Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Tax calculator for Missouri legislation doesn’t give the full picture

May 2, 2013

(Original Post) I’m writing in response to Virginia Young’s “Tax shuffle could shake up Missouri” article (April 29) but specifically regarding the tax plan calculator that accompanies it online. The chart in the article comparing current law, the Senate and House plans is quite helpful and points out important distinctions between the proposals, but the […]

Sussex Countian: Hundreds rally in Georgetown for immigration reform

May 2, 2013

(Original Post) Posted May 1, 2013 midnight Hundreds of people gathered at the Georgetown Presbyterian Church on May 1 to rally for immigration reform. This effort is one of many May Day protests against immigrant deportation that occurred across the country. Of those at the rally were Maxima 900 AM & 106.1 FM, La Esperanza, […]

The Dallas Morning News: Texas Legislature weighs change to power companies’ ‘phantom taxes’

May 2, 2013

(Original Post) By JAMES OSBORNE Staff Writer [email protected] Published: 01 May 2013 08:56 PM Updated: 01 May 2013 09:01 PM It’s an arcane corner of state law through which utility corporations nationwide can charge their customers for federal taxes they never paid. And under a bill moving through the Texas Legislature, power companies that do […]

The Huffington Post: Executive Pay Of Austerity Advocates Saves Companies More Than $1 Billion Via Tax Loophole

May 2, 2013

(Original Post) Zach Carter [email protected] Posted: 05/02/2013 12:00 am EDT  |  Updated: 05/02/2013 8:26 am EDT WASHINGTON — Companies in the Fix the Debt coalition, which advocates for federal austerity policies, qualified for $1 billion or more in tax breaks tied to executive pay packages from 2009 to 2011, according to a new report by […]

Charlotte Observer: On N.C. state sales tax, a special deal for many businesses

April 30, 2013

By Dan Kane [email protected] Posted: Monday, Apr. 29, 2013 In the thick of the Great Recession four years ago, state lawmakers fought into the evening over a proposed one-penny increase in the state’s sales tax to prevent further cuts to schools, courts and health care services. House Minority Leader Paul “Skip” Stam grabbed the microphone […]

The Huffington Post: McDonald’s, Starbucks, Apple Reaping Billions Of Dollars From Little-Known Tax Break

April 24, 2013

(Original Post) By Jillian Berman    Posted: 04/24/2013 3:38 pm EDT  |  Updated: 04/24/2013 3:44 pm EDT Hundreds of Fortune 500 companies are reaping billions at the expense of Uncle Sam because of a legal tax break that critics claim defies “common sense.” Over the past three years 280 Fortune 500 companies have taken home a […]

MSN News: Two-thirds of Americans oppose gas tax hikes

April 24, 2013

(Original Post) According to Gallup, Americans may object to increasing gas prices while the economy is still unstable. By Douglas Newcomb As state legislatures across the U.S. debate whether to raise gas taxes to repair crumbling roads, a new Gallup poll finds that two-thirds of Americans would vote against gas tax hikes in their home […]

Reuters: State tax reform efforts snarled by politics but backers persist

April 24, 2013

(Original Post) By Nanette Byrnes Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:19pm EDT (Reuters) – From Louisiana to Ohio, Massachusetts and Nebraska, bold proposals to upend state tax laws are losing momentum in the face of political squabbles and special interest opposition. Just a short time ago, it looked as if several state leaders would show gridlocked […]

The Motley Fool: The 7 States With the Lowest Gasoline Taxes

April 22, 2013

(Original Post) The price of gasoline is constantly on people’s minds. The prices you see on those gas-station signs everywhere you drive are tough enough to swallow, but what you may not know is the extent to which gas taxes contribute to those prices. The federal tax is $0.184 per gallon, and states add their […]

The Badger Herald: ‘Free market fundamentalists’ wrong on minimum wage

April 22, 2013

(Original Post) By Aaron LoudenslagerThe Badger Herald Apr 22, 2013 6:00am Some debates are perpetual in nature. The never-ending debate about whether or not the minimum wage is good economic policy is one of them. Regardless, it is a debate I find intriguing and one I feel obligated to enter. Contrary to the assertions of […]

Indianapolis Star: Indiana suffers from bad tax system, bad tax cuts

April 22, 2013

Written by Dan Carpenter Do Hoosiers even want Gov. Mike Pence’s income tax cut? And should they, considering that Indiana has one of the most regressive, elitist, tax systems in the nation, and what’s on the table will only make matters worse? The first question was put to Pence in a recent meeting with The […]

The Wichita Eagle: Brownback ‘tax swap’ plan facing stiff opposition

April 22, 2013

(Original Post) By Brad CooperKansas City Star Published Sunday, April 21, 2013, at 6:54 a.m. Eliminating or slashing the income tax is a romantic idea for many politicians. Getting there is much less dreamy. Just ask Republican Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and a handful of other GOP governors who want income tax cuts but propose […]

The Huffington Post: Legalizing Marijuana Would Generate Billions In Additional Tax Revenue Annually

April 22, 2013

(Original Post) By Caroline Fairchild    Posted: 04/20/2013 9:13 am EDT  |  Updated: 04/20/2013 9:19 am EDT As Washington lawmakers struggle to find ways to balance the national budget, a significant source of revenue may be burning away right before their eyes. The federal legalization of marijuana would offer a large new revenue stream, according to […]

Hartford Courant: Rich Paying More Broadens Opportunity For All

April 22, 2013

(Original Post) April 19, 2013|By WADE GIBSON | COMMENTARY, The Hartford Courant Most people would agree that Connecticut’s wealthiest residents should pay a greater share of their income in taxes than middle- and working-class residents. With 100, 1,000 or even 10,000 times more disposable income than the average resident, the state’s richest individuals can afford […]

San Marcos Mercury: Tax misconceptions that distort our perceptions

April 22, 2013

(Original Post) by LAMAR W. HANKINS “Now a petty, narcissistic, pridefully ignorant politics has come to dominate and paralyze our government, while millions of people keep falling through the gaping  hole that has turned us into the United States of Inequality.”  –  Bill Moyers Almost every week, I hear from a friend, acquaintance, or political […]

Think Progress: Christie Revives Tax Cut That Would Give 40 Percent Of Its Benefit To The Top 1 Percent

April 22, 2013

By Travis Waldron on Apr 18, 2013 at 5:00 pm New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is reviving a once-failed income tax plan that will give a 10 percent tax cut to all of the state’s residents but will grant more of its benefits to the wealthiest New Jerseyans. Christie pitched a similar plan in […]

The Plain Dealer: Kasich’s income-tax plan would save taxpayers more than House proposal

April 22, 2013

(Original Post) By Brandon Blackwell, The Plain Dealer on April 15, 2013 at 8:00 PM, updated April 15, 2013 at 8:03 PM COLUMBUS, Ohio – Gov. John Kasich’s plan to slash income taxes would allow Ohioans to keep more of what they earn than the revamped proposal by his fellow Republicans in the Ohio House. […]

MSN Money: Cut corporate taxes? First figure out what they are

April 15, 2013

(Original Post) It’s pretty clear that US businesses are socked more than their global peers, but just how much they actually pay is quite murky. By Jonathan Berr Fri 10:58 AM Democrats and Republicans, who agree on very little anymore, are united in their belief that the top rate for U.S. business taxes needs to […]

The Kansas City Star: Kansas legislation would cost the poor most, critics say

April 15, 2013

April 12 By BRAD COOPER The Kansas City Star TOPEKA — This could be, for better or worse, the year of the poor in Kansas. The dominant powers in the Statehouse — Republicans controlling the legislative and executive branches — regularly press bold measures calculated to jet-charge the economy and put more people to work. […]

The Wall Street Journal: Is Raising the Federal Gasoline Tax the Best Way to Pay for Highways?

April 15, 2013

(Original Post) Updated April 12, 2013, 11:48 a.m. ET The federal gasoline tax is broken. Our highways and bridges are in desperate need of improvement and repair and revenue collected from the 18.4 cent per-gallon tax—the main source of funding for roadways—is falling far short of what we need to fix our crumbling infrastructure. There […]

The Plain Dealer: Firetrucks, productive workers and strong communities

April 15, 2013

(Original Post) By Plain Dealer guest columniston April 14, 2013 at 3:00 AM  On April 13, 2001, my son’s preschool was closed for Good Friday, and I was very pregnant, not done with my tax return and facing a mountain of work before my baby arrived. After running my son around all morning, I warned […]

ABC News 2: Institute says quarter percent income tax cut would save most Oklahoma residents about $39 a year

April 15, 2013

(Original Post) Posted: 04/13/2013 By: Max Resnik TULSA – According to the non-partisan, non-profit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the proposed income tax cut currently being discussed by Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and legislative leaders would add little cash to the pockets of Oklahomans. Much of the discussion has involved reducing the income tax […]

The Lansing State Journal: Cutting earned income credit hits families

April 12, 2013

Apr. 12, 2013 12:45 PM Written by Gilda Jacobs is president and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy. Tax day is right around the corner — and if you are a hardworking family in a low-paying job, you may be in for a big surprise. That’s because in 2011 the Michigan Legislature slashed […]

The Fiscal Times: Bobby Jindal’s Failure Ruins Chances of Tax Reform

April 12, 2013

(Original Post) By BRUCE BARTLETT, The Fiscal TimesApril 12, 2013 Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has been a rising star in the Republican Party for some years. But this year he made a serious misstep on reforming the state’s tax system that has national implications, reducing the chances of tax reform in Washington. To begin with, […]

The Huffington Post: RILA Business Group Urges Congress To Cut Corporate Taxes

April 9, 2013

(Original Post) The Huffington Post  |  By Jillian Berman     Posted: 04/08/2013 6:29 pm EDT  |  Updated: 04/09/2013 11:53 am EDT Walmart, Apple, J.Crew and scores of other famous retailers are members of a group pushing for changes in the corporate tax code that would benefit companies that stash more cash abroad. The Retail Industry […]