Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

Omaha World-Herald: Static gas tax rate curbs Nebraska’s buying power

April 27, 2015

“It’s an inevitable fact that if gas tax rates are not updated from time to time, the tax is not going to keep pace with construction costs,” said Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a think tank in Washington. However, due to the difficulty of mustering the votes to raise a […]

Between the Lines: Deep Tax Cuts for Corporations and the Rich Create Unfair Tax System for Poor and Working Families

April 23, 2015

A new report by the group Citizens for Tax Justice, titled, “Who Pays Taxes in America in 2015?” underscores the unfair nature of the U.S. tax system, where the wealthiest sector contribute a decreasing share of the nation’s revenue. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation […]

The Charlotte Observer: Raleigh’s “Help” Does More Harm

April 23, 2015

This at a time when a January report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showed state and local taxes take up 9.2 percent of total income for North Carolina’s poorest families. It nibbles 5.3 percent of our richest families’ income. Of course, there’s so much tax policy infighting among GOP lawmakers that it’s […]

Verdict: The Republicans’ Cynical Tax Game–Undercut the IRS, Blame the IRS, Repeat

April 23, 2015

For example, according to estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the top one percent of U.S. taxpayers in 2015 will earn 22.2 percent of all income, and they will pay 23.8 percent of all taxes. The next 4 percent of taxpayers will receive 14.4 percent of all income and pay 15.2 percent […]

Fox News Latino: Undocumented Immigrants Paid Nearly $12B in Taxes

April 23, 2015

A new study shows that undocumented immigrants paid an average state and local tax rate of 8 percent in 2012, higher than the 5.4 percent paid by the top 1 percent of taxpayers The study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said that undocumented immigrants paid some $11.8 billion in state and local […]

Sun-Sentinel: Immigration Reform Could Boost Tax Revenue

April 22, 2015

Undocumented immigrants in the Sunshine State paid nearly $468 million in sales and excise taxes a year and $137 million in annual property taxes, according to the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The institute analyzed 2012 data from the Migration Policy Institute, the Fiscal Policy Institute, the Pew Research Center and Congressional Budget […]

Market Watch: Undocumented Immigrants Pay Billions in Taxes

April 21, 2015

If you think undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes, a new report may cause you to think again. Far from not paying taxes — as is alleged by critics — undocumented immigrants paid about $11.8 billion in state and local taxes in 2012, according to a report released late last week by the Institute on Taxation […]

Stateline: States Look at Axing ‘Double Deduction’ Tax Break

April 21, 2015

No one is sure how and where the tax break originated. It’s not like many other kinds of deductions, which were prompted by particular public policy goals, such as the home mortgage interest deduction that was instituted to encourage home ownership. “I think it’s a strange and pointless deduction,” said Carl Davis, a senior analyst […]

Flathead Beacon: Senate Hears About Tax-Cut Plan by GOP Representatives

April 21, 2015

Heather O’Loughlin, research director at the Montana Budget and Policy Center, opposed the bill. Across-the-board tax cuts would favor the wealthy and have little impact on people earning low and middle-level incomes, she said. The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-partisan organization that works on federal, state and local tax policy, ran the […]

MLive Media Group: You ask, we answer: Proposal 1, regressive taxes and electric vehicle fees

April 21, 2015

Sales taxes, which would increase under Proposal 1, are considered “regressive” because they can disproportionally affect low-income workers, who tend to spend a larger portion of their earnings on taxable goods than wealthier residents. The Institute for Tax and Economic Policy, a left-leaning research group, currently ranks Michigan in the middle of the pack for […]

Lansing State Journal: Tax proposal will cost some $500 per household

April 21, 2015

The average tax hike for the middle fifth of Michigan households — those making $40,000 to $64,000 a year — would be $267, or $22 a month, according to an analysis by the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy for the Michigan League for Public Policy, an advocacy group in Lansing focused on poverty. […]

The Spokesman-Review: Last Idaho Gas Tax Hike? 1995

April 21, 2015

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy notes Idaho is one of 22 states that have gone more than a decade without raising its gas tax. Idaho, which last raised the tax in 1995, isn’t even in the top ten in length of time since raising the tax. Alaska has gone almost 50 years, and […]

KHON2: Hawaii resident’s tax burden one of the worst in the US

April 21, 2015

The Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, or ITEP, found in its latest report that many taxes — including payroll taxes, sales taxes, and some state and local taxes — are regressive, which means they take more money out of the pockets of Americans in the lower- and middle-income brackets than from wealthier families. Click […]

Honolulu Civil Beat: Is This Really Fair Taxation?

April 21, 2015

The bill’s preamble language, which is supposed to give the reader some idea of what is motivating the law change proposal, states: According to the study “Who Pays: A Distribution Analysis of Tax Systems in All 50 States, Fifth Edition” (Institute of Taxation & Economic Policy, January 2015), Hawaii households with income in the lowest […]

Governing: This Week in Public Finance

April 21, 2015

A new study has found that granting undocumented immigrants’ legal status in the United States could increase state and local tax collections by a total of more than $2 billion a year. The April 16 report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy noted that the 11.4 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the […]

El Universal: Immigrants’ Tax Contributions Would Increase Under Obama’s Executive Actions

April 21, 2015

A new study titled, Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contributions, conducted by the U.S. Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows that undocumented immigrants’ tax contributions would increase significantly under the Obama Administration’s executive actions and even more substantially under comprehensive immigration reform granting all undocumented immigrants lawful permanent residence. The 11.4 million undocumented […]

Washington Post: Kansas Lawmakers Want the Poor to Pay for Tax Cuts for the Rich

April 21, 2015

The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy’s Meg Wiehe notes that in many states, average incomes have only increased among the richest groups in recent years. As a result, a system of taxation that depends more on the economic fortunes of the poor and the middle class might not produce increasing revenue in the future to meet the needs of growing […]

The Star-Ledger: How Much do N.J.’s Unauthorized Immigrants Pay in Taxes?

April 20, 2015

Immigrants living in New Jersey illegally pay about $613 million a year in state and local taxes and could pay much more under proposed immigration reforms, according to a new report. The study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-partisan research group in Washington, D.C., analyzed the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants […]

NY Daily News: Corporate giants often get huge tax breaks, while poor, undocumented immigrants have paid billions in state taxes

April 20, 2015

Yes, the unauthorized immigrant population, among the poorest and most vulnerable in New York State, does its part when it comes to taxes, according to a report by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (itepnet.org), a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that works on federal, state and local tax policy issues. The report, that covers […]

The Washington Post: Breaking Down the $11.8B Illegal Immigrants Pay in Taxes

April 20, 2015

Here’s a talking point for Democrats: President Obama’s executive actions on immigration will generate an extra $845 million in taxes annually from immigrants living here illegally. But that’s just a drop in the bucket compared with the $11.8 billion they already pay. Those estimates come from a new report by the well-regarded Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a […]

The Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Could Get Cash from Obama Immigration Orders

April 20, 2015

Utah could collect an extra $10.9 million a year in state and local tax revenue if President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration proceed. And Utah could receive about twice that amount — an extra $22.6 million annually — if Congress gave all undocumented immigrants in the state a path to citizenship through immigration reform. […]

The Atlanta Journal Constitution: Deportation Deferral Could Boost Georgia Tax Revenue

April 20, 2015

eorgia would see a nearly $40 million increase in local and state tax revenues if President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration are allowed to go forward, according to a new report released Thursday. Nationally, the increase would total nearly $845 million, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report, which is based […]

Law 360: Undocumented Workers Can Add $2.2B in Taxes, Report Says

April 20, 2015

States and localities across the country would reap an estimated $2.2 billion per year in taxes if the 11.4 million undocumented immigrants living in the country were granted lawful permanent residence, according to an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report Wednesday. Meanwhile, the 5.2 million undocumented immigrants who would qualify for the deferred deportation […]

Pacific Business News: Hawaii’s Undocumented Immigrants Paid More than $31M in Taxes

April 20, 2015

Hawaii’s undocumented immigrants paid $31.17 million in state and local taxes in 2012, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. With immigration reform, those payments would increase by 10 percent, the report predicted. Included in the study were sales, excise, personal and property taxes. Read more

The Fiscal Times: Study Finds Illegal Immigrants Pay $11.8B in Taxes

April 20, 2015

The 50-state analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released on Thursday found that roughly 8.1 million of 11.4 million undocumented immigrants who work paid more than $11.8 billion in state and local taxes in 2012, even while they were living illegally in the country. The group’s analysis estimated that illegal immigrants’ combined […]