What's New
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report
July 20, 2017
Trump’s $4.8 Trillion Tax Proposals Would Not Benefit All States or Taxpayers Equally
The broadly outlined tax proposals released by the Trump administration would not benefit all taxpayers equally and they would not benefit all states equally either. Several states would receive a share of the total resulting tax cuts that is less than their share of the U.S. population. Of the dozen states receiving the least by this measure, seven are in the South. The others are New Mexico, Oregon, Maine, Idaho and Hawaii.
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blog
July 27, 2017
State Rundown 7/27: State Legislative Debates Winding Down but Tax Talk Continues
While only a few states still remain mired in overtime budget debates, there is plenty of budget and tax news from around the country this week. Efforts are underway to repeal gas tax increases in California and challenge a local income tax in Seattle, Washington. And New Jersey legislators’ law to modernize its tax code to tax Airbnb rentals has been vetoed for now.
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press release
July 27, 2017
GOP Will Have to Radically Depart from Previous Proposals to Meet Its Tax Reform Goals
Following is a statement by Alan Essig, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding GOP leadership’s tax reform goals released today.… -
blog
July 27, 2017
GOP Leaders in Congress and the White House Set Out Goals for Tax Reform that Their Plans Fail to Meet
Today Republican leaders in Congress and officials from the White House released a joint statement on tax reform, claiming that “the single most important action we can take to grow our economy and help the middle class get ahead is to fix our broken tax code for families, small business, and American job creators competing at home and around the globe.”
Unfortunately, the proposals they have put forward so far do not address any such goals.
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blog
July 27, 2017
Reviving U.S. Manufacturing, One Cheesecake Factory at a Time
In the latest example of how the tax code has been abused and distorted, the Cheesecake Factory is claiming the manufacturing tax deduction, apparently for manufacturing cheesecakes, burgers, and other treats.
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blog
July 26, 2017
Trump Touts Tax Cuts for the Wealthy as a Plan for Working People
Unless the administration takes a radically different direction on tax reform from what it has already proposed, its tax plan would be a monumental giveaway to the top 1 percent. The wealthiest one percent of households would receive 61 percent of all the Trump tax breaks, and would receive an average of $145,400 in 2018 alone.
Repealing Obamacare Has Always Been About Tax Cuts for the Rich
One of the biggest tax cuts in the GOP health care bill is a provision that would repeal a 3.8 percent tax on investment income for those who earn more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples). Lawmakers are vacillating on whether to keep this tax cut for the rich in the health bill. Even if they don't, they likely will try to slip it into broader tax reform later this year.
50-State Analysis of GOP Health Proposal's Tax Provisions
Congressional Republicans have proposed legislation that would repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including rolling back a number of tax changes that were enacted to pay for the ACA’s health care expansions. This 50-state analysis outlines how repealing ACA tax provisions would affect each of the 50 states.
Undocumented Immigrants' State and Local Tax Contributions
Undocumented immigrants living in the United States pay billions of dollars each year in state and local taxes. These tax contributions would increase significantly if all current undocumented immigrants were granted a pathway to citizenship as part of a comprehensive immigration reform.
The 35 Percent Corporate Tax Myth
Profitable corporations are subject to a 35 percent federal income tax rate on their U.S. profits. But many corporations pay far less, or nothing at all, because of the many tax loopholes and special breaks they enjoy.
Who Pays? 5th Edition
ITEP's Who Pays? report assesses the fairness of state and local tax systems by examining the share of income paid in state and local taxes by people across the economic spectrum.
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.
ITEP's Work in Action
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
"For the better part of the 20th century, the nation’s economic pie grew as did incomes for all Americans. But for the past 40 years, wages for ordinary Americans have stagnated while income growth and wealth have concentrated at the top. Our nation’s tax and other public policies play a big part in this damaging trend. Our policymakers owe working people more than tax cuts with unrealistic promises of economic growth."
