| | Bookmark and Share

In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately. 

Good News from Washington State

The Washington State Supreme Court last week unanimously ruled unconstitutional an initiative designed to force lawmakers to pass a constitutional amendment requiring supermajority support for all future revenue increases. ITEP Senior Analyst Lisa Christensen Gee writes about why this ruling is so important.  

Comedy or Tragedy in Illinois?

White Sox and Cubs fans are likely to agree on one thing; the lack of a state budget is a disgrace. Here’s ITEP’s resident White Sox fan, Lisa Christensen Gee, on the comedy and tragedy that is Illinois fiscal policy.

Tennessee and Oklahoma Wrap Up

Lawmakers in Oklahoma failed to rise to the challenge of dealing with a $1.3 billion shortfall. Instead, legislators balanced the state’s budget with one-time funds and by reducing the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (a move called “deplorable” by the New York Times). Read Aidan Russell Davis’s full piece here.   

Tennessee’s legislative session is over and Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law Senate Bill 47, which eliminates the state’s Hall Tax, a tax on dividend and interest income. ITEP Senior Policy Analyst Dylan Grundman describes the impact of eliminating this progressive revenue source.

Member Day Wrap Up: The Good and the Bad

Over the past few weeks, the Tax Policy and Health subcommittees of the House Ways and Means Committee held Member Day hearings, in which Representatives pitched their favorite pet tax reform proposals to their colleagues in hopes of moving some of the measures forward. Here’s CTJ’s take on proposals that members brought forward.  

State Rundown: Austerity Budgets by Choice

For an update on state tax happenings in Alaska, Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, check out this edition of ITEP’s State Rundown.

New Brief: State Treatment of Itemized Deductions

ITEP’s newly updated policy brief on State Treatment of Itemized Deductions offers a menu of options available to states interested in reforming these regressive income tax breaks. Read this blog post to learn how itemized deduction reform can address both issues of tax fairness and revenue adequacy. 

Shareable Tax Analysis:

ICYMI: ITEP’s State Tax Policy Director Meg Wiehe is now on Twitter. You can follow her here: @MegWiehe

If you have any feedback on the Digest, please email me  kelly@itep.org

Sign up to receive the Tax Justice Digest