Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

Orlando Sentinel: Shamu the shrewd? SeaWorld sees record earnings – and no income tax

December 17, 2012

(Originial Post) 5:56 p.m. EST, April 4, 2012| By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment had a banner year in 2011. Attendance and guest spending rose across its U.S. theme parks. Earnings set a company record. But SeaWorld won’t have to pay a dime in federal income tax. It will not have to […]

The Orlando Sentinel: SeaWorld an example of why people want tax laws changed

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By Jason Garcia — The Orlando Sentinel Posted: 12:00am on Apr 9, 2012; Modified: 1:38am on Apr 9, 2012 ORLANDO, Fla. — SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment had a banner year in 2011. Attendance and guest spending rose across its United States theme parks. Earnings set a company record. But SeaWorld won’t have to […]

The Hill: 26 top corporations paid subzero tax rate

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By Bernie Becker – 04/09/12 07:52 PM ET Twenty-six Fortune 500 companies paid a tax rate of less than zero over a four-year span, according to a new study. The report from Citizens for Tax Justice and the the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy updated an analysis released last year that found […]

PressTV: Fortune 500 companies make money from taxes

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Instead of giving money to the government, it turns out more than a few U.S. companies are actually making money off their income taxes. In a recent report by the Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, 26 of 30 Fortune 500 companies examined had negative income […]

The Examiner: Report shows profitable corporations paid no tax in 2011

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) April 10, 2012 Robert BowenEconomic Policy Examiner A new report released today shows that many very profitable corporations paid no federal tax in 2011. In fact, many received big taxpayer subsidies.  This news may not make the average middle class taxpayer feel great when they pay their taxes this week.Citizens for Tax Justice […]

Market Watch: Nearly 30 Fortune 500 companies dodge taxes since 2008

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) April 10, 2012, 2:02 PM Twenty-six Fortune 500 companies including General Electric and Boeing paid no net federal income taxes from 2008 through 2011, according to a new report from the left-leaning group Citizens for Tax Justice. Many of those companies avoided paying taxes by using a tax provision known as accelerated depreciation, […]

Tulsa World: Anti-tax group’s flawed ‘research’

December 17, 2012

LYNNE SHAW Published: 4/11/2012  2:24 AM Last Modified: 4/11/2012  3:53 AM What is the difference between serious statistical research and statistical manipulation? The foundation for all of the Oklahoma personal income tax proposals is one “study” done by the commercial and biased group of Arduin, Laffer and Moore Econometrics (ALME). Its work was published by […]

The Detroit News: Government is not the problem – nor is paying taxes for it

December 17, 2012

April 11, 2012 at 1:00 am By Gilda Z. Jacobs On a wintry February day, I woke up, showered and got ready to take my little dog, Jake, for his morning walk. It snowed during the night, and I was grateful that the snow had already been removed from the streets and sidewalks. Jake appreciated […]

International Business Times: 26 Big US Companies Paid No Federal Income Tax From 2008 To 2011

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By Ashley Portero: April 11, 2012 11:20 AM EDT Twenty-six companies in the Fortune 500 paid no U.S. federal income over a four-year period, often through a corporate tax break that’s expected to cost the Treasury $37 billion in revenue between 2010 and 2014, according to a new corporate tax analysis from Citizens […]

ABC News: Report: 26 U.S. Companies Not Paying Federal Income Tax

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By SUSANNA KIM (@skimm)April 11, 2012 In November, the liberal lobbying group Citizens for Tax Justice stirred controversy with a report highlighting 280 so-called corporate tax-dodgers, highlighting companies they said were paying under the 35 percent federal income corporate tax rate. This week, the group revised its list with new data and said […]

Huffington Post: The Facts About U.S. Corporate Taxes

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) You might have heard how the U.S. has just become “number one” in corporate taxation. The campaign to make this event news was led by the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs that advocates for a lower corporate rate and a more “competitive” tax system. They cleverly used the day that Japan lowered […]

Newsday: New York should pass its Dream Act

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Published: April 11, 2012 6:13 PMBy CARL HAYDEN Carl Hayden is former Regents chancellor and former chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees. Undocumented young people are everywhere in our public schools. They pay tuition at our colleges and universities. Despite a persistent misperception, they and their parents pay taxes. Still, they are […]

John Hopkins News-Letter: Illegal immigration is not the problem

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By NIKKO PRICE Published: Saturday, April 14, 2012 Updated: Friday, April 13, 2012 21:04 This week, the Christian Science Monitor reported that illegal immigration in the United States has hit a net zero for the first time in 50 years. The population of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. has fallen from 12 million […]

Greenwich Times: ‘Buffet Rule’ would hit Connecticut hard

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Charles J. LewisPublished 06:18 p.m., Saturday, April 14, 2012 WASHINGTON — Many well-heeled Connecticut taxpayers are likely to pay close attention to how the state’s two senators vote Monday when the U.S. Senate considers the “Buffet Rule,” President Barack Obama’s bid to raise taxes on millionaires. Senators will take up legislation, dubbed the […]

Wall Street Journal: Taxes–Who Really Is Paying Up

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Updated April 15, 2012, 12:08 a.m. ET By ANDREA COOMBES Do you pay your fair share in taxes? Even as President Barack Obama pitches the “Buffett rule” to ensure that millionaires pay at least a 30% tax rate, some commentators are decrying the fact that about half of U.S. taxpayers don’t pay any […]

Great Falls Tribune: Montana lawmakers split with Buffett Rule coming to head

December 17, 2012

5:11 AM, Apr. 15, 2012  | WASHINGTON — Should millionaires be required to pay higher taxes? Montana’s U.S. lawmakers are split over the issue, which is expected to be front and center in Washington, D.C., this week. At issue is a concept pushed by President Barack Obama and other Democrats, called the Buffett Rule. Named […]

The Birmingham News: Funding for Alabama’s Northern Beltline uncertain

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Published: Sunday, April 15, 2012, 9:00 AM     Updated: Sunday, April 15, 2012, 4:56 PM By Thomas Spencer As the Alabama Department of Transportation prepares to embark on one of the most ambitious interstate building projects in the nation — the 52-mile, $4.7 billion Northern Beltline — both the state and the federal government […]

The Huffington Post: Time for a 99 Percent Tax Revolt

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Elizabeth ParisianPolicy analyst, Stand Up! Chicago With Tax Day tomorrow, it seems like the subject of taxes — tax policy, tax fairness, tax reform — is on everyone’s minds. On Tuesday, President Obama gave a speech in Florida in support of the Buffet Rule, in what is likely a move to make tax […]

Market Watch: Taxes: Are you paying your fair share?

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) By Andrea Coombes, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Do you pay your fair share in taxes? Even as President Barack Obama pitches the “Buffett rule” to ensure that millionaires pay at least a 30% tax rate, some commentators are decrying the fact that about half of U.S. taxpayers don’t pay any federal income […]

Connecticut News Junkie: Taxes Build Our State and Nation

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) by Wade Gibson | Apr 16, 2012 9:55am For Easter, my friend and I traveled from Connecticut to visit family down in Texas, a distance of nearly 2,000 miles. Two centuries ago, our journey would have taken months by land; a sailboat would have hastened our trip, although we would have feared pirates […]

The Huffington Post: Corporations That Spent The Most On Lobbying Saw Tax Rates Decline

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Luke JohnsonPosted: 04/17/2012 8:09 am Updated: 04/17/2012 8:09 am The top eight companies that spent the most on federal lobbying from 2007 to 2009 all saw their reported tax rates decrease from 2007 to 2010, according to a new analysis released Monday by the Sunlight Foundation. The report notes that these top eight […]

The Tennessean: Activists hold bake sale to make point about Tennessee taxes

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Posted on April 17, 2012 by Chas Sisk Tennesseans for Fair Taxation, a group that advocates a state income tax, never seems to give up. The legislature may be no mood to consider an income tax (video), but TFT was outside Legislative Plaza today with a ploy to win them over. Members of […]

The Progressive Pulse: On Tax Day, demonstrators seek tax equality for the 99%

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) Post on April 17, 2012 by Clayton HenkelAs last-minute tax filers scramble to get their taxes in by Tuesday’s midnight deadline, demonstrators gathered outside the Bank of America branch in Raleigh’s Cameron Village to protest corporate tax avoidance. The NC AFL-CIO, MoveOn.org, and other community activists believe that Tax Day is a reminder […]

The Huffington Post: Breakfast With the One Percent

December 17, 2012

(Original Post) 04/18/2012 6:35 pmSarita Gupta is the Executive Director of National Jobs with Justice. 6:00 a.m. — A Verizon cell phone, which doubles as your alarm clock, goes off. You silence the alarm and find a text reminder that your bill is due. It’s Verizon that needs a reminder to pay its fair share. […]

Courier News: MoveOn protests tax inequity

December 17, 2012

6:20 AM, Apr. 18, 2012 Written by Bob Makin Staff Writer CENTRAL JERSEY — Nearly two dozen MoveOn members participated in the organization’s Tax the 1% National Day of Action at a bank in New Brunswick and at post offices in Flemington and Mendham on Tuesday. Regional organizer Mary Stevens said the protests in front […]