Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

American Press: Lawmakers examine income tax

February 22, 2016

“Three identical measures would allow voters to decide whether they want to eliminate the federal income tax deduction that is allowed on state income tax forms. The deduction is in the constitution. The change would raise $748 million annually, and the vote to decide the issue would take place Nov. 8. Only three states — […]

Tulsa World: Julie DelCour: Measuring Up: ‘DOTs’ hope for a ‘Road to Damascus’ moment

February 22, 2016

“Last year, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reported that 20 states have gone a decade or more without an increase in their gasoline tax rate; 15 states had gone two decades or more. And five states, including Oklahoma, had not seen an increase in their gasoline tax rate since the 1980s or earlier. […]

Hartford Courant: Teachers Call For Taxing Wealthy, Not Cutting Programs

February 22, 2016

“Basing its comments on what it said are figures from the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the union said that Connecticut households with incomes in the top 1 percent pay 5.3 percent of their incomes in state and local taxes, while the remaining 99 percent of Connecticut residents pay an average of […]

Salon: How Delaware became an American haven for “grand corruption”

February 22, 2016

“According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the cherry on this tax-reduction sundae is that Toys R US can, in turn, take the royalty payment as a deductible business expense off their state tax returns. In 1990, Geoffrey LLC received $55 million in royalty income, “and Toys R US was able to avoid […]

The Capital Journal: SD policy institute figures how sales tax increase will affect different households

February 17, 2016

  Smolnisky was trying to provide some more context for lawmakers debating the plan, based on an inkling she got months ago about funding an increase in teacher pay using higher sales taxes. “I was sitting next to two teachers and one said, ‘I would like a higher salary, but I don’t want to pay […]

Daily Kos: Memo to GOP budget chairmen: National debt will explode under your presidential candidates

February 17, 2016

“Among many others, Citizens for Tax Justice doesn’t share the supply-siders dynamic faith. The CTJ’s analyses forecast that Marco Rubio will drain $11.8 trillion from the Treasury over 10 years. Jeb! Will siphon off $7.1 trillion! (Bear mind that total federal spending over the next decade is projected to be $41 trillion.) As Vox explained, […]

The George-Anne: 99 problems and immigration is one

February 17, 2016

“According to a study conducted by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants paid $11.84 billion in state and local taxes in 2012 and it’s expected that if they were allowed to legally work in the country, their tax contribution would increase exponentially.” Read more

Forbes: How Valid Is Tax Foundation Dynamic Scoring?

February 17, 2016

“When I spoke to Carl Davis at ITEP he indicated that in order for the Tax Foundation model to make sense you have to think that the government is taking resources out of the economy and burning them, rather than producing public goods.  Oddly enough, that is probably what a lot of people think.  There […]

Las Cruces Sun-News: Posich: Budget must address needs of NM families

February 17, 2016

  There are also ways to rebalance our tax structure to make it less heavily reliant on working families. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the lowest income New Mexicans are paying a higher percentage of their income on overall taxes than the highest income households. We could modify capital gains deductions […]

Boston Globe: The millionaire myth

February 17, 2016

“According to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, only 448 millionaires departed the state or died in 2008, just 36 more than in an average year. Millionaires moved for much the same reasons the rest of us do — better weather, to be with family, a new job, a favorable housing market. Very few […]

Inside Philanthropy: The Federal Budget Affects Everything. So Why Do Most Funders Ignore Fiscal Policy?

February 12, 2016

“None of this is exactly a secret, but what’s remarkable is just how little foundation funding goes to support work on taxes and fiscal policy writ large—particularly by those funders who have the most to lose from budgetary downsizing. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities is relatively well supported, but has a budget a […]

Albuquerque Journal: Legislature must change course fast

February 12, 2016

“There are also ways to rebalance our tax structure to make it less heavily reliant on working families. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the lowest-income New Mexicans are paying a higher percentage of their income on overall taxes than the highest-income households. We could modify capital gains deductions that do not […]

Capital Journal: SD policy institute figures how sales tax increase will affect different households

February 10, 2016

“Smolnisky was trying to provide some more context for lawmakers debating the plan, based on an inkling she got months ago about funding an increase in teacher pay using higher sales taxes. “I was sitting next to two teachers and one said, ‘I would like a higher salary, but I don’t want to pay more […]

Opposing Views: Senate Report: Illegal Immigrants Received Millions In Obamacare Subsidies

February 10, 2016

“Whether or not the undocumented have earned their government benefits is also a point of contention. According to a study conducted by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), the undocumented paid $11.84 billion in state and federal taxes in 2012, Latin Post reports. “The fact is, undocumented immigrants already are paying billions […]

Tahlequah Daily Press: Penny sales tax a bad idea

February 10, 2016

“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy did an analysis of Oklahoma’s tax system, showing an average low-income family spends about 10 percent of its budget on state and local taxes, compared with about 4 percent for high-income families. This is shifting more and more of the burden of funding government to those who can […]

Idaho Statesman: Idaho income taxes: What would Moyle tax cut bill do?

February 8, 2016

“The Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy’s analysis showed that Idaho’s wealthiest residents stand to gain the most. The policy center found that the top fifth of earners, with incomes above $99,000, would receive nearly three-fifths of the overall benefit. Idaho’s richest 1 percent — $444,000 and above — would receive an average break of $815. […]

Think Progress: New Report Debunks Key Conservative Argument For Corporate Tax Breaks

February 8, 2016

“Most of those businesses “would have been happy to locate in your state anyway,” economists Alan Peters and Peter Fisher concluded in a broad 2004 study of state tax incentives to business. Instead of buying significantly improved job prospects for their taxpayers, these expenditures “simply produce an unending merry-go-round of tax cuts and subsidies whose […]

Latin Post: Behind the Myth of Undocumented Immigrants Not Paying Income Taxes

February 8, 2016

“A study by the non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found undocumented immigrants paid $11.84 billion in state and federal taxes in 2012. Researchers suggested tax contributions would increase with President Obama’s executive orders on immigrations, specifically program aimed at protecting students and their parents from deportation. They concluded by saying state and local […]

The Sun Herald: PAUL HAMPTON: Where the rubber meets the yellow brick road

February 8, 2016

  The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think tank, did a study that wrapped up in 2013 when it was presented to the National Council of State Legislatures. The short version: — Incentives are rarely the deciding factor — The money from the incentives won’t all stay in the state — Incentives […]

Las Vegas Sun: Why America needs immigrants (especially Nevada)

February 8, 2016

“Experts say that the implementation of these programs could be an economic boon to the country. According to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Nevada could see a $3 million increase in tax revenue if Obama’s executive action gets out of the courts, and a $9 million increase if all undocumented […]

Mountain Times: Report tries to paint a happy face on Kansas fiscal crisis

February 3, 2016

“The biggest benefits of Governor Brownback’s 2012 tax program went to the top 1 percent, while actually increasing taxes for the bottom 20 percent. Kansas now has the ninth most unfair tax system of any state in the country, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The poorest 20 percent of Kansans pay […]

NJ Today: Lawmakers plot to stop corporate tax dodgers

January 29, 2016

“According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Analysis of SEC Filings, ExxonMobil paid a low tax rate over the past five years, and received a tax rebate from New Jersey in 2014 in the amount of $507,000. This resulted in a -5.6 percent tax rate that year.” Read more

Idaho Statesman: Study: Idaho’s wealthiest gain most under tax cut proposal

January 29, 2016

“An Idaho tax policy group says a proposed cut in the state’s top income tax rates and bump-up in the food tax credit to help lower-income earners overwhelmingly benefits Idaho’s wealthiest residents. The top fifth of earners in Idaho, with incomes above $99,000, would receive nearly three-fifths of the overall monetary benefit. Idaho’s richest one […]

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Michigan’s “Customer” Service Fail Is a Cautionary Tale about Cutting Taxes and Disinvestment

January 28, 2016 • By Jenice Robinson

The Michigan legislature just approved a  $28 million appropriation to provide immediate aid in response to the water crisis in Flint, Mich., where vulnerable children and families have been poisoned by toxic lead. This avoidable crisis partly has roots in the misguided movement to cut taxes so much that state and local governments have difficulty […]

Mainebiz: Immigrants key ‘to what Maine needs to solve its demographic challenges’

January 26, 2016

“There were 44,687 immigrants in Maine in 2013, comprising 3.4% of the state’s population, according to the 2013 American Community Survey. Some 3.2% of business owners in Maine are foreign-born and generate total net business income of $120 million. Undocumented immigrants paid $3.7 million in Maine state and local taxes in 2010, according to the […]