698 posts
A Growing Number of States Are Taxing the Sale of Advertising
• By Nick Johnson
ITEP’s report on taxing advertising identifies some reasons why states are curtailing longstanding sales tax exemptions for the ad sector.
Video: Taxes on second luxury homes makes sense.
• By Marcus Rojas
A tax on luxury second homes raises significantly more money to help communities thrive in the long term.
States Are Standing Up to the Monster Known as QSBS
• By Nick Johnson
We estimate that by 2032, QSBS will be costing states $1.1 billion a year, and since states must balance their budgets, that’s money they can’t use for public services.
States Can Raise Billions by Ending a Tax Giveaway to Big Tech
• By Nick Johnson
An advertising tax offers a way to raise significant money from a sector of the economy that has been getting a free ride for decades.
Video: Jeff Bezos is wrong about taxes.
• By Marcus Rojas
The majority of Americans support taxing the rich, and it's no surprise that some of the ultra-wealthy are trying to misinform that conversation.
State Rundown 6/4: Fiscal Flowers and Weeds Bloom in June
• By ITEP Staff
A veritable superbloom of tax and budget policies occurred over these last few weeks, including both flowers worth admiring and weeds worth fighting back.
Repealing North Carolina’s Corporate Tax is an Even Worse Idea Than You Think
• By Carl Davis
North Carolina’s corporate tax cuts aren’t an incentive for economic growth. They’re a windfall for multinational companies that happen to sell into our state, regardless of whether they’ve made any meaningful investments here or not.
NYC and Montana Lead the Way on Second-Home Taxes
• By Rita Jefferson
Second home taxes make a lot of sense for communities struggling with housing costs for full-time residents. They can raise real revenues too, which can be used to support further affordable housing development.
Major Oil and Gas Corporations Pay Little in U.S. Tax
• By Claire Lynch
The oil and gas industry has long been known for widespread tax avoidance. Now, thanks to new disclosure rules, we have a better picture of how this occurs.
NPR: Trump Wants a Gas Tax Holiday. There’s a Much Bigger Problem Looming.
May 29, 2026
President Trump has called for a temporary waiver of the federal gas tax, which costs drivers 18.4 cents per gallon.
As Inequality Grows, More States Look to Tax the Rich
• By Alex Welch
From surcharges on the income of high-earners to higher taxes on second homes, here are recent steps states have taken to tax the rich.
Video: ITEP’s Amy Hanauer Discusses Inequality in the Tax Code with the Center for Economic and Policy Research
• By Amy Hanauer
Dean Baker sits down with Amy Hanauer, Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, to expose how loopholes like carried interest were deliberately built to protect fortunes and make working people foot the bill. The result is a rigged system that keeps rewarding wealth and punishing work.
Associated Press: Memorial Day: Higher Fuel Prices Have Some Americans Scaling Back Their Travel Plans
May 22, 2026
That kind of calibration is shaping the summer travel season, which gets its traditional start in the U.S. with the long Memorial Day holiday weekend. Higher fuel prices resulting from the Iran war and other inflationary pressures are making most forms of travel costlier as people in many parts of the world form their plans.
Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Received Almost 10 Percent of Corporate Tax Subsidies Last Year
• By Matthew Gardner, Steve Wamhoff
Amazon received $17.5 billion in tax subsidies in 2025. That’s about 10% of all federal income tax subsidies for publicly traded corporations in 2025.
USA Today: Jeff Bezos says these Americans should pay ‘zero’ federal taxes
May 21, 2026
His comments come at a moment when some cities and states are proposing higher taxes on the rich.
Video: The growing cost of higher gas prices.
• By Marcus Rojas
The Iran War has significantly raised energy prices. See our tracker here.
CNBC: Jeff Bezos Says Bottom Half of Earners Should Pay Zero in Income Taxes
May 21, 2026
Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos on Wednesday called for zero federal income taxes on the bottom half of earners.
The Independent: ‘Dirty Deal’: Trump Bailed Himself Out of IRS Trouble and Got a $1.8B ‘Slush Fund’ for Allies. Legal Experts Sound the Alarm
May 21, 2026
After Donald Trump sued his own administration for $10 billion, pitting his personal lawyers against the Department of Justice, the president was gifted a broad, single-page document that gives him sweeping immunity from tax crimes.
State Rundown 5/21: A Flurry of Tax Decisions as Legislatures Wrap
• By ITEP Staff
As more legislative sessions come to an end, states are making final decisions on tax and budget policies.
The ‘Black Women Best’ Framework: An Innovative Method for Showing How Inheritance Taxes Affect the Racial Wealth Gap
• By Brakeyshia Samms, Francine Lipman
The approach posits that if policies improve the economic wellbeing of Black women, they will benefit the broader economic health of the rest of the population.
High Gas Prices Weigh on Americans as Summer Travel Season Begins
• By Carl Davis
As of May 19, Americans have already spent $39 billion more for motor fuel (both gasoline and diesel) because of the Iran War. This number is growing by the day.
Video: Any plans to tax the ultra-rich should include this.
• By Marcus Rojas
If we want to get serious about taxing the ultra-rich, focus on corporate tax reforms that are hard to undermine.
State Rundown 5/14: Fund Priorities or Increase Shortfalls?
• By ITEP Staff
As many legislative sessions end, lawmakers are revealing their priorities.
Video: Building a Resilient and Progressive Corporate Tax
• By ITEP Staff
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) hosted a press briefing to discuss how federal lawmakers can build a resilient and progressive corporate income tax system. The briefing is tied to the release of ITEP’s new report, A Resilient Framework for Corporate Tax Reform.
The Bears Bill Is Bad by Design. Here’s How.
• By Rita Jefferson, Amanda Kass, Kristan Wong Karinen
State lawmakers are debating whether to subsidize a new Chicago Bears stadium in Arlington Heights, but this bill creates a new statewide property tax cut program for large development projects.
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