Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

The News Tribune: MoDOT sales tax petition withdrawn

March 6, 2014

Supporters of a ballot initiative that would raise the state sales and use taxes to fund transportation projects have withdrawn their petition from the Secretary of State’s Office. Missourians for Safe Transportation and New Jobs submitted a proposal last October to place an initiative increasing the sales and use taxes by 1 percent on the […]

Article 3: Will Georgia Go Blue?

March 6, 2014

(Original Post) By Eric Bates | March 6, 2014 If you had told me last year that a red state in the Deep South could possibly turn blue within two or three election cycles, I probably would’ve laughed at you and then dismissed everything you had to say about politics ever again. But to my […]

The Hutchinson News: Fuel-efficient cars limit motor fuel tax revenues

March 6, 2014

(Original Post) Posted: Wednesday, March 5, 2014 10:22 am By Mary Clarkin The Hutchinson News [email protected] More fuel-efficient vehicles rolling off production lines will make it harder to maintain Reno County’s roads and bridges, authorities caution. Motorists in Kansas pay 24 cents a gallon at the gas pump in motor fuels tax. The State Highway […]

Washington Monthly: The Texas Miracle that Isn’t

March 6, 2014

(Original Post) “Oh yes, I know what you’ve heard. And it’s true, as the state’s boosters like to brag, that Texas does not have an income tax. But Texas has sales and property taxes that make its overall burden of taxation on low-wage families much heavier than the national average, while the state also taxes […]

Politico: Tax Cuts MVP in Scott’s State of the State

March 6, 2014

(Original Post) Florida Gov. Rick Scott used his State of the State address yesterday to encourage state lawmakers to move forward with $560 million in proposed tax cuts, including a $100 million cut to commercial rental taxes, a roll-back of $400 million in state vehicle-registration fees and a freeze on tuition rates. Scott also boasted […]

The State: Duke Energy paid no federal income taxes from 2008-2012

February 28, 2014

(Original Post) BY RICK ROTHACKER The Charlotte Observer February 26, 2014 Charlotte-based Duke Energy is among 26 profitable Fortune 500 companies that didn’t pay any federal income taxes from 2008 to 2012, according to a new report on corporate taxes. Among all industries, gas and electric utility companies had the lowest effective rate, at 2.9 […]

CFO Journal: Corporate America Pays Higher Tax Abroad

February 28, 2014

(Original Post) TAX February 27, 2014 CFO.com | US Nearly 40 percent of 288 Fortune 500 companies studied paid zero or less in U.S. income taxes in at least one year. David M. Katz The Beltway view that a relatively high corporate income tax puts the United States at a competitive disadvantage is false, contend […]

Domestic Fuel: The Sorry State of Corporate Taxes

February 28, 2014

(Original Report) Posted on February 28, 2014 by Joanna Schroeder Citizens for Tax Justice has released a new five-year, comprehensive study of 288 profitable Fortune 500 companies finds that 26 paid no federal corporate income tax over the five-year period; 111 paid no federal corporate income tax in at least one of the last five […]

New Jersey News Room: Many of America’s Most Profitable Corporations, Including N.J.-Based Honeywell, Pay Little or No Federal Income Taxes

February 28, 2014

THURSDAY, 27 FEBRUARY 2014 08:56 BY JON WHITEN AND JENICE ROBINSON SPECIAL TO NEWJESEYNEWSROOM.COM Washington, D.C. – A comprehensive five-year study of 288 highly profitable Fortune 500 companies finds that 111 of them paid no federal corporate income tax in at least one of the last five years while one-third paid a U.S. tax rate […]

Marketplace: The highway repair fund is going broke

February 28, 2014

(Original Post) by Dan Weissmann Thursday, February 27, 2014 – 12:32 This week, President Barack Obama has been talking up his plans to pay for $302 billion worth of much-needed infrastructure repairs: roads, bridges, that kind of thing. Here’s one thing that’s not on the President’s list of fund-raising tools: Raising the gasoline tax, which […]

News & Observer: Duke Energy paid no federal income taxes in recent years

February 26, 2014

(Original Post) Posted by David Ranii on February 26, 2014  Duke Energy is one of 26 profitable Fortune 500 companies that paid no federal income taxes over the past five years, according to a new report. A Duke spokesman said the Charlotte-based company benefited from accelerated depreciation on billions of dollars in capital investments that […]

San Francisco Chronicle: Wells Fargo gets big break in federal income taxes

February 26, 2014

(Original Post) Kathleen Pender Updated 4:15 am, Wednesday, February 26, 2014 Out 0f 288 Fortune 500 companies that made money every year between 2008 and 2012, Wells Fargo received the largest estimated federal income tax subsidies – $21.6 billion over the five-year period, according to a report issued Tuesday by Citizens for Tax Justice. The […]

The Hill: Corporations pay fraction of top tax rate

February 26, 2014

(Original Post) February 26, 2014, 09:54 am By Bernie Becker Many leading U.S. corporations paid just a fraction of the top 35 percent tax rate, with some even paying less than zero, according to a new study from liberal advocates. Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found in a […]

Value Walk: Wells Fargo & Co Leads Profitable Companies In Tax Breaks, Again

February 26, 2014

(Original Post) by Brendan ByrneFebruary 26, 2014, 1:52 pm In a recently released report focusing on 288 Fortune 500 companies that were profitable for five consecutive years, Wells Fargo & Co has once again led the way in corporate tax breaks In a collaborative report issued yesterday by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute […]

Toledo Blade: Gov. Kasich says it’s his duty ‘to serve everyone,’ so why is he proposing another unneeded, unequal tax cut?

February 26, 2014

(Original Post) GOV. John Kasich launched this year’s re-election campaign with his State of the State address Monday night. The speech was designed to — and did — appeal to his core political constituency. Whether other Ohioans were equally persuaded by his insistence that “I’m your governor” is questionable. Mr. Kasich asserted during his message […]

The Columbus Dispatch: Income tax cut, sales tax expansion debated

February 26, 2014

(Original Post) By  Jim Siegel The Columbus Dispatch Tuesday February 12, 2013 2:22 PM  Ohio Tax Commissioner Joe Testa told lawmakers today that the expansive tax overhaul package proposed by Gov. John Kasich will make a fundamental shift from a reliance on income taxes to a consumption tax. “High income tax rates are toxic to […]

Washington Post: A (very) brief history of the state gas tax on its 95th birthday

February 25, 2014

(Original Post) BY NIRAJ CHOKSHI February 25 at 2:41 pm Nearly a century ago today, Oregon implemented a novel policy idea that’s since become a national mainstay: It became the first state to implement a gas tax. But with the tax on its last legs, it may also be the state that figures out how […]

The Huffington Post: Boeing Paid No Federal Income Tax Last Year

February 24, 2014

(Original Post) The Huffington Post  | by  Jillian Berman Posted: 02/20/2014 5:01 pm EST Updated: 02/20/2014 5:59 pm EST One of the largest recipients of federal government contracts paid nothing in taxes last year, according to an analysis from the Center for Effective Government, a left-leaning think tank. Boeing reported an $82 million tax refund […]

Toledo Blade: Whose tax cut?

February 20, 2014

(Original Post) The latest scheme to cut state income tax rates would favor the rich, increase inequality, and harm basic services Gov. John Kasich and many members of the Republican-controlled General Assembly will campaign for re-election this year largely on their efforts to cut Ohio’s personal income tax yet again. Voters — at least middle-class […]

The Capital Times: Scott Walker redistributes wealth — upward

February 19, 2014

(Original Post) Scott Walker may not know how to create jobs. But he does know how to create income inequality. The governor’s election-season tax cut scheme is widening the gap between the very well off and the rest of us by redistributing wealth upward. An analysis of the governor’s initiative by the nonpartisan Institute on […]

The Tulsa World: OU leader slams funding cuts

February 18, 2014

(Original Post) President Boren says constant reductions are harming higher education in the state. BY KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer | 0 comments University of Oklahoma President David Boren is decrying the governor’s proposal to again cut higher education funding and is urging Oklahoma residents to raise their voices to stop further reductions. He became […]

Cincinnati City Beat: Kasich’s Tax Proposal Favors Wealthy

February 18, 2014

(Original Post) February 14th, 2014 By German Lopez | News | Posted In: News, Economy, Governor Proposal would let poor buy a slice of pizza, while top 1 percent could buy a trip to Italy Gov. John Kasich’s income tax proposal would disproportionately favor Ohio’s wealthiest, an analysis from Policy Matters Ohio and the Institute […]

MLive.com: Immigration officials up pressure on undocumented workers in Michigan

February 18, 2014

(Original Post) By Gary Ridley | [email protected]  on February 16, 2014 at 6:30 AM, updated February 16, 2014 at 6:35 AM FLINT, MI — Jose Guerra was 15 when he started working illegally in the United States. Guerra, now 25, said he, his parents, two brothers and sister left Mexico in 2003 to find work […]

Politico: Combined Reporting in Maryland Not All Bad

February 18, 2014

(Original Post) The proposed mandatory unitary combined reporting bill in Maryland that ruffled some critics’ feathers last week might have some backers after all. The idea of corporations filing consolidated income tax returns isn’t anything new since most states with corporate income taxes require combined reporting, Carl Davis, senior policy analyst at Institute on Taxation […]

The Huffington Post: Raising Taxes On The Rich Would Reduce Income Inequality: Larry Summers

February 18, 2014

(Original Post) The Huffington Post | by Jillian Berman Posted: 02/17/2014 3:07 pm EST Updated: 02/17/2014 3:59 pm EST Raising taxes on the rich would “play a major role” in reducing income inequality, according to Larry Summers. Capping the earnings of the likes of Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates would do little to actually boost […]