Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

ITEP's Research Priorities

Economic Policy Institute: Raising Taxes on the Ultrarich

November 17, 2025

The public has supported raising taxes on the ultrarich and corporations for years, but policymakers have not responded. Small increases in taxes on the rich that were instituted during times of Democratic control of Congress and the White House have been consistently swamped by larger tax cuts passed during times of Republican control. Read more.

The Commonwealth Institute: Policy Choices to Protect and Increase Investment in Virginia Communities

November 17, 2025

To make sure every community in Virginia is a good place to live, work, and raise a family, we must invest in quality public education, health care, affordable housing, access to food, and other important services and supports. Read more.

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Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting for a Tariff Dividend from Trump

November 12, 2025 • By Steve Wamhoff

Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting for a Tariff Dividend from Trump

Trump gives a promise, with absolutely no plan, to give $2,000 to every American using tariff revenue.

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Trump Goes Outside the Law to Give Even More Tax Cuts to the Wealthy

November 12, 2025 • By Steve Wamhoff

Trump Goes Outside the Law to Give Even More Tax Cuts to the Wealthy

Trump's Treasury is overstepping far beyond its constitutional role by giving unlegislated tax cuts to the wealthy.

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: State and Federal Tax Cuts of the Last Decade Are Giving an Enormous Windfall to the Wealthiest Kentuckians

November 12, 2025

In 2026, Kentucky’s richest 5% will receive $3.4 billion from tax cuts enacted over the last decade. That’s revenue no longer available to meet people’s needs. Kentucky workers, meanwhile, are facing stagnant and inadequate wages and a growing cost of living crisis that will get worse if state budget cuts are enacted. Read more.

The New Republic: Trump’s Quiet Giveaway to His Big Business Cronies

November 12, 2025

An ITEP study of the 296 most consistently profitable companies in the S&P 500 and Fortune 500 found that between 2013 and 2021 these companies’ profits grew by 44 percent even as their tax bills fell by nearly half. Read more.

The Guardian: How Could Zohran Mamdani Pay for His Bold Agenda for New York? We Broke it Down

November 10, 2025

Mamdani’s ideas are very popular and would solve basic problems. Democrats now hold large majorities in the legislature, and some see economic and political pathways to making the proposals reality. Read more.

Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Tax Cuts are Exposing Companies to Biden’s Tax Hike

November 10, 2025

Large companies are running into a problem as they try to claim some of the tax cuts that the Republican Congress passed this summer: They can’t escape the corporate tax increase that Democrats passed three years ago. Read more.

Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Conforming With Recent Federal Tax Changes Will Result in Over $284.4 Million in Annual Revenue Loss in Idaho

November 10, 2025

To prioritize Idaho businesses and protect revenue for public services, the Center recommends remaining decoupled from (1) bonus depreciation, and decoupling from (2) qualified production property deduction, (3) research and experimentation (R&E) cost recovery, (4) relaxed interest deductibility cap, and (5) deduction of foreign derived intangible income. Read more.

USA Today: Would Mamdani’s ‘Millionaire Tax’ Chase the Rich out of New York City?

November 6, 2025

Higher taxes don’t generally prompt wealthy people to move, said Kamolika Das, local policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy… Read more.

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State and Local Policymakers Can Resist Austerity Even Amid Historic Federal Retreat

November 6, 2025 • By Kamolika Das

State and Local Policymakers Can Resist Austerity Even Amid Historic Federal Retreat

The progressivity of the federal tax code has been waning. State and local policymakers should respond by protecting their revenue bases, promoting equity, and safeguarding vulnerable communities from harmful budget cuts. 

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity: Cities Could Slash Child Poverty With Tax Credits, Analysis Finds

November 6, 2025

A new report by the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) uses data from 14 cities to show how local Child Tax Credits could augment federal and state efforts to reduce child poverty by as much as 50 percent. Read more.

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In 2025, Voters Said Yes to Public Resources and Community Investments

November 6, 2025 • By Rita Jefferson

In 2025, Voters Said Yes to Public Resources and Community Investments

Important tax measures were on the ballot this week, and the outcomes are clear: many voters support new state and local spending to support critical services in their communities.

Wall Street Journal: The Economics Behind Zohran Mamdani’s Biggest Plans

November 5, 2025

Zohran Mamdani coasted to victory in the New York City mayoral race with a platform focused on making the city more affordable. He has promised ambitious social programs like universal child care and more affordable housing, with plans to fund his agenda primarily through higher taxes on businesses and on New York City’s highest earners. Read […]

Oxfam: UNEQUAL: The Rise of a New American Oligarchy and the Agenda We Need

November 4, 2025

This past year has been indelibly shaped by concentrated wealth and power. The 10 richest U.S. billionaires got $698 billion wealthier, and the arrival of the world’s first trillionaire grew more imminent. The Trump administration—largely with the support of the Republican-controlled Congress—has moved with staggering speed and scale to carry out a relentless attack on […]

Virginia Public Radio: What a “Wealth Proceeds Tax” Could Look Like in Virginia

November 3, 2025

Tax the rich. That’s the idea behind the wealth proceeds tax, which would hit things like dividends, interest and capital gains. A new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says a three percent wealth proceeds tax in Virginia would generate about a billion dollars of new revenue. Read more.

Business Insider: Baby Boomers’ Property Tax Revolt

October 30, 2025

“We really do have to deal with the affordability problem of housing in this country at a very basic level in order to get a handle on property taxes. But the way to do that is not to cut property taxes,” [Rita] Jefferson says. Read more.

Americans for Tax Fairness: For Many Families, Trump-GOP Healthcare Premium Hikes Wipe Out Potential Tax Cuts

October 30, 2025

An analysis conducted by Americans of Tax Fairness, based on data from the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy and Center on Budget Policy Priorities, finds that for the tens of millions of families the small benefit of the Trump tax cut would be stolen away through increased health insurance costs. Read more.

The Beacon: Missouri Gives ‘One of the Biggest Millionaire Tax Cuts’ This Year, Report Says

October 28, 2025

This year, Missouri became the first state in the country to tax income but not capital gains. That could present a challenge as the state prepares to face a budget shortfall. Read more.

FACT Coalition: New Report Reveals U.S. Oil and Gas Companies Pay More Tax to Petrostates Than to the U.S. Government

October 27, 2025

Analyzing disclosures from 11 publicly traded U.S. oil and gas companies between 2018 and 2024, the report shows that, despite collectively producing more oil and gas domestically than in all other countries combined, American multinational oil and gas companies only reported owing less than a fifth of their overall taxes in the U.S. Read more.

Bloomberg: Private Jets and Car Washes are the Latest Tax Shields for the Ultrarich

October 27, 2025

President Donald Trump’s signature legislation permanently expands a perk, called bonus depreciation, to 100%, meaning taxpayers can take losses to write off as much as the entire value of qualifying assets from their income… in the hands of tax specialists, the benefit also is a way to scale back what their ultrawealthy clients owe to […]

Stateline: Cities Could Dramatically Cut Childhood Poverty with New Tax Credits, Research Finds

October 27, 2025

Child tax credits are becoming more popular across the country, with more than a dozen states offering them as financial relief toward the cost of raising kids. But new research suggests cities could significantly reduce child poverty by offering child tax credit programs of their own. Read more.

Maine Center for Economic Policy: Missed Opportunities to Advance Tax Fairness and Create a Better State

October 20, 2025

The State doesn’t have adequate funding for health care, housing, and many other pressing needs. The fairest way to fix this is by asking the wealthiest people and big businesses to pay more in income taxes. Read more.

America’s Voice: Just Listen To The Experts: You Can’t Have Economic Growth Without Immigrants

October 20, 2025

Ignore the ugly rhetoric and just look at the facts: immigration is not only good for our country, it’s necessary to our economic growth and vital to essential industries. Part of that reason is because as U.S.-born workers get older and retire, making immigrant workers even more critical in helping maintain a strong labor force […]

Dogwood: Virginia Republican to Get Big Tax Cut from Bill He Helped Pass

October 16, 2025

Republican US Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia’s 1st congressional district could save between $19,900 and $59,300 in tax breaks because of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” according to an analysis by the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) done for Accountable.US. Read more.