Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
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How to Think About the 70% Top Tax Rate Proposed by Ocasio-Cortez (and Multiple Scholars)

January 8, 2019 • By Steve Wamhoff

The uproar deliberately steers clear of any real policy discussion about what a significantly higher marginal tax rate would mean. Her critics are mostly the same lawmakers who enacted a massive tax cut for the rich last year that was not debated seriously or supported by serious research. Meanwhile, multiple scholarly studies conclude a 70 percent top tax rate would be an optimal way to tax the very rich. Ocasio-Cortez has brought more attention to the very real need to raise revenue and do it in a progressive way.

Alternet: It’s Not About National Security…the Insidious Truth Behind Trump’s Wall

January 6, 2019

Whether legal or illegal, all immigrants pay sales taxes and property taxes (the latter are factored into the cost of rental units for people who don’t own homes). And all legal immigrants pay all the payroll and income taxes that native-born Americans do. Amazingly, most illegals also cough up income and payroll taxes too. That’s […]

The Progressive: States and Localities Move to Reverse Racist and Regressive Tax Policies

January 3, 2019

And a recent analysis of state and local tax systems by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that, as a whole, state and local governments tax the poor at higher rates than they do the rich. Why is state and local taxation so backwards in the United States? Some state constitutions prohibit progressive […]

Record Eagle (Mich.): Help Michigan’s Poor by Scrapping Gas Tax

January 3, 2019

ndeed, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy finds the Michigan tax code to be a matter of “soak the poor and middle class, spare the wealthy.” According to ITEP, the total Michigan tax rate on the top 1 percent, with average income of $1,164,700, is 5.1 percent. This includes all Michigan taxes. The lowest […]

Politics USA: Sen. Kamala Harris Immediately Introduces Middle Class Tax Cut Bill

January 3, 2019

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates the LIFT Act would impact one in every two workers and two out of every three children in America. In addition, ITEP estimates approximately 1 million Pell Grant eligible students would qualify for the credit of up to $3,000. Read more

Arizona Center for Economic Progress: Wrong Priorities: It Doesn’t Make Sense to Give a Tax Cut to the Rich While Arizona Asks Children in Public Schools to Wait

January 2, 2019

Arizona stands to gain $130 million to $230 million in General Fund revenues if it conforms the Arizona tax code to the federal tax changes enacted in 2017. Rather than directing those additional revenues to better prepare for the next economic downturn or toward increased investments in our public schools, SB1143 and HB2522 will direct […]