News Release
For Immediate Release

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Contacts: Shannon Spillane
202-408-1080
[email protected]


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Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
820 First Street, NE
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20002
Tel: 202-408-1080
Fax: 202-408-1056
[email protected]
www.cbpp.org

 

 



STATE INCOME TAXES PUSHING MANY WORKING-POOR FAMILIES
DEEPER INTO POVERTY

In nearly half of the states with an income tax, a family of four owes the tax even if its income falls below the poverty line, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.  In 19 of the 42 states that levy an income tax, the “tax threshold” (the income level at which families begin owing taxes) for a two-parent family of four for tax year 2006 is below $20,615, the poverty line for such a family.  

The number of states that tax poor families of four was unchanged from 2005, as improvements in some states were offset by backsliding in others.  (Since 1991, the number of states that tax poor families of four has declined from 24 to 19.)   But some improvements are expected in the near future, the report notes.  Several states with very low tax thresholds have recently enacted changes that should save low-income families hundreds of dollars in taxes over the next three years.

“Families with very limited means are still taxed too much by states,” said Jason Levitis, the report’s author.  “Progress is occurring slowly.  States increasingly realize they shouldn’t be taxing people deeper into poverty.”

Among the report’s findings:

  • As families file their 2006 income taxes this spring, families with poverty-level incomes face more than $200 in state income taxes in ten states:  Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, and West Virginia.  In four of these states (Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, and West Virginia), such families owe more than $400.  These amounts can cause significant difficulties for families struggling to escape poverty, especially when combined with other taxes these families pay, such as sales, payroll, and excise taxes.
  • Among the states that made significant improvements for 2006 were Delaware, which implemented a state earned income tax credit that exempts working-poor families from the income tax; Virginia, which also implemented an EITC, raising its tax threshold by nearly $5,000; and Oregon, whose EITC is now “refundable” for the first time.  (Under a refundable EITC, families whose EITC exceeds their income tax liability can receive a refund for the difference, which helps working families lift themselves out of poverty.  Twenty-one states have EITCs, 17 of which are refundable.)
  • Among the states where low-income households’ tax bills rose significantly since 2005 were Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, and North Carolina, all of which raised taxes on poor families by at least 25 percent.  In addition, New Jersey began taxing poor families of four for the first time since 1998; a family of four at the poverty line received a refund of $728 in 2005 but owed $219 in 2006. 

In most states where low-income households’ tax bills rose, this happened not because of explicit policy changes but because tax provisions designed to protect low-income families — including standard deductions, personal exemptions, and credits — did not keep pace with inflation.

  • Nine states have recently enacted reforms that will reduce taxes on low-income families over the next several years:  Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and West Virginia.  A number of these states, however, will continue to impose heavy income taxes on low-income families.  Alabama, Hawaii, and Oregon will continue to impose some of the nation’s largest income taxes on the poor even after the expected reforms are implemented.
  • Any state should be able to exempt the poor from income taxes, the report states.  The loss of revenue from such exemptions poses special challenges for states that have a large number of poor families, and also for states where the income tax is the major state revenue source, but these challenges can be overcome.  For example, the 27 states that exempt poor single-parent families of three from income taxes include three of the nation’s ten poorest states (Kentucky, New Mexico, and Oklahoma) and seven of the ten states that receive their largest share of state and local tax revenue from personal income taxes (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, and Virginia).

“By eliminating state income taxes on working families with incomes at or below the poverty line, states can offset some of the child care and transportation costs that families incur as they strive to become economically self-sufficient,” said Levitis.  “In other words, by eliminating income taxes on poor working families, states can help make work pay.”

The full report, with state-by-state fact sheets, is available at https://www.cbpp.org/3-27-07sfp.htm.

Note to editors:  The Center on Budget will host a media conference call briefing to discuss this new report at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, March 27.  To participate, please register by e-mailing [email protected], or calling the communications office at (202) 408-1080.

# # #

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization and policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of government policies and programs.

State Contacts

Alabama
Alabama Arise
Kimble Forrister
334-832-9060
[email protected]
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center
Noah Berger
617-426-1228
[email protected]
Arizona
Children's Action Alliance
Karen McLaughlin
602-266-0707

[email protected]
Michigan
Michigan League for Human Services
Sharon Parks
517-487-5436
[email protected]
Arkansas
Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families
Rich Huddleston
501-371-9678 ext. 114
501-343-3429 (cell)
[email protected]
Minnesota
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - Minnesota Budget Project
Nan Madden
612-709-6948 (cell)
[email protected]
California
California Budget Project
Jean Ross
916-444-0500
[email protected]
Missouri
Missouri Budget Project
Amy Blouin
314-652-1400
[email protected]
Colorado
Fiscal Policy Institute (Colorado Center on Law and Policy)
Kathy A. White
303-573-5669 ext. 303
[email protected]
New Jersey
New Jersey Policy Perspective
Jon Shure
609-393-1145 ext. 2
[email protected]
Connecticut
Connecticut Voices for Children
Doug Hall
203-498-4240
[email protected]
New Mexico
New Mexico Voices for Children
Sharon Kayne
505-244-9505 x30
[email protected]
District of Columbia
DC Fiscal Policy Institute
Ed Lazere
202-408-1080
[email protected]
New York
Fiscal Policy Institute
Frank Mauro
(518) 786-3156
[email protected]
Georgia
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute
Alan Essig
404-420-1324
[email protected]
North Carolina
North Carolina Budget and Tax Center
Elaine Mejia
919-856-2570
[email protected]
Illinois
Voices for Illinois Children
Julie Parente
312-516-5551
[email protected]
Ohio
The Center for Community Solutions
John Corlett
216-781-2944 Ext. 222
[email protected]
Indiana
Alison Cole
Institute for Working Families
317-324-1248
[email protected]
Oklahoma
Community Action Project
David Blatt
918-382-3228
[email protected]
Iowa
Iowa Policy Project
Mike Owen
319-338-0773
[email protected]
Oregon
Oregon Center for Public Policy
Chuck Sheketoff
(503) 873-1201 ext. 331
[email protected]
Kansas
Kansas Action for Children
April Holmen
785-232-0550
[email protected]
Rhode Island
Poverty Institute
Ellen Frank
(401) 456-2752
[email protected]
Kentucky
Kentucky Youth Advocates
Tracy Goff Herman
502-895-8167 ext. 121

[email protected]
Vermont
Public Assets Institute
Paul A. Cillo
802-472-6222
[email protected]
Maine
Maine Center for Economic Policy
Kit St. John
207-622-7381
[email protected]
Virginia
The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis
Michael Cassidy
804-477-4016
[email protected]
Maryland
Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute
Henry Bogdan

301-565-0505

[email protected]
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Council on Family and Children
Jon Peacock
608-284-0580 ext. 307
[email protected]