ITEP's Research Priorities
Raleigh News & Observer: The Racial Wealth Divide Could Grow with Tax Changes
September 30, 2017
But that’s assuming nothing changes. If Trump moves forward with the policies he campaigned on, especially his tax “reform” plan, the gap surely grows. Trump’s tax plan is heavily skewed toward providing massive tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. Half of the proposed cuts will go to millionaires, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic […]
Indiana’s Tax Cuts Under Mike Pence Are Not a Model for the Nation
September 29, 2017 • By Carl Davis
In announcing a new tax cut framework this week in Indianapolis that was negotiated with House and Senate leaders, President Trump claimed that “Indiana is a tremendous example of the prosperity that is unleashed when we cut taxes and set free the dreams of our citizens …. In Indiana, you have seen firsthand that cutting taxes on businesses makes your state more competitive and leads to more jobs and higher paychecks for your workers.”
State Rundown 9/28: Wisconsin Budget Finalized, Oklahoma Special Session Underway
September 28, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week, Wisconsin's leaders finalized the state budget at last, while those in Oklahoma began a special session to close their state's revenue shortfall. Soda tax fights made news in Illinois and Pennsylvania. And New Jersey offered Amazon $5 billion in tax subsidies.
On Point with Tom Ashbrook: Totaling Up President Trump’s Tax Overhaul Plan
September 28, 2017
And now, it’s time for the Trump tax plan. A miracle for the middle class, the president said in Indianapolis yesterday. He’s selling hard. But there are knowns and unknowns here. Known: upper-income households would get large tax cuts. Known: lower-income households would get none. Unknown: how exactly the middle class would make out. Or […]
Salon: Everyone Hates Trump’s Godawful Tax Plan — Except the GOP Donor Class
September 28, 2017
Wealthy businesses and individuals will benefit from the proposal in other ways as well, including a reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. On the other hand, the outline also proposes eliminating many corporate deductions, which primarily benefit the largest enterprises. According to research by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and […]
Bloomberg: Stock Traders Celebrate Nonexistent Tax Cuts
September 28, 2017
Although Republicans say the plan is to reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from the current 35 percent, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that more than 250 of the largest U.S. companies already paid an effective rate of just 21.2 percent from 2008 to 2015. Read more
Think Progress: Trump’s Plan Gives Corporate Tax Lobbyists Nearly Everything They Want
September 28, 2017
Another key corporate giveaway in the proposal would allow multinational corporations to bring accumulated foreign earnings back to the homeland at a low one-time rate, known as a repatriation tax. The administration has still not announced that rate but officials have reportedly indicated it will be somewhere in the 10 percent range. The non-partisan Institute […]
ITEP ED on GOP Tax Plan: “There is Something Terribly Wrong with This Picture”
September 27, 2017 • By Alan Essig
Economically, the rich are doing just fine, yet the GOP is brazenly selling old hat trickle-down economic theories laden with rhetoric about projected economic growth that will benefit working people. Worse, they are doing so even though opinion polling shows the majority of Americans do not want Congress to pass tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.
Fox News: Trump, Republicans reveal tax plan: What to know
September 27, 2017
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy last week slammed Trump’s plan as it said it wouldn’t alleviate financial burdens of the middle class. “Vague promises can’t conceal the hard facts: if anything resembling President Trump’s current proposal becomes law, the outcome would be a redistribution of wealth to the already wealthy on a scale […]
Dallas Fed: Texas Taxes: Who Bears the Burden?
September 26, 2017
...Overall, the state’s tax system is less equal across income quintiles than the national average. A key reason is the state’s reliance on the sales tax, which as a share of income is 8.6 percent for those in the bottom quintile but only 2.2 percent in the top quintile...
New York Times: Will a Corporate Tax Holiday Give Workers Anything to Cheer?
September 26, 2017
Apple alone is sitting on an overseas stash of almost $260 billion, according to Bloomberg, while Microsoft has more than $120 billion parked abroad. The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer does not regularly disclose how much of its offshore profits are stored in foreign tax havens, but the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that at […]
New York Times: Nothing Is Too Strange for Cities Wooing Amazon to Build There
September 25, 2017
Tax policy experts are more skeptical of Amazon’s bidding process and how much cities stand to benefit. “Why are they doing this whole dog and pony show? Amazon wants something for nothing,” said Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think tank. “They would like a package […]
State Rundown 9/25: No Rest for the Weary as State Tax and Budget Debates Wind Down, Ramp Up
September 25, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Last week, Wisconsin leaders finally came to agreement on a state budget, while their peers in Connecticut appear to be close behind them. Iowa lawmakers avoided a special session with a short-term fix and will have to return to their structural deficit issues next session, as will those in Louisiana who will face a $1 billion shortfall. Meanwhile, District of Columbia leaders have already resumed meeting and discussing tax and budget issues there.
Mother Jones: The 5 Biggest Myths In Republicans’ Quest To Lower Corporate Taxes
September 22, 2017
And then there are the companies that pay far less than the average—or sometimes nothing at all. Earlier this year, the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that eighteen profitable Fortune 500 companies, including General Electric and Priceline, had paid no federal corporate taxes from 2008 to 2015.
Associated Press: Doubts Arise on Whether Corporate Tax Cut Would Boost Growth
September 18, 2017
The AT&T executive added that “anything” would be an improvement on the current corporate tax rate of 35%. But like many corporations, AT&T also benefited substantially from tax breaks between 2008 and 2015, saving as much as than $38 billion, according to an analysis by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The administration […]
Fact Sheet: The Consequences of Adopting a Territorial Tax System
September 18, 2017 • By Steve Wamhoff
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.
The Richmond Register: DACA Recipients in Limbo While Congress Debates
September 16, 2017
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) revealed dreamers pay an effective state and local tax rate of 9.1 percent of their income. That’s higher than the wealthiest 1 percent in Kentucky who pay just six percent. ITEP puts the total amount of taxes undocumented immigrants of all ages contribute to Kentucky in state […]
New Jersey Policy Perspective: Reforming New Jersey’s Income Tax Would Help Build Shared Prosperity
September 15, 2017
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.
The Commonwealth Institute: We Need More than Wishful Thinking: A Closer Look at the Candidates’ Tax Plans
September 15, 2017
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.
Poverty is Down, But State Tax Codes Could Bring It Even Lower
September 15, 2017 • By Misha Hill
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.
State Tax Codes as Poverty Fighting Tools
September 14, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
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.
Census Data Reveal Modest Gains for Working People; GOP Tax Overhaul Could Reverse These Gains
September 14, 2017 • By Jenice Robinson
On the surface, census poverty and income data released Tuesday reveal the nation’s economic conditions are improving for working families. The federal poverty rate declined for the second consecutive year and is now on par with the pre-recession rate. For the first time, median household income surpassed the peak it reached in 1999 and is […]
State Rundown 9/13: The Year of Unprecedented State Budget Impasses Continues
September 13, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week, Pennsylvania lawmakers risk defaulting on payments due to their extremely overdue budget and Illinois legislators will borrow billions to start paying their backlog of unpaid bills. Governing delves into why there were more such budget impasses this year than in any year in recent memory. And Oklahoma got closure from its Supreme Court on whether closing special tax exemptions counts as "raising taxes" (it doesn't).
International Business Times: There Is a Direct Link Between Tax Evasion and Inequality
September 13, 2017
According to Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, the reason the U.S. exhibits such a high level of wealth inequality, even without hidden holdings taken into account, is that “we have a tax system that’s pretty much designed to help individuals accumulate wealth.” […]
Money Morning: Trump’s Tax Plan Gives Perks to the “1%,” Shirks Everyone Else
September 13, 2017
The White House has just 12 days to fix a glaring flaw in President Donald Trump’s tax plan. That’s because just this morning (Sept. 13), his administration promised to provide further specifics on that plan no later than Monday, Sept. 25. So what’s the flaw? The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has found […]
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