ITEP's Research Priorities
Teachers’ Strikes Are Emblematic of Larger Tax Challenges for States
March 30, 2018 • By Meg Wiehe
As other researchers as well as journalists have noted, teachers striking or threatening to strike over low wages and overall lack of investment isn’t simply a narrative about schools and public workers’ pay. It is illustrative of a broader conflict over tax laws and how states and local jurisdictions fund critical public services that range from K-12 education, public safety, roads and bridges, health care, parks, to higher education.
Amazon’s Local, State and Federal Tax Issues Explained
March 30, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
President Trump’s latest Twitter target, the Amazon Corporation, is now under the microscope for its state and local tax avoidance. In a Thursday tweet, the President claimed that “[u]nlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments.” Such a statement is a startling reversal for a president who previously said his own ability to avoid paying income taxes “makes me smart.”
State Rundown 3/30: Several Major Tax Debates Will March on into April
March 30, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
This week, after the recent teacher strike in West Virginia, teacher pay crises brought on by years of irresponsible tax cuts also made headlines in Arizona and Oklahoma. Maine and New York lawmakers continue to hash out how they will respond to the federal tax bill. And their counterparts in Missouri and Nebraska attempt to push forward their tax cutting agendas.
New York Times: Silicon Valley Warms to Trump After a Chilly Start
March 30, 2018
But Silicon Valley’s favorite thing about Mr. Trump is almost certainly his new tax code. Many tech companies lobbied for corporate tax reform for years before Mr. Trump signed the new tax bill. Tech giants immediately reaped the benefits. Under the new rules, Apple saved $43.7 billion in taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation […]
New York Times: The Facts Behind Trump’s Tweet on Amazon, Taxes and the Postal Service
March 30, 2018
Mr. Trump has made similar claims before about Amazon’s tax payments, both as president and a private citizen. After he mentioned it in August 2017, The New York Times reported: If Mr. Trump’s point was that Amazon did not collect sales taxes — which are owed by the purchaser and collected by the retailer — […]
New York Times: Still Angry at The Washington Post’s Coverage, Trump Bashes Jeff Bezos’ Amazon
March 30, 2018
There was also some irony in the criticism coming from Trump, who has boasted about his dexterity in avoiding paying taxes. “This is the guy who said that not paying taxes ‘makes me smart,’” said Matt Gardner, senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research organization. Read more
ABC News: President Trump Attacks Amazon in New Tweet
March 30, 2018
Earlier this week, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan organization, released a report saying that Amazon has an advantage over brick-and-mortar businesses because Amazon does not collect sales tax from seven states. In other states, the retailer does not charge the full amount of the state sales tax. Carl Davis, the research […]
Politifact: The Facts Behind Trump’s Jabs at Amazon on Taxes, USPS and Lost Retail Jobs
March 30, 2018
Amazon paid $957 million in income tax in 2017, according to regulatory filings. Amazon paid nothing in federal taxes this year thanks to tax credits and, in large part, Trump’s new tax law. But the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Amazon is either not collecting local taxes or is charging a lower […]
Gizmodo: Trump’s Claim That Amazon Pays No Taxes Is Utter Nonsense
March 30, 2018
Recent financial reports have highlighted the fact that Amazon, which raked in more than $5.6 billion in profits last year, paid $0 in federal income taxes. It accomplished this, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, by taking advantage of “various tax credits and tax breaks for executive stock options,” including a one-time […]
Newsweek: Trump, Who Just Gave Amazon a Huge Tax Break, Wants the Company Taxed
March 30, 2018
Noticeably absent from Trump’s critique of the company’s tax payments was its treatment under federal tax law. Amazon, which is currently valued at $673 billion, paid zero federal taxes in 2017 despite earning $5.6 billion in U.S. profits, according to an analysis of Amazon’s latest annual report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s […]
Fortune: President Trump Claims Amazon Pays “Little or No Taxes.” Here’s Where He’s Wrong
March 30, 2018
Where Trump is correct: Amazon doesn’t collect taxes on behalf of third-party vendors, and it still may not collect some local taxes, giving it an advantage over some traditional retailers, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a think tank. According to an analysis from the ITEP, the gap between the tax rate […]
The Wrap: Trump Blasts Amazon for Tax Breaks, Using USPS as ‘Delivery Boy’
March 30, 2018
The Seattle-based company avoided paying federal income taxes for 2017, despite posting more than $5.5 billion in income last year, according to a recent analysis from Matthew Gardner of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Amazon paid $412 million in taxes in 2016. And while the president isn’t a fan of the Amazon-USPS relationship, […]
CNN: Trump v. Amazon, Let’s Set the Record Straight
March 30, 2018
The company has not disclosed how much its customers pay in sales taxes, but it is considerable. Its North American sales came to $106 billion last year, suggesting that it collects billions in sales taxes for various states. The president is correct that Amazon does not always collect city and local sales taxes, according to […]
Bloomberg Law: Trump’s Amazon Tweet Comes at Eventful Time for State-Local Taxes
March 30, 2018
Meanwhile, Amazon may not be paying its share of local sales taxes. A report released March 26 by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said Amazon either doesn’t collect and remit local sales tax or is charging a lower sales tax rate than traditional retailers in seven states: Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, […]
Dallas Morning News: Texas Was Tougher Than Other States in Dealing with Amazon on Sales Taxes
March 30, 2018
When a Dallas resident or shopper in College Station or Lubbock makes a purchase from Amazon or any other online retailer with a physical presence in Texas such as Wayfair and RH.com, the state gets its 6.25 percent. The cities get their local sales taxes too. In Dallas, that’s an additional 2 percent for a […]
Hawaii News Now: Nonprofit to State on Tax Savings for Low-Income Families: Check Your Math
March 29, 2018
The state miscalculated the benefits of the federal tax overhaul to low-income families in Hawaii, a new analysis concludes. The source of the confusion: The scope of the tax savings that the child tax credit benefit would offer very low-income families (those earning up to $10,000 a year).
Honolulu Star Advertiser: New Tax Benefits Likely Overstated for Hawaii’s Poorest
March 29, 2018
A nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, has estimated that Hawaii’s richest 1 percent, represented by households earning over $554,230, would save $39,420 on average next year under the new law. The group also figured that Hawaii taxpayers earning less than $26,620 would save $130 on average in taxes.
Colorado Fiscal Institute: Pies & Charts: Mid-Session Briefing
March 29, 2018
Pies and Charts is the annual mid-session briefing hosted by Colorado Fiscal Institute.
Bond Buyer: Why Cities in Some States Aren’t Getting E-Commerce Taxes from Amazon
March 28, 2018
Local governments in seven states are not getting a share of the sales taxes Amazon is collecting for e-commerce transactions because of gaps in state and local laws, according to a report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Amazon began collecting sales tax in all 45 states that have statewide sales taxes as […]
Minnesota Budget Project: Families With Children Could Pay Higher Taxes Under Tax Conformity
March 28, 2018
The complex set of tax changes in the recent federal tax bill creates a set of challenging decisions for states like Minnesota. Because Minnesota’s state income and corporate taxes use federal tax law as their starting points, when federal laws change, Minnesota policymakers need to decide whether to incorporate those changes into our tax system. Read more […]
Hawai’i Budget & Policy Center: Effects of Federal Tax Cuts in Hawai‘i: Correcting the Record
March 28, 2018
Although corporate taxes are not reported on individual income tax forms, corporate tax cuts benefit those who own stocks, and the vast majority are owned by upper-income individuals. For that reason, ITEP included corporate tax breaks in its analysis of the federal tax law.
Pacific Standard: Inside the Tax Law’s $25 Billion Oil Company Bonanza
March 27, 2018
More than 50 percent of the tax bill’s benefits will go to the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, and more than 25 percent to the wealthiest 1 percent, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. As Businessweek put it, “President Donald Trump and Republicans sold their $1.5 trillion tax cut as a boon […]
New York Times: As Amazon Steps Up Tax Collections, Some Cities Are Left Out
March 27, 2018
When Amazon agreed last year to begin collecting sales tax in New Mexico, state officials celebrated what they said could be tens of millions of dollars in annual tax revenue. But they aren’t cheering in Albuquerque City Hall. A year after that announcement, New Mexico’s largest city hasn’t seen a dime from Amazon. That’s because […]
Albuquerque Journal: NM cities miss out on Amazon tax payments
March 27, 2018
New Mexico is one of seven states in which Amazon is not collecting local sales taxes, even though the retail giant agreed last year to pay taxes to the state, according to a report released Monday. That’s because New Mexico has tax laws that prevent local collections, said the report by the Institute on Taxation […]
Seattle Times: As Amazon steps up tax collections, some cities are left out
March 27, 2018
Thanks in part to a series of deals with state governments in recent years, Amazon is collecting sales tax in every state that has one. But those deals do not always extend to taxes assessed by local governments. The company still is not collecting sales taxes in dozens of cities, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cedar […]
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