Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

NJ Today: Lawmakers plot to stop corporate tax dodgers

January 29, 2016

“According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Analysis of SEC Filings, ExxonMobil paid a low tax rate over the past five years, and received a tax rebate from New Jersey in 2014 in the amount of $507,000. This resulted in a -5.6 percent tax rate that year.” Read more

Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Analysis and Considerations Related to House Bill 380

January 29, 2016

“Idaho households with incomes between $41,000 and $64,000 a year would see a $23 decrease in their tax liability, on average. The top 1% – those with incomes of $444,000 and above – would see an $815 tax cut, on average. The exact tax cut that a household in any range would receive depends upon […]

Idaho Statesman: Study: Idaho’s wealthiest gain most under tax cut proposal

January 29, 2016

“An Idaho tax policy group says a proposed cut in the state’s top income tax rates and bump-up in the food tax credit to help lower-income earners overwhelmingly benefits Idaho’s wealthiest residents. The top fifth of earners in Idaho, with incomes above $99,000, would receive nearly three-fifths of the overall monetary benefit. Idaho’s richest one […]

blog  

Michigan’s “Customer” Service Fail Is a Cautionary Tale about Cutting Taxes and Disinvestment

January 28, 2016 • By Jenice Robinson

The Michigan legislature just approved a  $28 million appropriation to provide immediate aid in response to the water crisis in Flint, Mich., where vulnerable children and families have been poisoned by toxic lead. This avoidable crisis partly has roots in the misguided movement to cut taxes so much that state and local governments have difficulty […]

Mainebiz: Immigrants key ‘to what Maine needs to solve its demographic challenges’

January 26, 2016

“There were 44,687 immigrants in Maine in 2013, comprising 3.4% of the state’s population, according to the 2013 American Community Survey. Some 3.2% of business owners in Maine are foreign-born and generate total net business income of $120 million. Undocumented immigrants paid $3.7 million in Maine state and local taxes in 2010, according to the […]

The Columbian: Jayne: Possible constitutional amendment a taxing prospect

January 26, 2016

“Lawmakers could seize the opportunity to elevate the discussion and tweak Washington’s tax system, which has been ranked by some as the most regressive in the nation. Because the state has no income tax and is heavily reliant upon sales tax, an inordinate percentage of the tax burden lands upon poor people, and the Institute […]

Independent: GE Healthcare: Minimal tax paid by NHS supplier ‘should be investigated urgently’

January 26, 2016

“Matt Gardner, executive director of the US research group the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said: “GE has been remarkably successful over a long period of time in zeroing out tax liabilities in the US and abroad.” Attempts to unravel where GE Healthcare pays tax, and how much, are obstructed by the complicated company […]

The Commonwealth Institute: Room for Improvement

January 22, 2016

“Virginia households with an average annual income of $59,000 would save an average of just $6.45 per year – less than the price of a movie ticket. And households making roughly $14,000 a year would save an average of only $1.32 per year per household. That’s barely enough to buy the local newspaper. In fact, […]

report  

Testimony before the Vermont Senate Committee on Finance: Tax Policy Issues with Legalized Retail Marijuana

January 19, 2016 • By Carl Davis

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the tax policy issues associated with legalized retail marijuana. Our testimony includes five parts: 1. An overview of the marijuana tax rates and structures that exist in the four states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington) where retail marijuana can be legally sold. 2. An analysis of early stage revenue trends in the two states (Colorado and Washington) where legal, taxable sales of retail marijuana have been taking place since 2014. 3. A discussion of issues associated with different types of marijuana tax bases--specifically weight-based taxes, price-based taxes, and hybrids of these two…

Indianapolis Star: Raise taxes on Indiana’s wealthy

January 19, 2016

“According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy the bottom 20% of Indiana taxpayers pay an average effective overall tax rate of around 12%. The top 1% of Indiana taxpayers pays an effective overall tax rate of around 5.2%. The taxes included in these percentages include income tax, excise tax, sales tax on individuals […]

Bayou Buzz: Governor Jon Bel Edwards transition report not serious for Louisiana budget hole

January 19, 2016

“Yet plenty of other material in its pages serves to covey the unserious nature of the effort. For example, in its discussion of tax reform, it exhorts any changes to make the system even more regressive than already – even though, according to a metric created by the leftist Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, […]

MassLive: ‘Millionaires’ tax’ raises questions of fairness, business practices, transit needs at Statehouse hearing

January 19, 2016

“According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the top 1 percent of Massachusetts earners (those making more than $860,000) pay 4.9 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while the middle 20 percent (those earning $44,000 to $70,000) pay 9.3 percent of their income in state and local taxes. This reflects […]

Salt Lake Tribune: Editorial: Lotteries hurt the poor, but not as badly as Utah’s tax system

January 19, 2016

“Arguably, it isn’t as bad here as it is in some other states. Last year, an outfit called the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which worries about financial inequality, ran some numbers and determined that, out of 50 states, Utah’s tax policy was the 34th most regressive. That is, 33 states were worse than […]

Boston Globe: The expected ripple effect of GE’s move to Boston

January 14, 2016

“The conglomerate is also known for its skill in finding tax advantages: Critics say it often pays minimal corporate taxes in the states where it does business. “It’s hard to see how taxes could be part of this calculus, since GE has been successful in reducing its state taxes to zero nationwide,” said Matthew Gardner, […]

Fontana Herald News: Protesters hold rally to show support for social programs

January 14, 2016

“Nunez said that it was long overdue for undocumented children to receive benefits, especially when their parents contribute billions of dollars to the economy through taxes. In fact, according to the Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contribution, overseen by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the 3.1 million undocumented residents living in California […]

report  

ITEP Comments to the Vermont Senate Committee on Finance: Tax Expenditure Evaluation

January 13, 2016 • By Carl Davis

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Vermont's effort to establish a system for regularly evaluating its tax expenditure programs. Data-driven tax expenditure evaluations are a valuable tool for gauging the effectiveness of policy initiatives pursued via the tax code. ITEP is supportive of Vermont's efforts in this area and is generally encouraged by the work completed thus far by groups such as the Joint Fiscal Office and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Rather than rehash the many useful recommendations made by those organizations, these comments focus on two areas that may be in need of further attention: the scope…

Politico: It’s a Gas

January 12, 2016

“For nine states, the new year means changes to the gas tax. They’re all laid out in this handy chart, put together by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Who’s seeing the biggest jump in their gas tax? Utah, with a 4.9 cent increase as a result of new state legislation. West Virginians are […]

Inland Empire Community News: Assemblymembers, local groups not satisfied with state budget

January 12, 2016

“Nunez pointed out that a recent study done by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) undocumented Californians contribute around $3.2-billion in local and state taxes.“They are not taking anything from anyone,” she said. “All we are asking is that what they contribute, they receive. We should continue the fight to expand MediCal for […]

Fayetteville Observer: Live Wire: Reports indicate undocumented immigrants pay lots of taxes

January 12, 2016

“In the public debates over federal immigration reform, sufficient and accurate information about the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants is often lacking, said an April 2 report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington, D.C. “The reality is the 11.4million undocumented immigrants living in the United States pay billions of dollars in […]

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why Wisconsin remains a tax hell

January 12, 2016

“Relying on a report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research organization that works on tax policy issues, the website WalletHub shows the effective state and local tax rates in each state, based on three income levels. Those income levels are low ($25,000), middle ($50,000) and high ($150,000). According to that […]

Convenience Store and Fuel News: Which States’ Gas Taxes Are Going Up in 2016? And which are going down?

January 12, 2016

“Four states increased gasoline taxes at the start of 2016, while five actually lowered them. That’s according to an analysis by The Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonpartisan, Washington-based research organization that focuses on local tax-policy issues. The four states that increased their gasoline tax on Jan. 1 are Florida, Maryland, Nebraska […]

Information Week: Apple, Taxes, And Why Tim Cook Is Wrong

January 12, 2016

“How about we make a deal? Wouldn’t it be nice if Apple paid the typical corporate tax? The statutory tax rate for corporations in the US is 35%, but the average effective rate paid by corporations after deductions and credits is 27.1%, according to Americans for Tax Fairness. Further, a February 2014 report from Citizens […]

Barre Montpelier Times Argus: Public Assets Institute Report Report: Economic rebound mostly benefits wealthy

January 12, 2016

“Taking into account sales, excise, property and income taxes, the top 1 percent — followed by the top 4 percent — paid the smallest share of their incomes in taxes in 2015. Households taking in between $38,000 and $58,000 payed the greatest share.”

The Signal: Fighting for an education: Georgia student organizations band together for the admittance of undocumented students

January 12, 2016

“Opposition to allowing DACA students in-state tuition tends to come in the form of a few arguments: doing so is a burden on taxpayers, illegal and the undocumented will have problems finding jobs if their status hasn’t changed by graduation are a few. However, according to the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy (ITEP), Georgia’s […]

Oklahoma Watch: Study Finds a Decade of Income Tax Cuts Deprived State of $1B This Year

January 12, 2016

“Income tax cuts approved by governors and legislators of both parties over the past decade reduced this year’s state revenue collections by more than $1 billion, according to an independent data analysis. The calculation by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington suggests that past income tax cuts contributed significantly to the state’s […]