Tennessee

One of the most surprising trends this legislative session is that conservative leaders and the business community joined with progressive advocates to oppose income tax repeal plans. There is a general consensus that income tax repeal is a step too far.

Two prominent blue states made headlines this past week when they passed budget agreements that include relief for taxpayers, and fortunately, the budget plans don’t include costly tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy...

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...

Several states have dropped a few late-session surprises, and from the looks of it, they’re not the good kind...

Rising gas prices have lawmakers around the country searching for ways to ease the pressure on consumers and almost half the states are considering reducing or temporarily repealing their gas tax, but another idea is taking hold...

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...

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...

The new year often brings with it a reinvigorated commitment to new goals and a fresh perspective on how to accomplish them, but it seems like lawmakers in states around the country are giving up already...

If the leaves are turning colors and you find yourself walking out of the office into pitch-black darkness, it only means that time of the year is upon us—and no, I'm not talking about the holiday season. Before that, it’s the equally important election season...

The end of Spooky Season is near but that hasn’t stopped state lawmakers from adding their frightening plans into the bubbling cauldron of bad tax policy ideas...

The release of the ‘Pandora Papers’ showed once again that states and their tax systems play an important role in wealth inequality, and in this case, worsening it...

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

One of the few industries to excel during the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic has been the marijuana business, and lawmakers around the country are taking notice as they try to ensure that sales in their state are both legal and subject to tax...

Joe supports ITEP in monitoring federal tax policies. His research focuses on progressive tax priorities to ensure corporations and the ultra wealthy pay their fair share. Prior to joining ITEP in 2021, Joe worked at the Congressional Research Service and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He completed a master’s in applied economics at George Washington University and undergraduate studies at the University of Tennessee.

History has repeatedly shown that such policies harm state economies, dismantle basic public services, and exacerbate tax inequities.

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 these holidays for working families are minimal. Sales tax holidays also fall short because they are poorly targeted, cost revenue, can easily be exploited, and…

It’s beginning to look a lot like that time of year again. That’s right, it’s sales tax holiday season and states across the country are doing their best to induce spending that would probably occur regardless...

Today is the last day of the fiscal year in many states, and some lawmakers might want to take the opportunity to make some new fiscal year resolutions. Legislators in Arizona, New Hampshire, Ohio, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, for example, should really cut back on the trickle-down tax-cut Kool-Aid, which may make parties with rich donors more fun but tends to be both harmful and habit-forming...

Taxing rich households and large corporations to fund vital investments in education and other shared priorities has long been a winner in the eyes of the American public, and more recently has also enjoyed a string of victories in state legislatures and at the ballot box. That win streak continued this week as Arizona’s voter-approved tax surcharge on the rich and Seattle, Washington’s payroll tax on high-profit, high-salary businesses both survived court challenges, and Massachusetts leaders approved a millionaires tax to go before voters next year.

Just as an early summer heatwave brought soaring temperatures this past weekend through much of the lower 48 states, several state legislative sessions are heating up as legislators scramble to make tough budget decisions. Massachusetts lawmakers are voting on a fiery new "millionaires' tax" that would support transportation and education revenue needs, and Connecticut will likely restore its state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) back to 30 percent. Illinois’s decision to cut back corporate tax breaks also provided a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, we'd give other state tax proposals a more lukewarm reception: New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Ohio…

Take a minute on this Tax Day to reflect on all that you survived, accomplished, and contributed to the collective good this past year, and be proud. There is always more work to be done to build the communities we desire, and paying your share is what allows that work to continue.

Earlier this year, ITEP released a report providing an overview of the impacts of state and local tax policies on race equity. Against a backdrop of vast racial disparities in income and wealth resulting from historical and current injustices both in public policy and in broader society, the report highlights that how states raise revenue to invest in disparity-reducing investments like education, health, and childcare has important implications for race equity.  

North Carolina lawmakers may have approved a massive tax subsidy giveaway to Apple, but we won’t let that news spoil our barrel this week. Nor will we be discouraged by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s threats to upset the apple cart full of positive progressive tax reforms state lawmakers recently came together to approve...Why all the optimism? Because the apple of our eye this week is Washington State, where advocates and lawmakers succeeded in a decade-long fight...

A bipartisan group of 32 House lawmakers banded together to form the “SALT Caucus,” demanding elimination of the SALT cap. None of their arguments in favor of repeal change the fact that it would primarily benefit the rich and, according to new research, exacerbate racial income and wealth disparities.

A previous ITEP analysis showed the lopsided distribution of SALT cap repeal by income level. The vast majority of families would not benefit financially from repeal and most of the tax cuts would flow to families with incomes above $200,000. This report builds on that work by using a mix of tax return and survey data within our microsimulation tax model to estimate the distribution of SALT cap repeal across race and ethnicity. It shows that repealing the SALT cap would be the latest in a long string of inequitable policies that have conspired to create the vast racial income…