Alex Welch – Page 35

media mention May 30, 2020
Salon.com: About 75% of Trump’s Proposed Coronavirus Capital Gains Tax Cut Would Go to the Top 1% of Earners

Steve Wamhoff, the director of federal tax policy at the liberal-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), argued that “proponents of capital gains tax breaks have always offered a…
blog May 28, 2020
Trump Administration Stops Pretending to Care About the Economy with Its Capital Gains Tax Proposal

Proponents of capital gains tax breaks have always offered a weak argument that they encourage investment and thereby grow the economy. But the Trump administration is now floating a temporary capital gains tax break, which is supported by no argument at all. It would only reward investments made in the past while doing nothing to encourage new investment.
media mention May 22, 2020
Yahoo Finance: Biden Hits Amazon on Taxes, Which May Benefit From the Coronavirus Outbreak

While the numbers prove its savviness for capitalizing on advantages under the U.S. Tax Code, newly available deductions under the CARES Act make tax savings even more accessible. And with…
ITEP Work in Action May 21, 2020
Washington State Budget and Policy Center: It’s time to include undocumented immigrants in state response to COVID-19

In addition to state and local taxes, new estimates show that the labor of undocumented workers in Washington state has resulted in nearly $400 million of contributions to the state…
blog May 20, 2020
The HEROES Act Would Correct CARES Act Business Tax Mistakes

The Health Economic Recovery and Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act includes important changes to business tax provisions in the CARES Act, the most recent COVID-19 legislation enacted by Congress and…
blog May 20, 2020
A Dimon Memo Will Buy You a Dime’s Worth of Social Change

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, in a May 19 memo to employees, outlines steps the company is taking to help its customers, small businesses and communities stay afloat. The part…
report May 15, 2020
Major Cash Payment and Tax Provisions in the HEROES Act

The major provisions for cash payments and tax changes in the House Democrats’ Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act would provide nearly $600 billion to individuals and households and average benefits of more than $3,000 to families in all but the highest income levels.
brief May 14, 2020
Analysis: How the HEROES Act Would Reach ITIN Filers

The HEROES Act, filed by the House Democrats this week, includes a new one-time payment of $1,200 per adult and child and extends the payment to ITIN filers and their families. The bill also includes a retroactive change to the CARES Act ensuring ITIN filers will also receive the initial payment under the CARES Act. ITEP estimates more than 4.3 million adults and 3.5 million children would benefit from this change.
ITEP Work in Action May 14, 2020
Fiscal Policy Institute: Unemployment Insurance Taxes Paid for Undocumented Workers in NYS

In the midst of a pandemic, there has been a growing call for undocumented immigrants, who make up five percent of the New York State labor force, to be covered…
blog May 12, 2020
HEROES Act is an Appropriate Recession Response

House Democrats today introduced a proposal that responds to our staggering economic crisis with the right policies at the necessary scale. It’s a refreshing change from some of the misdirected ideas that have passed or been floated in these alarming economic times.
blog May 8, 2020
Which Workers Wouldn’t Be Helped by a Payroll Tax Cut?

New data released today estimates 20.5 million jobs were lost in the month of April alone. Workers not currently receiving paychecks would be left out of any benefits provided by a payroll tax cut.
report May 8, 2020
Harris-Sanders-Markey Cash Payment Proposal Would Dwarf Checks Sent Under the CARES Act

Sens. Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Edward Markey released a proposal to provide a monthly payment of $2,000 for each member of a household (including up to three dependents), with benefits phased out at income levels starting at $200,000 for married couples. The proposal is partly a response to concerns that one-time cash payments under the CARES Act, which amount to $1,200 ($2,400 for married couples) and $500 for each child under age 17, are not sufficient to help families make ends meet or boost the economy.
news release May 6, 2020
ITEP: White House Seeks to Exploit COVID-19 Crisis to Enact Unpopular Tax Cuts

Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the Trump administration’s musings to respond to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis with tax cuts.
blog May 6, 2020
Trump’s Latest Tax Break Proposals Include Everything—Except Helping Regular People

None of the tax proposals considered by the administration would provide help to those who need it or do much, if anything, to boost investment.
blog May 5, 2020
Trump’s Payroll Tax Cut Makes Even Less Sense as Job Losses Mount

Last August, long before COVID-19 ravaged the U.S. economy, the Trump Administration began touting a payroll tax cut as a stimulus. Now, with more than 30 million official unemployment claims…
blog May 5, 2020
The Price We Pay for Amazon in Its Prime

There is every reason to believe that Amazon will continue its tax-avoidance ways in 2020. The entirely-legal tax avoidance tools the company used to zero out its federal income tax bills over the last three years remain entirely legal today. From accelerated depreciation to the research and development tax credit to the deduction for executive stock options, Amazon’s tax avoidance tools have been blessed by lawmakers, and presidents, of all stripes.
blog May 4, 2020
Intended Consequences: Deliberate Disinvestment Caused Florida’s Unemployment Disaster

Florida politicians deliberately rigged the unemployment system after the Great Recession to avoid raising taxes on businesses. Now, in a pandemic, some out-of-work residents are left waiting more than six weeks for unemployment benefits while more than 280,000 others have been inexplicably denied. What’s happening in Florida underscores deeper challenges with systems that should help those in need, but instead are designed to fail them.
blog May 1, 2020
Two Pandemics, Separate and Unequal

COVID-19 has revealed a policy apparatus that reflexively prioritizes those who need it least, a wholly inadequate safety net, an underfunded public health infrastructure, and an inefficient national health stockpile. If the nation stays this course, it will make only cosmetic restorations to a shoddily built house.
ITEP Work in Action April 30, 2020
New Mexico Voices for Children: Essential But Excluded

Immigrants pay taxes and are important contributors to New Mexico’s economy. Nationwide, immigrants pay hundreds of billions of dollars in federal, state, and local income and other taxes. New Mexico…
ITEP Work in Action April 30, 2020
Community Change: End the Tax Penalty Against Immigrant Workers

The Earned Income Tax Credit is a powerful path out of poverty in America, but millions of immigrant households are barred from receiving it, even though they would otherwise qualify…
blog April 29, 2020
Economic Catastrophe in States Looms as Federal Relief Lags

A bipartisan group of governors and senators from Louisiana to Maryland to Ohio have called for at least $500 billion in state and local fiscal relief. They also need specific help with testing, protective equipment, unemployment costs, Medicaid costs, social services, education and infrastructure. States can’t be on their own as they address the double whammy of plunging revenue and skyrocketing needs.
blog April 29, 2020
Pandemic Profits: Netflix’s Record Profit Haul, Past Tax Avoidance Raise Questions about Tax Law’s Weaknesses

At a time when many companies are facing existential threats due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic shutdown, it is vital to ensure that our corporate tax laws apply fairly to companies that are still turning a profit in these turbulent times.
blog April 29, 2020
Sales Tax Policy in a Pandemic: Exemptions for Digital Goods and Services Are More Outdated Than Ever

Many states are making the decline in sales tax collection worse by failing to apply their sales taxes to digital goods (such as downloads of music, movies, or software) and services (such as digital streaming). A state that taxes movie theater tickets but not digital streaming, for instance, is needlessly hastening the decline of its own sales tax.
blog April 24, 2020
The CARES Act Provision for High-Income Business Owners Looks Worse and Worse

A select group of millionaires will receive an average tax break of $1.6 million thanks to a CARES Act provision that is receiving delayed but well-deserved scrutiny. Wealthy business owners are receiving this windfall because the CARES Act provides tax breaks to people with losses from a business they own. This approach may seem sensible because businesses small and large are taking a hit from the economic recession, but on close inspection, these provisions benefit those least in need and can be easily abused.
blog April 24, 2020
Partying Like It’s 2017: How Congress Went Overboard on Helping Businesses with Losses

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides some needed relief for individuals and families, but two arcane tax provisions related to business losses will further enrich the wealthy and fail to boost our economy more broadly.

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