Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

St. Louis Magazine: Why Can’t St. Louis City Tax People Like 94 Percent of U.S. Localities Do?

October 17, 2023

Even if the city wanted to scrap its 1% earnings tax and make the property tax dominant—as it is nationwide—conservative state laws block it. Read more.

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Large and Growing Tax Gap Underscores the Need to Adequately Fund the IRS

October 17, 2023 • By Jon Whiten

New figures released show the difference between what Americans paid and owed in taxes grew to $688 billion in 2021, a significant jump from previous estimates. This new data underscores that last year’s boost to IRS funding under the Inflation Reduction Act was absolutely necessary and should be protected by lawmakers.

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The Moore Case Before the U.S. Supreme Court Could Widen the Racial Wealth Gap

October 17, 2023 • By Brakeyshia Samms, Moore v. United States

Moore v. United States, already a cause for concern for tax lawyers, could create more barriers for racial equity advocates working to reverse the economic plight of many households of color.

Tulsa World: Eliminating State Income Tax Faces Same Challenges It Did More Than Two Decades Ago

October 16, 2023

More than 20 years ago, during Frank Keating’s second term as governor, he proposed replacing the state’s individual income tax, its sales tax on groceries and its business franchise tax with a 5.9% tax on some 200 additional business activities, from hair cuts to house sales. Oklahomans liked the idea of no income tax, but […]

Forbes: Mapping Billionaire Wealth: Where The Richest Americans Live Now Vs. Two Decades Ago

October 15, 2023

Extreme wealth has been consolidating in the United States. Read more.

The Street: Here’s Why Microsoft is Trying to Get Out of Paying its Massive Tax Bill

October 13, 2023

Corporate tax evasion has become a much more prominent piece of the discussion as Americans have struggled under high inflation, rising energy and home prices. Read more.

The American Prospect: Can States Plug Gaps in Federal Policy?

October 10, 2023

Expansion of the Child Tax Credit is blocked in Washington, but many states are partly helping. They can do only so much. Read more.

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: State’s Tax Relief Not Created Equal

October 10, 2023

For the second consecutive special session in about 13 months, the Arkansas General Assembly last month approved a temporary nonrefundable income tax credit for low-income and middle-income taxpayers as part of a tax cut package that permanently trimmed the state’s top individual and corporate income tax rates. Read more.

CNBC: Supreme Court Tax Case Could Have Sweeping Federal Policy Effects, Experts Say

October 6, 2023

As the Supreme Court starts a new term, experts are closely watching a case that could have sweeping effects on the U.S. tax code, including corporate revenue and future wealth tax proposals. Read more.

Video: ITEP’s Matt Gardner Discusses IRS Funding & ‘U.S. v. Moore’ SCOTUS Case on The Rick Smith Show

October 2, 2023

ITEP Senior Fellow Matt Gardner joined Rick Smith to discuss, among other things, our new report Supreme Corporate Tax Giveaway: Who Would Benefit from the Roberts Court Striking Down the Mandatory Repatriation Tax?.

ITEP’s Andrew Boardman: The State of Local Taxes in Alaska

October 1, 2023

In late September, ITEP Local Policy Analyst Andrew Boardman presented on the state of local taxes in Alaska to the Presentation at the Alaska Municipal League 2023 Tax Conference. Click here for the slide deck.

Policy Matters Ohio: Ohio Needs a Property-Tax Circuit Breaker

October 1, 2023

Sharp rises in home assessment values are bringing property-tax relief to the forefront at the Statehouse in Columbus. While various bills may provide a partial answer to the property tax squeeze being felt by some Ohioans, there is a better solution. It’s one that has been embraced by states across the country: A property-tax circuit […]

Capital & Main: Some States Are Fighting Rising Child Poverty With Tax Credits

October 1, 2023

New Mexico is one of 10 states that have created or expanded child tax credits after Congress let a federal program expire. Read more.

Axios: How the Supreme Court Could Grant $271 Billion in Tax Relief

October 1, 2023

A court case on this term’s Supreme Court docket could end up granting 400 of America’s largest corporations some $271 billion in tax relief, per new calculations from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more.

Newsweek: Supreme Court May Upend the U.S. Tax Structure

September 29, 2023

An upcoming case that will be heard by the Supreme Court could potentially have far-reaching implications on the United States tax structure, according to a new report. Read more.

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Government Shutdown is Rooted in Hypocrisy, Dysfunction, and, As Always, Tax Cuts for the Rich

September 27, 2023 • By Joe Hughes

The priorities in this shutdown drama couldn’t be clearer. House Republicans once again threaten the financial security of the millions of Americans to exact cuts to programs like Head Start, the Social Security Administration, and the EPA – all while seeking unaffordable tax cuts for multinational corporations, the wealthy, and foreign investors.

The Lever: Justices Have Financial Interest In Major Tax Case

September 27, 2023

John Roberts and Samuel Alito own shares of companies that could score billions in tax relief from the outcome of Moore v. United States. Read more.

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As SCOTUS Considers ‘Moore’ Case, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars Hang in the Balance

September 27, 2023 • By ITEP Staff

Later this year, the Supreme Court will hear Moore v. United States which could become the most important tax case in a century.

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Moore Case Could Enrich Tax-Avoiding Multinational Corporations – and the SCOTUS Justices Who Own Their Stock

September 27, 2023 • By Matthew Gardner

The Moore v. United States case that will soon be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court could jeopardize at least $270 billion if SCOTUS finds the entire transition tax to be unconstitutional. The decision could also invalidate other important parts of the current tax system while preempting progressive wealth tax proposals. Such an outcome would represent one of the costliest—and most ethically questionable - Supreme Court decisions in U.S. history.

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Supreme Corporate Tax Giveaway: Who Would Benefit from the Roberts Court Striking Down the Mandatory Repatriation Tax?

September 27, 2023 • By Matthew Gardner, Spandan Marasini

The Supreme Court is set to hear what could become one of the most important tax cases in a century. If decided broadly—with a ruling that strikes down the Mandatory Repatriation Tax for corporations, effectively making it unconstitutional to tax unrealized income—the Roberts Court’s decision in Moore v. US could stretch far beyond the plaintiffs themselves and would put in legal jeopardy many laws that prevent corporations and individuals from avoiding taxes and level the economic playing field.

Stateline: As Child Poverty Edges Back Up, States Launch or Expand Their Own Tax Credits

September 21, 2023

The federal pandemic-era child tax credit expansion lifted millions of children out of poverty in the second half of 2021. But Congress allowed it to expire at the end of that year, and new U.S. census data shows the child poverty rate more than doubled in 2022, erasing the record gains that were made. Read more.

Washington Post Editorial: The Best Vehicle for Addressing Child Poverty is Right Before Our Eyes

September 18, 2023

Child poverty in the United States more than doubled from 2021 to 2022, data released Tuesday from the Census Bureau shows. The surge — by far the largest jump on record — is a tragedy that was foreseeable and could have been prevented. It is largely the result of the decision by Congress not to renew the enhanced child […]

Rep. Greg Casar on Corporate Tax Dodging & The Inflation Reduction Act

September 16, 2023

On September 14, 2023, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee held a hearing on the Inflation Reduction Act. Rep. Greg Casar talked about how necessary the IRA is to crack down on corporate tax dodging, as evidenced by research from ITEP.

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Kyrsten Sinema’s Latest Fight to Protect Tax Breaks for Private Equity

September 15, 2023 • By Steve Wamhoff

Sen. Sinema's bill to stop a seemingly arcane business tax increase that was enacted as part of the 2017 Trump tax law would be hugely beneficial to the private equity industry.

Video: ITEP’s Amy Hanauer Talks Poverty and the Child Tax Credit on the Rick Smith Show

September 14, 2023

This week the Census Bureau released new numbers showing that in 2022 the U.S. lost the dramatic gains made against child poverty in 2021, in large part due to the lapsed Child Tax Credit expansion.