What's New
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report
September 13, 2017
Trump Proposals Would Reduce the Share of Taxes Paid by the Richest 1%, Raise It for Everyone Else
The tax proposals released by the Trump Administration in April would reduce the share of total federal, state and local taxes paid by America’s richest 1 percent while increasing the share paid by all other income groups. This clearly indicates that the tax system would be less progressive under the president’s approach.
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brief
September 18, 2017
Fact Sheet: The Consequences of Adopting a Territorial Tax System
President Trump and Republican leaders in Congress have proposed a “territorial” tax system, which would allow American corporations to pay no U.S. taxes on most profits they book offshore. This would worsen the already substantial problem of corporate tax avoidance and result in more jobs and investment leaving the U.S. Lawmakers should know some key facts about the territorial approach.
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ITEP Work in Action
September 15, 2017
New Jersey Policy Perspective: Reforming New Jersey's Income Tax Would Help Build Shared Prosperity
Today, the most well-off New Jerseyans hold a greater share of the state’s income than they have in nearly a century, thanks to decades of unequal economic growth, creating an off-balance economy in which many middle- and lower-income New Jerseyans face barriers to economic opportunity. Recent tax policy changes have exacerbated this trend.
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ITEP Work in Action
September 15, 2017
The Commonwealth Institute: We Need More than Wishful Thinking: A Closer Look at the Candidates' Tax Plans
Issue platforms by the current candidates for Virginia governor, including Republican candidate Ed Gillespie, Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra, and Democratic candidate Ralph Northam, include proposals to modify or eliminate Virginia’s local business taxes, modify Virginia’s individual income tax, and eliminate the state portion of Virginia’s sales tax on groceries. All of these proposals would reduce local or state revenue collections.
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blog
September 15, 2017
Poverty is Down, But State Tax Codes Could Bring It Even Lower
The U.S. Census Bureau released its annual data on income, poverty and health insurance coverage this week. For the second consecutive year, the national poverty rate declined and the well-being of America’s most economically vulnerable has generally improved. In 2016, the year of the latest available data, 40.6 million (or nearly 1 in 8) Americans were living in poverty.
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report
September 14, 2017
State Tax Codes as Poverty Fighting Tools
Astonishingly, tax policies in virtually every state make it harder for those living in poverty to make ends meet. When all the taxes imposed by state and local governments are taken into account, every state imposes higher effective tax rates on poor families than on the richest taxpayers.
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.
State and Local Tax Contributions of Young Undocumented Immigrants
This report specifically examines the state and local tax contributions of undocumented immigrants who are currently enrolled or immediately eligible for DACA and the fiscal implications of various policy changes.
Fortune 500 Companies Hold a Record $2.6 Trillion Offshore
It is almost always the case that profits reported by American corporations to the IRS as earned in tax havens were actually earned in the United States or another country with a tax system similar to ours.
Sound Tax Policy Made a Comeback in the States This Year
Major tax reform efforts this year in a diverse mix of states prioritized revenue raising for public investments, and tax cut proposals primarily targeted low-income working families.
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.
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."
