While you're thinking about what you owe this #TaxDay, spare a minute to consider what your state owes its residents. Taxes are how we take care of each other. Is your state rising to that responsibility or shirking it?
In NC, Gov. Stein is all but begging the legislature to pause previous income tax cuts that’ll cripple the state budget & force "exceedingly painful cuts". House leaders agree, but the Senate is blocking efforts — leaving the state still without a budget. ncnewsline.com/2026/04/08/n...
WV’s FY27 budget slashes income taxes, expands school vouchers, AND makes cuts to Medicaid. The state is projected to face huge budget gaps starting next year, even before accounting for new costs associated with HR1's changes to Medicaid and SNAP. wvpolicy.org/fy-2027-budg...
But many states have taken the opposite approach: cutting basic needs programs and doubling down on regressive tax cuts. SC took major steps to eliminate its income tax, and MO may not be far behind. Roughly 1/3 of states are debating major property tax cuts this year.
Others have taken steps to reject the costly & upside-down federal tax cuts enacted last year. 10+ states have already decoupled from HR1’s tax giveaways, protecting billions in state revenue. Several more are moving to reclaim revenue by closing offshore corporate loopholes.
Some states are meeting this moment by asking more from those who can afford it. ME passed a millionaires tax just last week. WA’s new tax on the wealthy is projected to raise >$3B/year for education & child care. RI is weighing high-earner surcharges too. apnews.com/article/mill...
That said, many states were already in trouble before congressional Republicans passed HR1. Widespread income tax cuts, costly voucher programs, & a wave of property tax caps have been squeezing state budgets for years now. Now they're caught in a fiscal vise of their own making.
HR1 handed enormous tax cuts to wealthy households and corporations while gutting health care and food assistance, largely leaving states to pick up the massive tab. Those choices are causing severe harm across the country, and states have to decide whether to try & mitigate it.
Happy #TaxDay! While millions of Americans file their returns today, statehouses across the country are making decisions that will shape who pays, who gains, & who gets left behind for years to come. And right now, states are headed in two VERY different directions. Some context:
UPDATE: THEY DELIVERED! Gov. Mills just signed Maine's millionaires tax into law. This is a huge step forward for tax justice and a testament to advocates in Maine (s/o to @mecep.bsky.social!) and across the country for reminding us that taxing the wealthy is both popular and possible.
Congratulations! This is a huge step in the right direction for Maine and a win for tax justice that advocates across the country are celebrating with you!
For too long, our tax code asked the most of those with the least. Today, that changes. In a historic move for tax fairness in Maine, Governor Mills just signed a millionaire tax into law as part of the state's supplemental budget. #mepolitics
When we talk about "SNAP cuts," we mean real people — parents stretching every dollar at the grocery store, kids depending on stable meals. Our new tracker puts numbers behind who's being harmed, state by state. Check it. Bookmark it. Share it!
The question's never been whether taxing the rich is good policy with broad benefits, but whether lawmakers have the will to do it. They did in MA. Just last month, they did in WA. Now Maine’s ready to get in the game. The best time was yesterday, but today will do just fine.
Wealthy Mainers themselves have been calling for more taxation! Their words: a big tax hike would be "a rounding error" for them, but transformative for everyone else.
nationaltoday.com/us/me/portla...
Most people do not move based on tax rates. IRS migration data shows Maine is actually *gaining* residents from many so-called "low tax" states. The flight narrative is a myth built to protect the status quo, which isn't working for working families.
www.mecep.org/blog/irs-dat...
You might be thinking: "But, tax flight! All the millionaires will leave!" We've heard this in every state with the courage to push for progressive taxation of income & wealth. And I am once again reminding you — the data tells a different story. bsky.app/profile/whit...
Bar chart from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) showing that Mainers in the second 20% of income earners ($24,200 - $47,200 annually) pay an effective tax rate very similar to that of those in the top 1% (earning over $701,100), with effective tax rates of 9.3% and 9.5%, respectively.
As it stands, the Pine Tree State's tax system is out of whack. A nurse and a millionaire could pay the same effective rate, because Maine relies heavily on sales & excise taxes. Per @mecep.bsky.social: “For too long, Maine’s tax code has asked the most of those with the least.”
ICYMI: Maine's Approps Committee passed a millionaires tax last week! The 2% surcharge on income over $1M will affect just 0.4% of taxpayers but is projected to generate $96M in FY27 alone. Gov. Mills is on board. Now it’s up to the legislature to deliver.
www.mecep.org/news/stateme...
Last week, I outlined questions I would be looking to have answered when the President’s budget is released.
Now that we have the full proposal, we can now answer them.
Hint: It fails to offer affordability solutions to make life more affordable while raising the risk of hasty, harmful cuts. 🧵
The President’s FY27 Budget guts programs that protect the environment, promote health, and reduce energy bills. Some of the most egregious cuts include eliminating LIHEAP, halving the EPA’s budget, and reprogramming billions of funds for renewable energy. More below:
It is amazing! The Admin can propose anything it wants & this hateful, harmful budget is what they throw down. Evicting formally homeless people from their homes, cutting food asst for kids & older adults, reducing utility payment asst, narrowing energy options...etc...etc..
After enacting the deepest SNAP cuts in history last year, President Trump’s 2027 budget would continue to make groceries less affordable for low-income families. It would slash the WIC fruit & vegetable benefit by $1.4 billion & eliminate a food program for low-income seniors.
A few initial thoughts on the President’s FY27 budget. Big picture: Today’s budget isn’t a serious plan to address real issues facing families and the nation and isn’t worthy of the American people.
I’m so excited to attend WA’s bill signing today for our new #MillionairesTax! WA is a great place to live & work & play - and the millionaires will stay (according to research on MA’s similar tax).
Taxes on millionaires aren’t a punishment. They’re about preventing a handful of very wealthy people from holding a state’s future hostage at the expense of everyone else. After H.R.1’s tax giveaways & deep cuts to basic needs programs, states can’t afford to lose sight of that.
States that invest in schools, transit, and housing attract young families who stay, build careers, and start businesses. That's the real economic multiplier. Not tax cuts for the ultra-rich, who are already gaining the lion’s share of benefits from recent *federal* tax changes.
At CBPP, we've thoroughly studied available migration data and research, and the findings are clear: state tax levels have minimal impact on where people move. Things that *actually* drive migration? Jobs. Family. Housing costs. Community. Not…marginal tax rates. www.cbpp.org/research/sta...
Case in point: Google's co-founder spent $45M fighting a CA billionaire tax rather than just paying it. That's not someone who’s eager to leave. That's someone trying to rig the rules from *inside* the zip code. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Leading researcher Cristobal Young studied “millionaire tax flight” rigorously for more than a decade and found that millionaires are actually the LEAST mobile segment of the population.
Their businesses, networks, and assets are deeply rooted. They don't just up and leave.