Tennessee
Nashville Pride: Lawmakers Push to Repeal Tennessee Grocery Tax, Citing New Report
March 3, 2025 • By ITEP Staff
A new in-depth report is strengthening the push to eliminate Tennessee’s state sales tax on groceries without cutting essential public services. The analysis shows that closing corporate tax loopholes could generate nearly $900 million in revenue—enough to offset the cost of repealing the grocery tax entirely. Read more.
Tennessee: Who Pays? 7th Edition
January 9, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
Tennessee Download PDF All figures and charts show 2024 tax law in Tennessee, presented at 2023 income levels. Senior taxpayers are excluded for reasons detailed in the methodology. Our analysis includes nearly all (99.3 percent) state and local tax revenue collected in Tennessee. State and local tax shares of family income Top 20% Income Group […]
Tennessee: Who Pays? 6th Edition
October 17, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
TENNESSEE Read as PDF TENNESSEE STATE AND LOCAL TAXES Taxes as Share of Family Income Top 20% Income Group Lowest 20% Second 20% Middle 20% Fourth 20% Next 15% Next 4% Top 1% Income Range Less than $18,300 $18,300 to $31,800 $31,800 to $51,300 $51,300 to $87,500 $87,500 to $189,300 $189,300 to $471,200 over $471,200 […]
Tax Cuts 2.0 – Tennessee
September 26, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
The $2 trillion 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) includes several provisions set to expire at the end of 2025. Now, GOP leaders have introduced a bill informally called “Tax Cuts 2.0” or “Tax Reform 2.0,” which would make the temporary provisions permanent. And they falsely claim that making these provisions permanent will benefit […]
Gas Taxes Rise in Seven States, Including an Historic Increase in Oklahoma
June 26, 2018 • By Carl Davis
A rare sight is coming to Oklahoma. The last time the Sooner State raised its gas tax rate, the Berlin Wall was still standing, and Congress was debating whether to ban smoking on flights shorter than two hours. Fast forward 31 years, and Oklahoma is finally at it again. On Sunday, the state’s gas tax rate will rise by 3 cents and its diesel tax rate by 6 cents. Both taxes will now stand at 19 cents per gallon—still among the lowest in the country. But Oklahoma isn’t the only state where gas taxes will soon rise.
Most States Have Raised Gas Taxes in Recent Years
May 22, 2018 • By Carl Davis
An updated version of this blog was published in April 2019. State tax policy can be a contentious topic, but in recent years there has been a remarkable level of agreement on one tax in particular: the gasoline tax. Increasingly, state lawmakers are deciding that outdated gas taxes need to be raised and reformed to fund infrastructure projects that are vital to their economies.
How the Final GOP-Trump Tax Bill Would Affect Tennessee Residents’ Federal Taxes
December 16, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The final tax bill that Republicans in Congress are poised to approve would provide most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low- and middle-income Americans. The bill would go into effect in 2018 but the provisions directly affecting families and individuals would all expire after 2025, with […]
How the House and Senate Tax Bills Would Affect Tennessee Residents’ Federal Taxes
December 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The House passed its “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” November 16th and the Senate passed its version December 2nd. Both bills would raise taxes on many low- and middle-income families in every state and provide the wealthiest Americans and foreign investors substantial tax cuts, while adding more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. The graph below shows that both bills are skewed to the richest 1 percent of Tennessee residents.
How the Revised Senate Tax Bill Would Affect Tennessee Residents’ Federal Taxes
November 14, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Senate tax bill released last week would raise taxes on some families while bestowing immense benefits on wealthy Americans and foreign investors. In Tennessee, 46 percent of the federal tax cuts would go to the richest 5 percent of residents, and 8 percent of households would face a tax increase, once the bill is fully implemented.
How the House Tax Proposal Would Affect Tennessee Residents’ Federal Taxes
November 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was introduced on November 2 in the House of Representatives, includes some provisions that raise taxes and some that cut taxes, so the net effect for any particular family’s federal tax bill depends on their situation. Some of the provisions that benefit the middle class — like lower tax rates, an increased standard deduction, and a $300 tax credit for each adult in a household — are designed to expire or become less generous over time. Some of the provisions that benefit the wealthy, such as the reduction and eventual repeal of the estate…
GOP-Trump Tax Framework Would Provide Richest One Percent in Tennessee with 52.2 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
October 4, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The “tax reform framework” released by the Trump administration and congressional Republican leaders on September 27 would not benefit everyone in Tennessee equally. The richest one percent of Tennessee residents would receive 52.2 percent of the tax cuts within the state under the framework in 2018. These households are projected to have an income of at least $534,500 next year. The framework would provide them an average tax cut of $60,940 in 2018, which would increase their income by an average of 3.3 percent.
In Tennessee 40.7 Percent of Trump’s Proposed Tax Cuts Go to People Making More than $1 Million
August 17, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A tiny fraction of the Tennessee population (0.5 percent) earns more than $1 million annually. But this elite group would receive 40.7 percent of the tax cuts that go to Tennessee residents under the tax proposals from the Trump administration. A much larger group, 48.0 percent of the state, earns less than $45,000, but would receive just 4.5 percent of the tax cuts.
Trump Tax Proposals Would Provide Richest One Percent in Tennessee with 44.6 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
July 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Earlier this year, the Trump administration released some broadly outlined proposals to overhaul the federal tax code. Households in Tennessee would not benefit equally from these proposals. The richest one percent of the state’s taxpayers are projected to make an average income of $1,793,500 in 2018.
‘IMPROVE’ Act Fails to Improve Tennessee’s Regressive Tax Code
February 13, 2017 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal (dubbed the IMPROVE Act) to raise the state’s gas tax while cutting three other taxes would essentially be a tax cut for the state’s wealthiest residents and a tax increase for the lowest-income Tennesseans. While the gas tax is badly in need of an update to fund maintenance and investment […]
The Sycamore Institute: Tennessee State Budget Primer
February 2, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
It is our pleasure to present to you the Sycamore Institute’s first Tennessee State Budget Primer. We hope this report – the information, the graphics, and the discussion – will demonstrate our commitment to putting reliable data and research in the hands of our state leaders, policymakers, and the general public. Below you will find […]
CBS News: Is your state next to raise its gas tax?
October 14, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“’There has been a lot of procrastination,’ said Carl Davis, research director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. ‘It’s an issue that the states cannot put off any longer. There are 21 states which have gone a decade or more since the last time they increased their gas tax rate. These states have […]
Chattanooga Times Free Press: Tennessee now holds sales tax holiday on same weekend as Georgia
July 28, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“Seventeen states, primarily in the Southeast, stand to lose more than $300 million in tax revenue because they waive sales taxes on back-to-school items and other goods, including hunting gear, energy-efficient appliances and severe weather preparedness, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization with offices in Washington, D.C., […]
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Editorial: Tennessee as tax-cut role model? Never mind
July 22, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“Tennessee’s gains are being subsidized by the poor and working class. The poorest 20 percent of Tennesseans pay 8.9 percent of their income on sales and excise taxes, according to the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The state’s richest residents pay just 1.2 percent.” Read more
The Leaf-Chronicle: Clarksville, Montgomery County calculate Hall tax revenue losses
May 27, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reportedly said repealing the Hall tax will cause Tennessee’s tax system to become more regressive, because it will benefit the wealthiest taxpayers, while the majority of Tennesseans will see no benefit at all.” Read more
Knoxville News: Hall tax reduction signed into law by Gov. Haslam
May 23, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“The governor’s office did not issue a comment on his action. But the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which analyzes tax policy from a progressive standpoint, says repealing the Hall income tax will make Tennessee’s tax system more regressive than it already is because it will benefit the wealthiest taxpayers the most while the […]
Chattanooga Times Free Press: New bill eliminates tax on investment earnings
May 23, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“Dylan Grundman, senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, called elimination a “major step backward for tax fairness in Tennessee, not to mention a brazen giveaway to the wealthiest Tennesseans.” Read more
WBIR Tennessee: Gov. Bill Haslam signs Hall income tax cut, repeal into law
May 23, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which analyzes tax policy from a progressive standpoint, says repealing the Hall income tax will make Tennessee’s tax system more regressive than it already is because it will benefit the wealthiest taxpayers the most while the majority of Tennesseans will see no benefit at all.” Read more
The Daily Herald: New law eliminates investment tax
May 23, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“Dylan Grundman, senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, called elimination a “major step backward for tax fairness in Tennessee, not to mention a brazen giveaway to the wealthiest Tennesseans. “Already, Tennessee’s lack of a broad-based income tax and comparatively high sales tax make the state’s tax system one of the most […]
Memphis Daily News: Haves, Have-Nots Get Varied Tax Relief
May 12, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“Most Tennesseans, however, won’t see much, if any, benefit from the Hall tax phase-out, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which contends sales taxes are unfair. The state’s wealthiest 1 percent, making an average of $1.2 million, would receive tax cuts of about $870 the first year. Households in the bottom 95 […]
Knoxville News Sentinel: Who got the gold mine, and the shaft
May 9, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“Legislators claim the break is designed for seniors and retirement savings, but the vast majority of seniors — indeed, the vast majority of all Tennesseans — fall well below the threshold where the Hall tax starts, or receive funds wholly exempt from it. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy crunched the actual numbers and […]
