Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

Fiscal Policy Center: Corning and MasterCard Paid .6% in State Taxes

April 15, 2014

As New York struggles with tough budget decisions about essential public services, profitable Fortunate 500 companies like Corning, MasterCard, Lowes and Consolidated Edison are paying 2% or less in state income taxes for 2012 thanks to copious loopholes, lavish giveaways and crafty accounting. The recently passed state budget did nothing to close these loopholes and […]

Voice for Illinois for Children: Improving Tax Fairness Through Income Tax Reform

April 15, 2014

When adding up the effect of all state and local taxes, Illinois asks middle- and low-income households to pay a percentage of their income that is two to three times higher than the highest-income households pay. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can all pay our fair share to make sure Illinois has […]

Economic Progress Institute: Improve Rhode Island’s Earned Income Tax Credit to Help Hard-working Rhode Islanders

April 14, 2014

Rhode Island is among 25 states and the District of Columbia that offer a state EITC, but unlike most states, the credit is only partially refundable. Just over 83,000 Rhode Island taxpayers claimed the state’s EITC in Tax Year 2012 . The average credit was $119. Of those taxpayers receiving a credit, 73,119 received a […]

Oregon Center for Public Policy: Tax Facts That Matter

April 14, 2014

Tax Facts That Matter: 2014 Edition Full Report

North Carolina Justice Center: Who Pays in 2014 – Tax Plan Creates Winners and Losers in North Carolina

April 14, 2014

Changes are coming to who pays taxes in North Carolina, and the news is not good for middle- and low-income taxpayers. This tax season marks the final year taxpayers will file their income taxes under the state’s old tax code and by next year it will be apparent to many taxpayers that the tax plan […]

California Budget Project: Who Pays Taxes in California?

April 10, 2014

A new CBP report — released in advance of Tax Day — examines state and local taxes in California and shows that low-income households are currently contributing a disproportionate share of their incomes. Read the Full Report

Center for American Progress: How the Ryan Budget Fails Our Economy by Failing Economics

April 9, 2014

When House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) introduced his latest budget resolution, it predictably included harsh cuts to the vital programs for poor and middle-class Americans that are at the core of the progressive agenda. But the House Republican budget is not just contrary to progressive values; it is also the wrong approach for […]

The Camp Tax Plan Is a Regressive $1.7 Trillion Tax Cut

April 7, 2014 • By ITEP Staff

The Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Dave Camp (R-Mich.), has a tax overhaul plan that would cut the top personal income tax rate down from about 40 percent to 35 percent and slash the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Camp claims his plan would still break even revenue-wise […]

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Most Americans Live in States with Variable-Rate Gas Taxes

April 1, 2014 • By Carl Davis

The federal government and many states are seeing shortfalls in their transportation budgets in part because the gasoline taxes they use to generate those funds are poorly designed. Thirty-two states and the federal government levy "fixed-rate" gas taxes where the tax rate does not change even as the cost of infrastructure materials inevitably increases over time. The federal government's 18.4 cent gas tax, for example, has not increased in over twenty years. And almost half the states (24) have gone a decade or more without a gas tax increase.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Lessons for Other States from Kansas’ Massive Tax Cuts

March 27, 2014

Tax cuts enacted in Kansas in 2012 were among the largest ever enacted by any state, and have since been held up by tax-cut proponents in other states as a model worth replicating.  In truth, Kansas is a cautionary tale, not a model.  As other states recover from the recent recession and turn toward the […]

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Tennessee Hall Tax Repeal Would Overwhelmingly Benefit the Wealthy, Raise Tennesseans’ Federal Tax Bills by $60 Million

March 24, 2014 • By Carl Davis

A new analysis performed using the ITEP Microsimulation Tax Model shows that the vast majority of Tennesseans would see very little benefit from Hall Tax repeal. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of the tax cuts would flow to the wealthiest 5 percent of Tennessee taxpayers, while another quarter (23 percent) would actually end up in the federal government's coffers. Moreover, if localities respond to Hall Tax repeal by raising property taxes, some Tennesseans could actually face higher tax bills under this proposal.

Maryland Center on Economic Policy: Study Finds Many Large Corporation are Not Paying their Fair Share; Proposed Legislation Would Help

March 21, 2014

While state lawmakers in Annapolis discuss cutting important services and investments in an effort to balance Maryland’s state budget, we got further evidence today that large, profitable corporations are able to avoid paying their fair share of state taxes that support those services and investments. According to a new report, the 269 Fortune 500 companies […]

NC Policy Watch: Profitable corporations avoid paying fair share of taxes

March 21, 2014

As our state leaders continue to look for ways to give more and more tax cuts to profitable corporations, these corporations continue to find ways to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. It is a win-win proposition: Heads they win; Tails they still win! Read the Full Report

Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Pa. Companies Like PPL, Heinz Paid Little or Nothing in State Income Taxes

March 20, 2014

Many profitable Fortune 500 companies including Pennsylvania-based PPL, H.J. Heinz, Airgas, Allegheny Technologies, Hershey, and Comcast are paying little or nothing in state income taxes thanks to loopholes, tax breaks, and crafty accounting, according to a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ). Read the […]

Oregon Center for Public Policy: Profitable Corporations Pay No Oregon Income Taxes

March 20, 2014

Some highly profitable corporations are finding ways to avoid paying any state income taxes, Oregon and national data show. At least 24 corporations that made a profit in Oregon in 2011, including eight with profits of over $5 million, paid no Oregon income taxes for that year, according to the Oregon Center for Public Policy’s […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: While Kentucky’s Budget Faces More Cuts, Profitable Fortune 500 Companies Avoid Paying State Corporate Income Taxes

March 20, 2014

As Kentucky and other states struggle with tough budget decisions about essential public services, profitable Fortune 500 companies including Kentucky-based Yum Brands and Humana pay little to nothing in state corporate income taxes around the country, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Citizens for Tax Justice. Read […]

Voices for Illinois Children: Profitable Companies in Illinois Not Paying Their Fair Share of State Income Taxes

March 20, 2014

Over the past five years, many profitable Fortune 500 corporations, including several based in Illinois, paid little or no state income taxes to any of the states in which they do business thanks to copious loopholes, lavish giveaways, and crafty accounting. That’s the conclusion of a new report, released by Citizens for Tax Justice and […]

Wisconsin Budget Project: New Report Shows Major Corporations Based in Wisconsin Pay Little in State Income Tax

March 20, 2014

  A number of large, profitable corporations in Wisconsin pay little or nothing in state corporate income tax, according to a new report. Loopholes, tax credits, and creating accounting keep the amount these corporations pay in income tax to a minimum. A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Citizens for Tax […]

North Carolina Justice Center: Tax change for multistate corporations would harm state investments

March 20, 2014

State lawmakers are considering a change that would provide a tax cut to a handful of corporations and no guarantee of job creation, says a report released this morning by the Budget & Tax Center, a project of the NC Justice Center. It would also reduce available revenue for public investments by $90 million over […]

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90 Reasons We Need State Corporate Tax Reform

March 19, 2014 • By Matthew Gardner, Richard Phillips

As states struggle with tough budget decisions about funding essential public services, profitable Fortunate 500 companies are paying little or nothing in state income taxes thanks to copious loopholes, lavish giveaways and crafty accounting, a new study by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy reveals.

Indiana Institute for Working Families: What Corporate Tax Burden

March 18, 2014

On the immediate heels of significantly cutting taxes for corporations and high income individuals, lawmakers are close to making a deal to deliver additional tax breaks to some businesses including very profitable multi-national corporations. Read the Full Report

Policy Matters Ohio: Kasich Tax Plan- Advantage, Top 1 Percent

March 18, 2014

Gov. John Kasich’s new tax proposal would deliver annual tax cuts averaging more than $2,800 to the top 1 percent of Ohio taxpayers while those in the bottom two-fifths would pay more on average than they do now. Read the Full Report

Economic Policy Institute: The ‘Better Off Budget’

March 18, 2014

The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has unveiled its fiscal year 2015 (FY2015) budget, titled the “Better Off Budget.” It builds on recent CPC budget alternatives in prioritizing near-term job creation, financing public investments, strengthening the middle and working classes, raising adequate revenue to meet budgetary needs while restoring fairness to the tax code, protecting social […]

Voices for Illinois Children: New FPC report — tax cuts won’t improve the economy or create jobs

March 12, 2014

Allowing current state income tax rates to expire will cause a revenue collapse that would threaten Illinois’ economic recovery, curtail the ability to support vital investments, and create more uncertainty over how the state will meet its many obligations, a new FPC report released today finds. Read the Full Report

Massachusetts Tax Fairness Commission: Report

March 7, 2014

The Tax Fairness Commission was established by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2013 as part of the Act Relative to Transportation Finance. The Commission was charged with analyzing a broad array of the Commonwealth’s tax laws and focused on the equity of current tax policies. The fifteen member bipartisan Commission met publicly eight times from September […]