We retired Tax Justice Blog in April 2017. For new content on issues related to tax justice, go to www.justtaxesblog.org
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.
An Outrage That Deserves Closer Scrutiny
Through a complex system of state tax subsidies, 10 states are funneling public dollars to private and religious schools and making a mockery of charitable contributions by allowing taxpayers to turn a profit when they donate to private K-12 scholarship funds. Read ITEP analyst Carl Davis’s blog about this practice, or read ITEP’s comprehensive report (State Tax Subsidies for Private K-12 Education).
Hillary Clinton’s Tax Plan Would Raise $1.46 Trillion over a Decade
On Monday, Hillary Clinton’s campaign announced an expansion to the Child Tax Credit. A new analysis of her overall tax plan finds that it would raise federal revenues by $1.46 trillion over the next decade while providing a small tax cut on average to the bottom 95 percent of American taxpayers. The analysis also shows that those in the top 5 percent would see a significant tax increase. Read the analysis.
OTHER STATE NEWS
New Jersey’s Tax Deal Will Increase Taxes for Middle-Income New Jerseyans
New Jersey made national headlines after lawmakers announced the state will increase its gas tax by 23 cents a gallon. But there is a lot more in the tax package. In a recent blog post, ITEP analyst Dylan Grundman explains income tax cuts would deliver the biggest benefit to upper-income New Jersey residents, while lower-middle and middle-income families’ taxes would increase. Read more
On Revenues and Referenda
In Oregon, opponents and proponents are waging aggressive campaigns on ballot Measure 97, which would increase the state’s corporate minimum tax for businesses with annual Oregon sales over $25 million. If residents vote “yes”, the measure is expected to generate $3 billion a year. Read more
And in Oklahoma, SQ 779 is a constitutional amendment that would raise the state sales and use tax by 1 percentage point. Of the total revenue generated by the new tax, 60 percent would go to providing a salary increase of at least $5,000 for every public school teacher. Read the Oklahoma Policy Institute’s take on this amendment.
The ITEP Weekly State Rundown
This week the rundown highlights news confirming that Kansas’s years of tax cutting have been heavily tilted toward the rich, more lagging revenues in states including Arkansas, Texas and Minnesota, new problems for New Jersey’s budget, and a major new taxpayer boondoggle in Nevada. Read the State Rundown
If you have any feedback on the Digest or tax stories you’re watching that we should check out too, please email me rphillips@itep.org
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