1,134 posts
The 35 Percent Corporate Tax Myth
• By Matthew Gardner, Richard Phillips
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. This report documents just how successful many Fortune 500 corporations have been at using loopholes and special breaks over the past eight years. As lawmakers look to reform the corporate tax code, this report shows that the focus…
GOP Obamacare Repeal Would Slash Taxes on the Wealthy At the Expense of Middle- and Low-Income Families
• By Richard Phillips
On Monday, House Republicans released legislation that would repeal or modify many of the most significant portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A central theme of the GOP plan is that it would significantly cut funding for low- and middle-income families’ health care, while eliminating the ACA’s expansion of Medicare taxes on the wealthiest […]
ITEP and CTJ Boards Announce Alan Essig as New Executive Director
• By ITEP Staff
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Board of Directors and the Citizens for Tax Justice Board of Directors are pleased to announce that Alan Essig has been named the next executive director of both organizations. Robert McIntyre, director of CTJ, will retire effective March 31, and Matthew Gardner, former executive director of ITEP, has assumed the position of senior fellow. Mr. Essig will begin his new role on April 3, 2017.
Invest in Louisiana: Moving from Budget Cuts to State Investment
• By ITEP Staff
Louisiana’s tax system is broken. It doesn’t bring in enough revenue to pay for the things that allow communities to thrive- strong schools, good hospitals and public safety. It taxes people with low incomes at higher levels than the rich. It doesn’t keep up with economic growth. And it’s riddled with special-interest exemptions and tax […]
Undocumented Immigrants Pay Taxes
• By Misha Hill
A newly updated ITEP report released today provides data that helps dispute the erroneous idea espoused during President Trump’s address to Congress that undocumented immigrants aren’t paying their fair share. In fact, like all others living and working in the United States, undocumented immigrants are taxpayers. They collectively contribute an estimated $11.74 billion to state […]
Tax Justice Digest: Undocumented Immigrants Pay Taxes and Fact-Checking President Trump
• By ITEP Staff
In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately. Undocumented Immigrants’ Tax Contributions ITEP today released updated numbers on undocumented immigrants’ tax contributions. Collectively, they contribute $11.74 […]
Fact-Checking Tax Policy Points in President Trump’s Address to Congress
• By Richard Phillips
Despite some expectations that President Donald Trump would use his address to a joint session of Congress to lay out more details of his plan for tax legislation, the speech was extremely light on details. The few details mentioned were largely misleading or outright erroneous. Below we break down four tax-related statements from President Trump’s […]
Undocumented Immigrants’ State & Local Tax Contributions
• By Lisa Christensen Gee, Meg Wiehe, Misha Hill
Public debates over federal immigration reform, specifically around undocumented immigrants, often suffer from insufficient and inaccurate information about the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants, particularly at the state level. The truth is that undocumented immigrants living in the United States paybillions of dollars each year in state and local taxes. Further, these tax contributions would increase significantly if all undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States were granted a pathway to citizenship as part…
Contrary to Rhetoric, President’s Tax Plan Will Disproportionately Benefit Wealthy Taxpayers and Corporations
• By ITEP Staff
Following is a statement by Matthew Gardner, senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding President Donald Trump's address to Congress. During the speech, Trump said he will reduce the corporate tax rate and provide "massive" tax relief for the middle class.
Tax Justice Digest: The Problems with a Border Adjustment Tax
• By ITEP Staff
In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately. Regressive and Loophole-Ridden: Issues with the House GOP Border Adjustment Tax Proposal In recent weeks, the Republican congressional […]
Combined Reporting of State Corporate Income Taxes: A Primer
• By Dylan Grundman O'Neill, Meg Wiehe
Over the past several decades, state corporate income taxes have declined markedly. One of the factors contributing to this decline has been aggressive tax avoidance on the part of large, multi-state corporations, costing states billions of dollars. The most effective approach to combating corporate tax avoidance is combined reporting, a method of taxation currently employed in more than half of the states that tax corporate income. The two most recent states to enact combined reporting…
The Border Adjustment Tax Creates More Problems Than It Solves
• By Richard Phillips
In recent weeks, the Republican congressional leadership’s effort to introduce a comprehensive tax reform bill has increasingly faced opposition from major business groups and skeptical lawmakers from across the aisle. The primary source of dissent thus far is that the most prominent tax framework, the House GOP’s “Better Way” tax blueprint, contains a radical provision […]
Regressive and Loophole-Ridden: Issues with the House GOP Border Adjustment Tax Proposal
• By Matthew Gardner, Richard Phillips
In the summer of 2016, House Republicans released a blueprint for tax reform that is likely to be used as the starting point for major tax legislation in 2017.[1] One of the most radical provisions is a proposal to shift the corporate tax code from a residence-based to a destination-based system through applying a border adjustment on exports and imports. This proposal has major flaws that would make it a challenge to implement. Further, it…
North Carolina Budget and Tax Center: The Road to Nowhere Good for North Carolina
• By ITEP Staff
Tax changes passed in the 2016 legislative session reduced the income tax rate and increased reliance on the sales tax. This continued flawed approach to taxation that policymakers have followed since 2013 has proven disastrous to other states’ fiscal and economic outlook. Such an approach delivers the greatest reduction in the tax load to the […]
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Income Tax Bill Offers Earned Income Tax Credit Upside, Flat Tax Downside
• By ITEP Staff
Members of the Georgia House are set to consider a large income tax proposal that contains a mix of positive reforms and measures that raise significant concerns. Some aspects of the bill offer benefits to working class Georgia families, while others could harm similar taxpayers or unduly jeopardize state revenues. While the bill provides a […]
West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy: Income Tax Elimination is a Poor Growth Strategy
• By ITEP Staff
Unfazed by a $600 million looming budget deficit, plans by some lawmakers to reduce or eliminate West Virginia’s state income tax — which would mostly benefit the wealthiest residents — and replace it with a sales tax hike are unlikely to produce the economic growth supporter’s claim. Instead it would dramatically shift tax responsibilities from […]
Maine Center for Economic Policy: Testimony in Opposition to Governor’s Proposed Budget, Parts D, E, and F
• By ITEP Staff
These proposed tax changes would stand in the way of building thriving communities and a strong Maine economy. There is a direct correlation between state resources and the ability to be proactive in making the kind of investments that lay the foundations for a strong economy. Cutting taxes for the rich at the expense of everyone […]
Open Sky Policy Institute: Income tax bills good for wealthy and non-residents
• By ITEP Staff
Forty percent of Nebraskans would see tax increases under LB 452 Low- and middle-income earners pay more of their incomes in sales taxes than income taxes. This is reflected in Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) data that show LB 452 – which includes a sales tax expansion — would raise taxes on average […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Kasich plan continues tax shift
• By ITEP Staff
Governor John Kasich’s new tax proposal would further reinforce the shift in Ohio’s state and local tax system in favor of affluent residents and against those with lower or middle incomes. Under the plan, Ohioans who made under $56,000 last year – those in the bottom three-fifths of the income spectrum – on average would […]
Tax Justice Digest: What to watch in the states, debunking the supply-side myth
• By ITEP Staff
In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately. What to Watch in the States in 2017 State and federal gas taxes are the cornerstone of our […]
State Gasoline Taxes: Built to Fail, But Fixable
• By Carl Davis
Every state levies taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, usually just called "gas taxes." These taxes are an important source of state revenue--particularly for transportation--but their poor design has resulted in sluggish revenue growth that fails to keep pace with state infrastructure needs. This ITEP Policy Brief explains how state gas taxes work, their importance as a transportation revenue source, the problems confronting gas taxes, and the types of gas tax reforms that are needed…
Maine Center for Economic Policy: Upside-down tax plan, missed opportunity, and unnecessary and harmful cuts in the governor’s budget proposal
• By ITEP Staff
At a time when Maine families are falling out of the middle-class, when experienced workers need new skills to secure good paying jobs in a modern economy, and when state infrastructure is in need of improvement and expansion, the state budget presents an opportunity to solve shared problems and return our quality of life to […]
The Sycamore Institute: Tennessee State Budget Primer
• By ITEP Staff
It is our pleasure to present to you the Sycamore Institute’s first Tennessee State Budget Primer. We hope this report – the information, the graphics, and the discussion – will demonstrate our commitment to putting reliable data and research in the hands of our state leaders, policymakers, and the general public. Below you will find […]
South Dakota Budget and Policy Institute: HB 1182 Raising teacher salaries – how much would taxes change for your household?
• By ITEP Staff
The combination of property tax savings and sales tax increases will affect each household differently. Raising sales tax by 1/2 cent will raise about $107 million dollars. And decreasing property tax will cost about $40 million dollars. But how much will your household pay to support the change? You can figure that out by answering two questions.
Florida Policy Institute: Florida’s Shadow Budget Needs Greater Scrutiny
• By ITEP Staff
Silent spending, in the form of numerous kinds of tax breaks, costs Florida billions of dollars in lost revenue a year. Unlike money spent through the state budget process, this “shadow budget” is not routinely examined to see if it is meeting worthwhile goals or promoting a stronger economy. This is money that is spent […]
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