Alex Welch – Page 30

blog January 12, 2021
New Jersey Leads by Example with Its New Cannabis Tax

New Jersey lawmakers passed an innovative tax design that other states debating cannabis legalization should look to for inspiration. The state officially legalized cannabis in November when voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment by a margin of 67 to 33 percent. The amendment applied the state’s general sales tax to cannabis and allowed local governments to create their own taxes on the industry. The legislature added the most notable part of the tax structure last month with a Social Equity Excise Fee.
map January 8, 2021
New Leadership Should Seize Tax Justice Mandate; Cash Payments Offer On-ramp

With the victory of Senators-elect Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia, Democrats now control all three branches of government. New leaders should seize this moment to create a tax code that does much more to reduce inequality and to resource long-overdue investments in climate, health, education and other essentials. Most immediately, the historic election shifts power, making it easier to deliver on the promise to increase the recently enacted $600 cash payments to $2,000 per person.
news release January 7, 2021
Dems Promised $2,000 Payments. Here’s What that Would Mean for Taxpayers Across the Income Spectrum.

New estimates from ITEP show how taxpayers across the income spectrum would fare should Democrats enact the $2,000 payments they promised would happen if they gained control of the Senate.
blog January 6, 2021
How the Proposed $2,000 Cash Payments Compare to the $600 Already Provided by Congress

On Dec. 28, the House of Representatives passed the Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help (CASH) Act of 2020, which would increase the cash payment recently provided by Congress from $600 per person to $2,000 per person, among other changes. New estimates from ITEP compare the impacts of $2,000 payments to $600 payments.
media mention December 28, 2020
Feet to the Fire: Taxes in the Time of COVID

ITEP Executive Director Amy Hanauer joined Jim Lardner’s Feet to the Fire podcast to speak about how we can seize this moment to promote higher taxes on corporations and the…
map December 23, 2020
A Visual History of Sales Tax Collection at Amazon.com

Today, Amazon is collecting state-level sales taxes on all its direct sales but it still usually fails to collect sales tax on the large volume of sales it makes through the Amazon Marketplace. This points to a broader problem in state tax enforcement that lawmakers in many states are moving quickly to address with laws and administrative action requiring tax collection by Amazon and other large online marketplaces such as Etsy and eBay.
media mention December 22, 2020
Delaware Business Times: Congress Approves $900 Billion Stimulus

The stimulus, approved as part of a large end-of-year catchall package including traditional spending measures, also allocates $82 billion in support to school systems and higher education institutions, $10 billion…
media mention December 21, 2020
Newsweek: Millions of Americans Who Missed Out on Stimulus Checks Will Qualify Under New Deal

Democrats, along with immigration groups, would have preferred to also include millions of ITIN immigrant taxpayers, who makeup a large portion of essential workers. The left-leaning Institute On Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that…
news release December 21, 2020
COVID Relief Bill Will Help Families Now; Bigger, Bolder Package Needed in 2021

Following is a statement from Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the COVID-19 relief deal reached Sunday night.
map December 21, 2020
National and State-by-State Estimates of New $600 Cash Payments

The House and Senate are about to pass the first COVID-19 relief legislation since the CARES Act was enacted in March. The new relief package includes, among other provisions, cash payments of $600 per person, which is half as large as the payments provided under the CARES Act, but also extends payments to spouses and children of certain undocumented immigrants who were left out of the previous payments.
media mention December 18, 2020
The American Prospect: Can Corporate Tax Incentives Revive a Pandemic Economy? New Jersey Thinks They Can.

“New Jersey has really been an exemplar this year in positive progressive tax policies, with their millionaire’s tax and extension of the Earned Income Tax Credit—which are really the best…
media mention December 16, 2020
The American Prospect: The Day One Agenda for Corporate Taxes

Even without Congress, President-elect Biden’s regulatory agencies can fix a lot of problems with the corporate tax code. BY STEVE WAMHOFF, MATTHEW GARDNER The public has long told pollsters that…
ITEP Work in Action December 10, 2020
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Improved State Taxes on Wealth, High Incomes Can Help Fuel an Equitable Recovery

Families’ access to wealth has played a large role in determining how the pandemic has affected them. The worst of the economic and health effects have largely bypassed wealthier, higher-paid…
media mention December 10, 2020
Bloomberg: Musk Flees California. He Now Faces a Battle to Escape Its Taxes

Fear of rich people moving for tax reasons is overblown, says Carl Davis, research director at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP. Studies show the wealthy…
blog December 8, 2020
A Second Round of Direct Cash Payments Could Provide an Average $1,550 to the Poorest Families

It will not magically become easier for families to put food on the table or make their next rent payment. Policymakers must act. People are struggling because they are either out of work, involuntarily working part-time, trying to financially catch up after being out of work for a spell, or squeaking by because we live in a wealthy democracy that fails to guarantee basics such as access to affordable housing, health care, food, and jobs that pay living wages.
ITEP Work in Action December 8, 2020
Connecticut Voices for Children: Advancing Economic Justice Through Tax Reform

Connecticut Voices for Children released a new report, “Advancing Economic Justice Through Tax Reform,” which proposes a tax restructure so that the system is fair for all residents. The report provides an…
blog December 4, 2020
McConnell Balked at More Stimulus Aid to States, Betting Red States Wouldn’t Need It. Now?

It is December 2020. Sen. McConnell has denied states—and their residents—relief for months. Congress must act now. Even if it does, it is unlikely to provide the robust aid needed to keep communities afloat and positioned for healthy recovery. Lawmakers across the country should be prepared to return to state capitals and city halls in the new year with plans to raise revenue not just to weather this crisis, but also to invest in long-term recovery.
blog December 4, 2020
These EITC Reforms Would Help Struggling Families Now and Address Systemic Challenges

The tepid economic recovery is leaving millions behind. The nation still has nearly 10 million jobs less than it did in February, according to the latest jobs report. The number of people living in or near poverty is rising. Twelve million workers are about to lose their unemployment insurance, roughly four in 10 people report experiencing food insecurity for the first time, and conditions are likely to deteriorate further in the weeks ahead as we brace for another deadly surge in COVID cases and new or tightened restrictions on business and personal activity.
blog December 3, 2020
COVID-19 Containment Is Key to Recovery—So Is Another Round of Stimulus

You can learn a lot about our leaders from how they act during times of crisis. This December, we are in our 10th month of the pandemic in the United States. With COVID cases climbing, deaths exceeding 270,000 and hospitalizations surpassing 100,000 for the first time, some states have halted reopening plans and imposed new restrictions.

Containment of the virus is key to sustained economic recovery. As is another round of federal stimulus.
news release December 2, 2020
Lame-Duck Session No Time for Perfection, but a Bold Compromise on COVID Relief Is Needed

Time for COVID relief is dwindling. A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a $908 billion COVID relief package on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is floating a relief proposal and Sen. Mitch McConnell is circulating a wholly inadequate package. The best chance for legislation may be to include it in an omnibus appropriations bill, which Congress must pass this month. Following is a statement from Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding congressional negotiations over another round of economic relief.
blog November 30, 2020
After the Dust Has Settled: How Progressive Tax Policy Fared in the General Election

While the results of the 2020 presidential election are all but set in stone—and a sign of life for progressive policy—the results of state tax ballot initiatives are more of a mixed bag. However, the overall fight for tax equity and raising more revenue to invest in people and communities is trending in the right direction.
blog November 20, 2020
State Tax Policy: Innovations to Embrace, Schemes to Avoid

Better tax policies will help communities emerge from the current staggering fiscal crisis with tax structures that reduce inequality at a time when rich people are thriving and public services are under siege. Preserving public spending will boost the economy and improve lives–and cutting these essentials will not only hurt people but also deepen the downturn, a lesson we learned in the Great Recession’s slow recovery. Other states should take note.
media mention November 19, 2020
The Center Square: Louisiana Tax Holiday May Save Shoppers $4.5 Million, Though Some Question the Value

“The conservative Tax Foundation and the progressive-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy don’t agree on much when it comes to taxes,” the Louisiana Budget Project countered in comments posted Thursday. “But…
ITEP Work in Action November 18, 2020
Florida Policy Institute: 2021 Legislature Must Prioritize Revenue-Raising Solutions, Not Budget Cuts, To Bolster Post-Pandemic Recovery

Through smart investments, it is possible to make up billions of dollars without cuts. FPI proposes initiatives to close corporate loopholes such as “combined reporting”— already implemented by 28 states…
blog November 12, 2020
Biden’s Economic Policy Agenda Deserves Serious Debate, Not Obstruction

Obstructing policies that improve economic well-being should not be on any party’s legislative agenda, especially when so many are barely keeping their heads above water.

ITEP's Research Priorities