Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

Yahoo Finance: Could Social Security Be Saved by the ‘Buffett Rule?’

July 12, 2023

Among the chief proposals to fix Social Security before a major funding source runs out of money is to have wealthy Americans pitch in through higher taxes and lower benefits. One way to do that is through the so-called “Buffett Rule,” named after mega-billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Read more.

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Testimony: Tax Policy to Strengthen Social Security

July 12, 2023 • By Amy Hanauer

We can make modest reforms to better tax those who are taking a larger share of our wealth and income in order to reinforce a major pillar of our promise to Americans.

Sacramento Bee: Biden, Democrats Want to Increase Tax Break for Parents. It Could Help 15 million Californians

July 12, 2023

The increased tax credit would help an estimated 14.7 million Californians, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive Washington-based research group. While the proposed increase has a long way to go legislatively, and is likely to change, it’s one of several tax cuts under serious discussion. Read more

Video: ITEP’s Matt Gardner Talks Corporate Tax Breaks on Scripps News Live

July 11, 2023

ITEP Senior Fellow Matt Gardner talks about "bonus depreciation" and our new report that finds that this tax break has saved nearly $67 billion for 25 of the corporations that benefited most.

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The Highs and Lows of 2023 State Legislative Sessions

July 7, 2023 • By Aidan Davis

Nearly one-third of states took steps to improve their tax systems this year by investing in people through refundable tax credits, and in a few notable cases by raising revenue from those most able to pay. But another third of states lost ground, continuing a trend of permanent tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit high-income households and make tax codes less adequate and equitable.

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Refundable Credits a Winning Policy Choice Again in 2023

July 7, 2023 • By Neva Butkus

State lawmakers continue to make groundbreaking progress on state tax credits, with 17 states creating or enhancing Child Tax Credits or Earned Income Tax Credits so far this year. These policies have the potential to boost family economic security and dramatically reduce the number of children living below the poverty line.

Policy Matters Ohio: Legislators Squander Golden Opportunity

July 7, 2023

The operating budget includes a $1-billion-per-year income-tax cut that disproportionately benefits the wealthy, does nothing for Ohioans in the lowest-income 20%, and temporarily increases taxes for some middle-income households. Read more.

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Minnesota’s Tax Battle of 2023 Signals a Turning of the Tide Against Corporate Tax Avoidance

July 7, 2023 • By Matthew Gardner

The qualified success of Minnesota’s GILTI conformity—to say nothing of the state’s serious dalliance with the game-changing worldwide combined reporting--sends a clear signal that the days may be coming to an end when big multinationals can scare state lawmakers into allowing them to game the tax system.

The New Republic: The Truth About the GOP and the Deficit: All They Do Is Raise It

July 6, 2023

They talk deficit reduction. But what they actually do—time after time after time—is raise it via corporate giveaways. Here’s the latest example. Read more.

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Big Corporations Have Reaped Billions in Tax Breaks from ‘Bonus Depreciation’

July 5, 2023 • By ITEP Staff

Big corporations have used a temporary policy that lawmakers are considering extending to get huge tax breaks, according to a new ITEP analysis. The new report looks at how much 25 major corporations saved from 2018-2022, and what their effective corporate tax rates have been as a result.

Mountain State Spotlight: Tax Cuts, Low-Balled Estimates and Volatile Revenues: Inside West Virginia’s $1.8 Billion Budget Surplus

July 1, 2023

Gov. Jim Justice has used the state’s budget surplus as proof of his business skills as he runs for the U.S. Senate. But the surplus is built on unpredictable revenue streams and will likely be temporary. Read more.

New Jersey Policy Perspective: StayNJ 2.0: Senior Tax Cut Still 2 Regressive and 2 Expensive

June 28, 2023

Updated StayNJ senior tax cut proposal would still send the biggest benefits to already-wealthy households. Read more.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The Next Tax Debates are Heating Up in Congress

June 26, 2023

Call it the battle of the tax cuts. Western Pennsylvania’s lawmakers are on opposite sides as the U.S. House debates whether — and how — to cut taxes. Read more.

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Congressional Republicans Distort a New Report on the Global Minimum Tax

June 22, 2023 • By Steve Wamhoff

The notion that we are better off allowing our corporations to pretend their profits are earned in the Cayman Islands or Ireland simply defies logic and the facts. There is no scenario in which the U.S. would be better by ditching the international agreement that the government already negotiated. 

The Sacramento Bee: Fact Check: Does California’s Middle Class Pay Less in Taxes Than in Other States?

June 21, 2023

“The American people don’t know this. We have the highest tax rate for the 1%, but middle-class families actually paid less than the majority of states in America in California,” Gov. Gavin Newsom told Fox News host Sean Hannity last week. The governor was half-right. Read more.

Center for American Progress: House Bill Would Slash Business Taxes and Undermine Efforts To Stem Profit Shifting

June 20, 2023

A new House Republican proposal would cut business taxes, expanding the primary cause of the nation’s increasing debt ratio. Read more.

Insider: The IRS Could Recover $12 for Every $1 Spent on Scrutinizing the Ultra-Wealthy’s Taxes

June 19, 2023

It turns out that scrutinizing the rich’s taxes pays off. A new paper from economists at the Department of Treasury, Harvard University, and the University of Sydney looks at the return on investment from IRS audits from 2010 through 2014. They find that while it’s much more expensive to audit the wealthiest tax payers, it’s still a […]

The Independent: Biden Warns Union Members that Republicans are ‘Coming for Your Jobs’ in 2024 Campaign Speech in Philadelphia

June 19, 2023

Joe Biden got his 2024 presidential re-election campaign underway in Philadelphia on Saturday by continuing to pitch voters on his pro-labour bonafides. Read more.

Policy Matters Ohio: Senate Tax Plan Pits the Rich Against the Rest of Us

June 15, 2023

The Ohio Senate has voted to weaken the state’s fiscal foundations in order to hand out billions of dollars to wealthy households. The changes to the state’s personal income taxes, currently included in the Senate’s version of the budget bill, will disproportionately benefit the rich, they will lead to temporary tax increases on some middle-income […]

Rep. Judy Chu: Statement on GOP Tax Scam 2.0

June 15, 2023

An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy determined that should this package become law, Americans at the bottom 20 percent of income levels would receive an average tax cut of $40 next year, but the richest one percent would receive an average $16,550 tax cut. Read more.

Rep. Richard Neal: Neal Opening Statement at Markup of GOP Tax Scam 2.0

June 15, 2023

This is the most ill-considered piece of legislation that I’ve witnessed in years in front of this committee. Just 10 days after our Republican colleagues were prepared to bring the nation to the brink of default to the precipice, if not over the edge, they now come back with a tax cut. Read more.

Video: ITEP’s Amy Hanauer Talks Proposed GOP Tax Cuts on Scripps New Live

June 15, 2023

ITEP Executive Director Amy Hanauer joined Scripps News Live to talk about the trio of tax bills that House Republicans are moving through committee this week, and explain how they would disproportionately help the wealthiest Americans and foreign investors.

Salon: GOP Follows Debt Fight with Bill to Give $24 billion Tax Cut to the Top 1 Percent

June 15, 2023

After spending months threatening to tank the economy over the federal deficit, Republicans have unveiled a set of new tax proposals that would cost the government billions of dollars — by handing tens of billions of dollars of tax cuts to the richest 1 percent of Americans, as a new report reveals. Read more.

Common Dreams: New GOP Bills Would Hand Richest 1% Over $28 Billion in Tax Cuts Next Year

June 13, 2023

Tax cut legislation that House Republicans are set to consider this week after pushing the global economy to the brink of disaster would deliver more than $28 billion to the richest 1% of Americans next year—and just $1.4 billion to the poorest fifth of the country. Read more.

Video: ITEP’s Joe Hughes Talks Child Tax Credit Expansion on Scripps News Live

June 12, 2023

ITEP Federal Policy Analyst Joe Hughes joined Scripps News Live to talk about the American Family Act, which would permanently expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to 2021 levels, helping millions of children and families, especially the lowest-income families who currently make too little to receive the CTC.