Deficit: A Call to Invest in Tennessee, its Communities, and its People

January 14, 2013

Instead of being the leader we should be, Tennessee trails the nation, and the region, in these key public investments. The consequences are evident. We’re 45th in high school graduation rates, 4th in violent crimes per capita, and fi rst in bankruptcies. When we hear these dismal rankings though, it is important not to fault […]

The Charleston Gazette: N.E. Editorial Roundup

January 8, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) November 30, 2009N.E. Editorial Roundup The Associated Press Rutland Herald, Rutland, Vt., Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009: The economic recovery is not occurring as quickly as previously hoped, according to the latest economic reports, which means that when legislators convene in January, the job before them will be daunting. Last week legislators […]

Vermont Diggers: Truth Squad- Do Dubie’s tax plans help the rich?

January 8, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) By Anne Galloway on October 21, 2010 Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, Vermont‘s Republican candidate for governor, has said reducing taxes is his No. 1 priority. To do that, Dubie has proposed capping state spending at 2 percent – after he reduces next year‘s budget by $112 million. Once the caps are […]

Rutland Herald: Tax inequities

January 8, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) The economic recovery is not occurring as quickly as previously hoped, according to the latest economic reports, which means that when legislators convene in January, the job before them will be daunting. Last week legislators acknowledged that state government faces an $88 million deficit in the coming budget cycle, even without […]

The Commercial Appeal: A terrible decision

January 8, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) By Staff Reports Friday, November 20, 2009 Tennessee lawmakers who controlled the debate over state tax reform in 2002 can proudly point to Tennessee’s No. 3 ranking on the list of states with the lowest state and local taxes. Per person, Tennesseans paid an average of $3,005 in 2007, according to […]

The Commercial Appeal: Report says Tennessee’s tax system among nation’s most regressive

January 8, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) By Richard Locker Originally published 11:28 a.m., November 18, 2009Updated 12:07 a.m., November 19, 2009 NASHVILLE — The Tennessee tax system is the fourth most regressive among the states, with lower-income families paying a higher portion of their income in state and local taxes than do more affluent households, according to […]

Chattanooga Times Free Press: Liberal group raps state tax regressivity

January 7, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) By: Andy Sher Thursday, November 19, 2009 NASHVILLE — The Tennessee and Alabama tax systems are among the nation’s worst when it comes to favoring the rich over the poor and middle class, according to a study by a Washington-based research organization. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberalleaning […]

Williston Observer: Taxes and the wisdom of our forebears

January 7, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) July 16, 2009 BY BRIAN MILLER One hundred years ago, on July 17, 1909, Sen. William E. Borah, R-Idaho wrote the words, “The income tax is the fairest and most equitable of the taxes. It is the one tax which approaches us in the hour of prosperity and departs in the […]

Knoxville News Sentinel: Think tank- Tennessee state income tax would help fixed-income families

January 7, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) By Josh Flory Thursday, April 15, 2010 This probably isn’t the best day to bring it up, but a Washington, D.C., think tank has an idea for cutting the tax burden on Tennessee’s fixed-income families: impose a state income tax. The proposal comes from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, […]

Nashville City Paper: Republican-driven resolution would ban state income tax

January 7, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) By William Williams Created 01/13/2011 – 12:48pm A majority of both the House and Senate signed up to sponsor a resolution introduced Thursday to amend the Tennessee constitution to ban the state income tax. “If this amendment passes, Tennessee will never face an income tax battle again,” said the Senate’s main […]

The Commerical Appeal: Reliance on sales tax causes an imbalance

January 7, 2013

(PDF of Original Post) Tennesseans should tell their legislators they’re against a prohibition on state income tax because it ensures the highest earners pay the most. By Erica Thomas, Special to Viewpoint Thursday, March 10, 2011 How we fund our state government — and who pays for it — are key concerns for all Tennesseans. […]