What's New
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report
July 11, 2018
Federal Tax Cuts in the Bush, Obama, and Trump Years
Since 2000, tax cuts have reduced federal revenue by trillions of dollars and disproportionately benefited well-off households. From 2001 through 2018, significant federal tax changes have reduced revenue by $5.1 trillion, with nearly two-thirds of that flowing to the richest fifth of Americans.
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blog
September 20, 2018
Oxfam Report Finds Pharmaceuticals Profiteering Off Crises in Developing Countries
The report indicates, pharmaceutical companies have taken steps to hide their profits in low-tax countries, sapping billions in revenue from the governments that invest in the science that drives their products and safeguard the patents that undergird their business. Pharmaceutical companies made use of a familiar battery of methods to exploit the international system this way, including inversions to disguise an American company as a foreign one and passing profits into low-tax jurisdictions through artificial usage fees on intangible assets like intellectual property.
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blog
September 20, 2018
State Tax Codes Can Help Mitigate Poverty and Impact of Federal Tax Cuts on Low- and Middle-Income Families
The national poverty rate declined by 0.4 percentage points to 12.3 percent in 2017. According to the U.S. Census, this was not a statistically significant… -
blog
September 20, 2018
IRS Reopens Tax Loophole Sought by Sen. Toomey, but it Won’t Work in Pennsylvania
A recent IRS clarification, which appears to have been a pet project of Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), has been widely interpreted as reopening a loophole the agency had proposed closing just weeks earlier. But while the announcement creates an opening for aggressive tax avoidance in many states, Pennsylvania, ironically enough, isn’t one of them.
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blog
September 19, 2018
State Rundown 9/19: Don’t Call it a Comeback
The Rundown is back after a few-week hiatus, with lots of state fiscal news and quality research to share! Maine lawmakers found agreement on a response to the federal tax-cut bill, states continue to sort out how they’ll collect online sales taxes in the wake of the Wayfair decision, and policymakers in several states have been working on summer tax studies and other preparations for 2019 legislative sessions. Meanwhile, work on ballot measures and candidate tax plans to go before voters in November has been even more active, particularly in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, and Missouri. Our “What We’re Reading” section has lots of great research and reading on inequalities, cities turning to regressive fees, states’ preparations for the next recession, and much more. And we at ITEP have been hard at work during this Rundown hiatus as well, updating our most key resources on the upside-down nature of state and local taxes and how states can work to improve them; we’re saving some of the best for later, but see below for an update on some what we’ve been working on.
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report
September 17, 2018
State Tax Codes as Poverty Fighting Tools: 2018 Update on Four Key Policies in All 50 States
This report presents a comprehensive overview of anti-poverty tax policies, surveys tax policy decisions made in the states in 2018, and offers recommendations that every state should consider to help families rise out of poverty. States can jumpstart their anti-poverty efforts by enacting one or more of four proven and effective tax strategies to reduce the share of taxes paid by low- and moderate-income families: state Earned Income Tax Credits, property tax circuit breakers, targeted low-income credits, and child-related tax credits.
Extensions of the New Tax Law’s Temporary Provisions Would Mainly Benefit the Wealthy
This analysis finds that extending the temporary tax provisions in 2026 would not be aimed at helping the middle-class any more than TCJA as enacted helps the middle-class in 2018.
ITEP Resources on the Proposed SALT Workaround Regulations
As taxpayers across the country find ways to circumvent the cap on SALT deductions, the IRS has proposed regulations to end "charitable donations" in the name of tax avoidance. ITEP expert Carl Davis shares resources for what you need to know about the SALT cap workarounds.
10 Things You Should Know About the Nation's Tax System
This list of resources provides basic information about the federal and state tax systems.
ITEP Resources on Amazon and the Online Sales Tax Debate
For decades, retailers without a “physical presence” within a state have been able to sell to that states’ residents without collecting sales tax. The outcome of that collection gap has been to create an unlevel playing field for local businesses, and significant strain on state and local tax revenues. The following ITEP analyses offer insights into a variety of aspects of this complex issue.
How the New Federal Tax Law Affects State Tax Codes
As state legislative sessions swing into high gear, the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is figuring prominently in policy discussions, with officials examining how the bill affects their states and weighing the necessary policy responses.
Impact
Whether it’s at the state or federal level, ITEP produces careful research and in-depth analyses of tax policies, and provides a voice for working people in tax policy debates. State advocates, policymakers and media often use our work to inform public discourse on current and proposed tax policies.
Expertise
Federal Policy
ITEP’s federal policy resources provide quantitative and qualitative research and analysis on current tax policies, proposals, and reform options. Its distributional analyses highlight how tax proposals will affect low-income, middle-class and wealthy Americans nationally and in all 50 states.
Learn more about our Federal Policy work
State Policy
State taxes pay for essential public services, from education to health care. But the ideal design of a tax system is complicated. ITEP’s state policy resources offer insights into central issues, including the impact of state tax systems on individuals, families, and businesses. Its work also analyzes the sustainability of revenue sources over time.
Learn more about our State Policy work
Corporate Tax Research
ITEP’s corporate tax research examines the tax practices of Fortune 500 companies. Besides its corporate study on average effective tax rates paid by the nation’s largest, most profitable corporations, ITEP produces research on subjects such as offshore cash holdings, tax haven abuse, executive stock options and other tax loopholes.
Expert's View
The truth is, if lawmakers truly wanted to craft a tax overhaul that would benefit working people most, they would have started from fundamentally different principles and developed policies that would provide true tax relief for all working families while shutting down favorable tax treatment for rich people.
