Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

CEO Magazine: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Notably Backs Increasing Corporate Tax

April 7, 2021

In 2020, Amazon paid an effective federal income tax rate of 9.4 per cent, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a not-for-profit non-partisan think tank, also reported at least 55 of the largest corporations in the US paid no federal corporate income taxes in their […]

Common Dreams: Will the United States Ever Become a Strong Nation for the Common Good? (Opinion)

April 7, 2021

A new study reports that at least 55 of the biggest corporations paid a goose egg in U.S. income taxes last year — zero, nada — despite hauling in billions in profits. As Sen. Bernie Sanders points out: “If you paid $120 for a pair of Nike Air Force 1 shoes, you paid more to […]

Business Insider: Jeff Bezos says Amazon Supports a Corporate-tax Hike, Arguing that Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Will Require ‘Concessions from All Sides’

April 6, 2021

After Biden’s plan was proposed last week, the Business Roundtable, an organization that represents CEOs of major US firms, issued a statement strongly opposing the tax increase as a way to pay for the infrastructure plan, saying it would create “new barriers to job creation and economic growth.” Amazon has long been accused of not […]

BBC: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Backs Tax Rise on Companies

April 6, 2021

Analysts say changes to those rules are likely to stir stronger opposition from businesses than the rise in the corporate rate, which many companies do not face, thanks to deductions and other credits. In 2020, Amazon paid an effective federal income tax rate of 9.4%, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read […]

(Connecticut) Middletown-Press: Stamford-based Charter Communications Paid No Federal Income Taxes in 2020, New Report Shows

April 6, 2021

The treatment of Charter and the 54 other companies “continues a decades-long trend of corporate tax avoidance by the biggest U.S. corporations, and it appears to be the product of longstanding tax breaks preserved or expanded by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as the CARES Act tax breaks enacted in the […]

Bloomberg: Biden Tax Plan Seen Hitting Tech, Pharmaceutical Companies

April 6, 2021

The provisions — part of the administration’s plan to finance a $2.25 trillion infrastructure package — mean that tech and pharmaceutical companies could lose many of the tax-planning tools that allowed them to pay low rates for years. “This is aiming to prevent gaming the system entirely,” said Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the […]

NPR: Janet Yellen Proposes Bold Idea: The Same Minimum Corporate Tax Around The World

April 5, 2021

The left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy notes that 55 big corporations — including Nike, FedEx and Duke Energy — paid no federal income taxes in the most recent fiscal year, despite reporting a collective profit of more than $40 billion to their shareholders. Read more

The Telegraph: Biden's $3trillion tax hikes find public support despite Republican resistance

April 5, 2021

In 2017, then-President Donald Trump signed a new bill law that slashed the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 21 per cent. A report out this week found from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that 55 large US companies, including major brands such as Nike, paid no federal taxes last […]

CBS News: Dozens of Profitable U.S. Companies Haven’t Had a Federal Tax Expense since Trump’s Rate Cut

April 5, 2021

More than two dozen large U.S. companies have made a collective $77 billion in domestic profits in the past three years without any expectation of having to immediately pay federal taxes on their bounty. Indeed, they haven’t expensed a single dollar for current federal taxes since Donald Trump pushed through a massive tax cut for […]

Wall Street Journal: A 28% Tax Rate Will Cost Companies, but Not Equally

April 5, 2021

Supporters say the tax increase cannot be looked at in isolation. Domestic companies and American workers stand to benefit from the Biden administration’s proposal to spend more than $2 trillion on infrastructure and other improvements, said Matt Gardner, a senior fellow at the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “I don’t think you can […]

Washington Post: Dozens of America’s Biggest Businesses Paid No Federal Income Tax Again

April 5, 2021

Fifty-five of the nation’s largest corporations paid no federal income tax on more than $40 billion in profits last year, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive think tank. In fact, they received a combined federal rebate of more than $3 billion, for an effective tax rate of […]

Washington Post: Republicans Struggle to Defend Corporate Tax Windfall (Opinion)

April 5, 2021

Corporations are hard-pressed to scream poverty. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found 55 big companies that paid no federal income taxes at all last year: “The tax-avoiding companies represent various industries and collectively enjoyed almost $40.5 billion in U.S. pretax income in 2020, according to their annual financial reports.” Had they actually paid […]

Fiscal Times: Dozens of Major Corporations Paid No Federal Income Taxes in 2020: Report

April 5, 2021

At least 55 large corporations paid no federal corporate income taxes in 2020, according to a new analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The companies in the analysis had more than $40 billion in pre-tax income and would have paid about $8.5 billion in taxes at the 21% corporate tax rate. But […]

Louisiana Budget Project: Who Pays? Racial Injustice in Louisiana’s Tax System

April 5, 2021

Historic and current injustices – both in public policy and in society more broadly – have resulted in vast disparities in income across race and ethnicity in Louisiana. Unfortunately, our tax system plays an active role in worsening these disparities by asking those with the least to contribute the largest share of their income to […]

MSNBC: Many Corporate Giants (Once Again) Paid No Federal Income Taxes

April 5, 2021

A couple of years ago, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released the results of a detailed study that found of the Fortune 500 companies, about 400 paid an average tax rate of about 11% — roughly half of the current rate of 21% — thanks to a series of loopholes, exemptions, and giveaways […]

Pittsburgh Business Times: Pittsburgh Company among 55 that Paid Zero Corporate Income Tax

April 5, 2021

At least 55 of the biggest and best-known companies in the country didn’t pay federal corporate income taxes during their most recent fiscal year. That includes Pittsburgh’s 11th-largest public company. According to a recently released report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the businesses collectively had almost $40.5 billion in U.S. pretax income […]

Washington Post: What Americans Will Get from Biden’s $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan (Opinion)

April 4, 2021

In addition, a new report from the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy underscores how well corporations did over the last four years, with 55 big corporations paying no federal corporate income tax. ITEP reports: The tax-avoiding companies represent various industries and collectively enjoyed almost $40.5 billion in U.S. pretax income in 2020, according to […]

The Joint Blog: Report: State and Local Cannabis Tax Revenue Jumps 58%, Surpassing $3 Billion in 2020

April 4, 2021

According to a new report conducted and released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, tax revenue from state-legal marijuana sales rose significantly in 2020 to surpass $3 billion. “Powered by an expanding legal market and a pandemic-driven boost in cannabis use, excise and sales taxes on cannabis jumped by more than $1 billion […]

Washington Post: Republicans Draw a Blank on Basic Governance (Opinion)

April 4, 2021

But one suspects that Blunt, Wicker and others are protesting this proposed tax increase because of the narrow portion of Americans for whom the 2017 cut did work: the wealthiest. The dividends and stock buybacks benefited rich investors. Meanwhile, according to a new study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, “At least 55 […]

Financial Times: Biden Faces Clash with Business over Proposed Tax Increases

April 2, 2021

Still, a report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a think-tank, on Friday found that at least 55 large and profitable US companies paid no federal corporate income taxes in their most recent fiscal year. Biden administration officials see the tax changes as doing more than simply covering the cost of the plan. […]

Shelton Herald: Houston-based Kinder Morgan among Large Corporations that Didn’t Pay Federal Taxes in 2020

April 2, 2021

Houston-based Kinder Morgan is one of the largest infrastructure companies in North America — and they’re among the at least 55 American corporations that paid absolutely nothing in federal taxes on billions of dollars in profits in 2020. Citing a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Patricia Cohen reported for the New […]

Washington Post: The Daily 202: Biden Infrastructure Push Could Face SALT-y Democratic Challenge

April 2, 2021

A report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that companies like Salesforce, Consolidated Edison, FedEx and Nike “were able to avoid paying any federal income tax for the last three years even though they reported a combined income of $77 billion. Many also received millions of dollars in tax rebates.” Read more

Inequality.org: Sales Taxes Widen the Racial Wealth Divide. States and Cities Have Far Better Options.

April 2, 2021

The public discourse over inequality and racial disparities has rightly shifted to how to dismantle structural challenges that create these gross inequities. Addressing racial disparities will require a concerted effort by government across all policy areas. A new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) offers some perspective on how state and […]

Complex: Nike Hasn’t Paid Any Federal Income Tax for the Last Three Years

April 2, 2021

Nike has made $4.1 billion in profits over the last three years but didn’t pay a dime in federal income tax for its earnings, according to new reports by the New York Times. The publication’s latest findings revealed that the sportswear giant was among the companies that were able to evade federal income tax payments […]

Quartz: Nike And FedEx Haven’t Paid Federal Income Tax in Three Years

April 2, 2021

Despite raking in billions in earnings, Nike, FedEx, and two dozen other public companies have paid no federal corporate income tax in the US since 2018, according to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington-based research organization. The behavior continues what ITEP describes as a decades-long trend of companies finding […]