Alex Welch – Page 15

report November 4, 2021
The Impact of Work From Home on Commercial Property Values and the Property Tax in U.S. Cities

The fiscal implications of a decline in commercial property values are important because the property tax is the dominant local source of taxes, and commercial property makes up a significant portion of the property base in cities.
blog November 3, 2021
Senators Menendez and Sanders Show the Way Forward on the SALT Cap

Amending the Build Back Better bill to fully repeal the SALT cap would mean that the richest 1 percent could pay less in personal income taxes than they do now, which goes against everything President Biden has said for the past year as he promoted this legislation.
blog October 27, 2021
America’s Richest Would Finally Pay Taxes on Most of Their Income Under Wyden’s Billionaires Income Tax

While the Ways and Means bill includes many helpful tax reforms, people like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk would still pay an effective tax rate of zero percent on most of their income if it was enacted without this change. Sen. Wyden’s proposal would finally end this injustice.
ITEP Work in Action October 27, 2021
Oklahoma Policy Institute: A Budget and Tax Roadmap for Oklahoma

A more just tax system will level the playing field for all Oklahomans, providing more opportunity to save and build wealth. It will also benefit the economy, as equal opportunity…
blog October 27, 2021
Senate Democrats’ Corporate Minimum Tax Could Address the Worst Corporate Tax Dodging

There is no reason corporations reporting hundreds of millions, but not billions, of dollars in profits to their shareholders should be allowed to avoid paying taxes. Nonetheless, the corporate minimum tax is a huge step forward and a valuable component of the Build Back Better plan.
brief October 21, 2021
Boosting Incomes and Improving Tax Equity with State Earned Income Tax Credits in 2021

The EITC benefits low-income people of all races and ethnicities. But it is particularly impactful in historically excluded Black and Hispanic communities where discrimination in the labor market, inequitable educational systems, and countless other inequities have relegated a disproportionate share of people to low-wage jobs.
blog October 18, 2021
Federal Tax Reform Would be a Step in the Right Direction for Millennials of Color

Currently, millennials of color are worse off than their parents when it comes to wealth expectations. So, if one of the goals of federal policymakers is to reduce racial income and wealth disparities, the proposals outlined are a good start. Tax reforms included in the budget package making its way through Congress would help by boosting incomes and making raising children more affordable—two things that would help millennials of color thrive in today’s economy.
blog October 18, 2021
The Role of Census Data in Policy and Racial Equity

The Census has changed the way it asks questions in the past and can choose to do so again in the future. As the Biden administration makes data a central part of its plan to achieve greater racial equity, it has an opportunity to implement research-backed changes that will improve our understanding of race and ethnicity in the United States, and in turn, our ability to draw meaningful conclusions about how our tax laws impact tax filers of different races.
brief October 14, 2021
Investment Income and Racial Inequality

Congress has a historic opportunity to fix the way the preferential treatment of investment income widens the racial wealth gap and to strive toward a racially equitable tax code.
blog October 14, 2021
Limiting Tax Breaks for Capital Gains Would Mitigate the Racial Wealth Gap

The racial wealth and income gaps are the results of centuries of government policies favoring the accumulation of wealth among white communities while marginalizing communities of color. Policy solutions that are race-forward, meaning they remedy past and ongoing racial inequities, can also address broader social inequities.
ITEP Work in Action October 8, 2021
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: Proposed Cuts to the Top Tax Rate Are Costly and Heavily Favor the Rich

As the Arkansas Legislature concludes the 2021 general session, our attention must turn to the special session they are preparing to begin to discuss personal income tax cuts. Although income…
ITEP Work in Action October 6, 2021
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: How Georgia’s Tax Code Contributes to Racial and Economic Inequality

Today, state and local taxes consume a greater share of income earned by Georgians in poverty—who are more likely to be people of color—while the richest pay a far lower…
blog October 4, 2021
State Income Tax Reform Can Bring Us Closer to Racial Equity

To pave the way for a more racially equitable future, states must move away from poorly designed, regressive policies that solidify the vast inequalities that exist today.
report October 4, 2021
State Income Taxes and Racial Equity: Narrowing Racial Income and Wealth Gaps with State Personal Income Taxes

10 state personal income tax reforms that offer the most promising routes toward narrowing racial income and wealth gaps through the tax code.
blog September 28, 2021
The Billionaires’ Income Tax Is the Latest Proposal to Reform How We Tax Capital Gains

When people first hear about proposals to tax unrealized capital gains, they often ask, “Is this income, and if so, should we tax it?” The answers to those questions are “yes” and “yes, when we are talking about the very rich.”
blog September 28, 2021
Reforming Federal Capital Gains Taxes Would Benefit States, Too

Congress’s action or inaction on federal tax changes under consideration in the Build Back Better plan could have important implications for states on many fronts. One critical area of note is at the foundation of income tax law: setting the definition of income that most states will use in administering their own income taxes.
ITEP Work in Action September 24, 2021
Florida Policy Institute: A Working Floridians Tax Rebate for a Stronger and More Equitable Florida

Floridians who are paid lower wages spend significantly more of their income on state and local taxes than those with high income. This is because the state lacks a personal…
ITEP Work in Action September 24, 2021
The Commonwealth Institute: Tax Policy in Virginia

Black and Latinx people face tremendous barriers in areas like employment, education, and housing. These barriers include explicitly racist policies like school segregation as well as policies that appear “race-neutral”…
report September 23, 2021
Repealing the SALT Cap Would Wipe Out Revenue Raised by the House Ways and Means Bill’s Income Tax Provisions

There are several ways that the House leadership could avoid this problem. One approach is for lawmakers to replace the SALT cap with a different kind of limit on tax breaks for the rich that actually raises revenue and avoids disfavoring some states compared to others as the SALT cap does. ITEP has suggested a way to do this.
blog September 21, 2021
New ITEP Report Examines the Tax Changes in the House Ways and Means Build Back Better Bill

The vast majority of these tax increases would be paid by the richest 1 percent of Americans and foreign investors. The bill’s most significant tax cuts — expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) — would more than offset the tax increases for the average taxpayer in all income groups except for the richest 5 percent.
report September 21, 2021
Tax Changes in the House Ways and Means Committee Build Back Better Bill

This report finds that the vast majority of these tax increases would be paid by the richest 1 percent of Americans and foreign investors. The bill’s most significant tax cuts — expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) — would more than offset the tax increases for the average taxpayer in all income groups except for the richest 5 percent.
report September 17, 2021
Why Congress Should Reform the Federal Corporate Income Tax

It is reasonable for corporations (and, indirectly, their shareholders) to pay taxes to support the government investments that make their profits possible, such as the highways that facilitate the movement of goods and people, the education and health care systems that provide a productive workforce, the legal system and the protection of property, all of which are vital to commerce. Corporate tax avoidance allows wealthy and powerful individuals to reap enormous benefits from these investments without contributing their fair share to support them.
blog September 15, 2021
House Ways and Means Provisions to Raise Revenue Would Significantly Improve Our Tax System But Fall Short of the President’s Plan

High-income people and corporations would pay more than they do today, which is a monumental change. But some wealthy billionaires like Jeff Bezos would continue to pay an effective rate of zero percent on most of their income, and American corporations would still have some incentives to shift profits offshore.
blog September 14, 2021
New Census Data Highlight Need for Permanent Child Tax Credit Expansion

The status quo was a choice, but the Census data released today shows that different policy choices can create drastically different outcomes for children and families. It is time for our state and federal legislators to put people first when it comes to recovery.
blog September 13, 2021
A Data-Driven Case for the CTC Expansion in the Ways & Means Committee’s Recent Proposal

The move toward permanent full refundability and inclusion of all immigrant children are crucial components of the future of the CTC. Together they will help ensure that the credit reaches the children most in need, making a vital dent in our nation’s unacceptably high rate of child poverty.

ITEP's Research Priorities