Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

ITEP's Research Priorities

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America Has Left the Building: U.S. Loses from Our Global Tax Policy Choices, Others Could Gain

May 5, 2025 • By Amy Hanauer

America Has Left the Building: U.S. Loses from Our Global Tax Policy Choices, Others Could Gain

Countries that once looked to the U.S. for direction on tax policy have concluded they need to form alliances without us. If so, it will often be to the benefit of other people around the globe and to the deficit of U.S. communities.

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State Rundown 5/1: State Tax Debates Wrapping Up, and Just Beginning

May 1, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 5/1: State Tax Debates Wrapping Up, and Just Beginning

The rampant uncertainty this year extends far beyond the national economy and federal policy, as many state legislatures are declaring their tax and budget debates finished, and just getting started, sometimes in the same breath.

CNN: Undocumented Immigrations Contribute More to Social Security than They Receive in Benefits

May 1, 2025

President Donald Trump’s drive to deport immigrants and block new arrivals could chip away at Social Security’s finances at a time when the program is already on shaky financial footing, experts say.

Media Matters for America: Fox News’ Many Justifications for Extending Trump’s Tax Cut for the Wealthy

April 30, 2025

Fox News personalities have gone all in supporting President Donald Trump’s plan to extend his unpopular 2017 tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, offering a hodgepodge of justifications for why it’s necessary to keep taxes low for rich people and businesses as Congress moves to slash billions in social safety net programs.

Stateline: New Tax Cuts Mostly Favor the Rich Across States this Year

April 29, 2025

Missouri Republicans may take their tax-cutting efforts to new heights this year as lawmakers consider exempting profits from the sale of stocks, bonds and real estate from state income taxes.

CNBC: Trump Tariffs Will Hurt Lower Income Americans More than the Rich, Study Says

April 25, 2025

Tariffs levied by President Donald Trump during his second term would hurt the poorest U.S. households more than the richest over the short term, according to a new analysis.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Immigrants Contribute Greatly to the Social Security Trust Fund’s Solvency

April 25, 2025

Immigrants are a critical part of the U.S. workforce and play a key role in strengthening Social Security’s finances. Like all other workers, immigrants contribute to the trust fund through payroll taxes. Even if they themselves will not become eligible to receive benefits in their lifetimes, immigrants improve the solvency of a program that provides almost all workers with a foundation of income for their retirement.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Mississippi Moves to Eliminate Income Tax, Deepening Inequality and Threatening Public Services

April 25, 2025

Mississippi policymakers have taken one of the most extreme steps in state tax policy in recent years: enacting a law that will gradually phase out the state’s personal income tax. Signed by Gov. Tate Reeves in March, the move begins the final stage of a years-long push to dismantle a key pillar of the state’s tax system, which has long helped fund education, health care, infrastructure, and other core services.

George W. Bush Presidential Center: The Policy Implications of the IRS-ICE Data Sharing Agreement

April 23, 2025

There may be substantial policy implications, too. While ICE maintains that it will only be used in narrow circumstances to aid criminal investigations, a policy like this could still discourage people with an ITIN from filing their taxes out of fear that a tax return might make them a target for deportation.  

WUSF: Lawmakers Want a Nationwide Private School Voucher Program like Florida’s

April 23, 2025

Lawmakers and school choice advocates gathered in Tampa on Tuesday to promote a federal bill that would create the first nationwide school voucher program.

North Carolina Budget & Tax Center: Faced with pausing tax cuts for the rich or lowering state spending, NC Senate budget sides with the wealthy few

April 23, 2025

They will risk recurring budget deficits. They will risk an inability to protect North Carolinians from federal Medicaid and food assistance cuts. To deliver these tax cuts, they will cut funding for the state’s public K-12 students and community college students.

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Missouri is Sleepwalking into a Half-Billion Dollar Tax Cut for the Rich

April 22, 2025 • By Carl Davis

Missouri is Sleepwalking into a Half-Billion Dollar Tax Cut for the Rich

Missouri lawmakers are debating a tax cut that will mostly benefit the wealthiest in the state, while relying on an unrealistic estimate of what it will cost.

Vox: There’s No “Right Way” to Immigrate Anymore

April 18, 2025

The federal government’s assault on immigrants is pushing them to live in the shadows.

The Atlantic: We’re About to Find Out What Mass Deportation Really Looks Like

April 18, 2025

The Trump administration’s campaign to remove millions of people from the United States could soon be supercharged by Congress.

MSNBC: Trump is Using His Election Denial Playbook on Social Security

April 18, 2025

Donald Trump's administration has taken a sledgehammer to the Social Security system, and it's using the president's election denial playbook to do so along the way.

KJZZ Phoenix: As Tax Day Comes and Goes, Advocates Look at Impacts of IRS-DHS Data Share Agreement

April 18, 2025

This year’s Tax Day came just after the Trump administration finalized a deal with the IRS to hand over data about undocumented immigrant taxpayers.

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State Rundown 4/16: No Vacation from Spring Tax Breaks as Bills Advance

April 16, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 4/16: No Vacation from Spring Tax Breaks as Bills Advance

While students and families are enjoying spring break vacations, legislative sessions are still in full swing. And some are poised for a spring tax break season as proposals advance with major implications for the sustainability of state budgets.  

NBC News: IRS Agreement with ICE to Share Immigrants’ Info Could Lead to Billions Less in Tax Revenue

April 15, 2025

Like millions of American citizens and immigrants, Ivan filed his taxes last year. But Ivan, 54, a Massachusetts resident who hails from Colombia, is worried a recent agreement between the IRS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement means he is in danger of being deported for doing what he believed was the right thing.

CNN: “People Are Feeling Betrayed”: They Paid Taxes in Good Faith and Now Fear It Could Lead to Their Deportation

April 15, 2025

A recent data-sharing deal between the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Homeland Security is sparking widespread concern in immigrant communities – though some details about how the deal could work haven’t been disclosed.

America’s Voice: On Tax Day, A Reminder That Immigration is Good for America

April 15, 2025

Tax Day 2025 is almost here, meaning millions of workers across the country have either already filed their state and federal returns or are sitting down to finish them up. This includes millions of immigrants, whose immense annual contributions help sustain vital federal programs like Medicare and Social Security, fund our public schools, libraries, and fire departments, and boost our overall economy.

Marketplace: IRS’ Direct File is Free for Millions of Taxpayers, but Not Everyone Wants to Keep It Around.

April 15, 2025

April 15 is Tax Day. If you haven’t filed yet, one option could be the IRS’ Direct File program, which lets some taxpayers electronically file their returns directly with the agency for free, as opposed to through third-party providers.

Los Angeles Times: IRS Plan to Give Data to ICE Could Wallop California, Where Many Immigrants Pay Taxes

April 14, 2025

Also like many of her clients, she has routinely paid U.S. taxes in the past using what’s known as an individual taxpayer identification number, or ITIN, in lieu of a Social Security number. The process seemed pretty straightforward, she said, until recently, when Trump administration officials announced that IRS data would be shared with ICE agents and used to target undocumented taxpayers for the first time.

MSNBC: Trumps Social Security Team has Reportedly Marked More than 6,000 Immigrants as Dead

April 14, 2025

The New York Times was first to report on the administration’s cancellation of immigrants’ lawfully obtained Social Security numbers — essentially listing individuals as dead — as a means to impede their ability to make money or access government services and to pressure them to leave the country. 

Times Union: Editorial: Honesty Ought to Pay

April 14, 2025

The administration of President Donald J. Trump has decided to have the Internal Revenue Service share information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on undocumented immigrants who have been diligently paying taxes on the promise that their files would be confidential.

NPR: 4 Takeaways from the Week: In a World That Craves Stability, Trump Brings the Chaos

April 11, 2025

The IRS agrees to share tax information of immigrants in the country without permanent legal status. The IRS previously didn't in an effort to get immigrants to pay taxes. They paid about $97 billion in taxes in 2022, including about $60 billion to the federal government, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.