Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

North Carolina Budget & Tax Center: Missing the Mark for North Carolina

September 28, 2022

Inflation isn’t just a pocketbook problem, it’s a budget problem as well. Governments feel the pinch of gas prices climbing higher, food becoming more expensive, and increased competition from private sector employers as well as most of the impacts of inflation that affect consumers and businesses. Unfortunately, the 2022-23 budget allows inflation to undermine the […]

13 states plus D.C. created or expanded state CTCs or EITCs this year, helping create more equitable state tax systems WASHINGTON, D.C.: In 2022’s state legislative sessions, lawmakers across the country advanced tax policies that will bolster the economic security of millions of low- and moderate-income working families through new and enhanced Child Tax Credits […]

Center for Public Integrity: How State Taxes Make Inequality Worse

September 14, 2022

All but a handful of states make poor residents contribute a greater share of their income to taxes than wealthy people do. Economists call that upside-down approach “regressive.” Nationwide, the share the lowest-income earners pay to state and local taxes is 54% higher than what the top earners pay, according to the Institute on Taxation and […]

Plan Would Leave 1 in 4 Children Worse Off Compared to Current Law and Help Half as Many Low-Income Children as the 2021 Expansion of the Credit Washington, D.C. — With pressure mounting on lawmakers to find a way forward for expanding the Child Tax Credit, Sen. Mitt Romney’s CTC proposal is being pushed as […]

Yahoo: Handful of States Debate Whether to Tax Forgiven Student Loans

September 3, 2022

A handful of states could still end up taxing President Biden’s recently announced student loan forgiveness of up to $20,000. Read more.

Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: 2022 Special Legislative Session: Understanding Impacts of the Tax and Education Bill

September 1, 2022

State surpluses and strong revenue growth are leaving many states with a big opportunity this year. Idaho is no exception and is faced with options to advance policies that directly improve people’s lives in education, health care, housing, child care, transportation, and other budget areas. A 2022 Special Legislative Session bill that reduces taxes and […]

Maine Center for Economic Policy: New Tax Relief Plan Will Disproportionately Benefit Wealthy Seniors

August 30, 2022

This year, lawmakers included a tax change in the state’s budget that will significantly expand tax benefits for pension recipients in Maine. Beginning in 2023, pension recipients will be allowed to exempt up to $25,000 in pension income from state income taxes, and that amount will increase to $35,000 for tax years 2025 and after. […]

Minnesota Reformer: Scott Jensen’s Proposal to Eliminate Income Tax Would Benefit Minnesota’s Wealthiest

August 29, 2022

Republican nominee for governor Scott Jensen wants to eliminate the state income tax, which would create a $15 billion hole in the state budget every year. Read more.

Missouri Budget Project: Special Session Tax Proposal Leaves Out 1/3 of Missouri Taxpayers, Weighted to Benefit Wealthiest

August 28, 2022

Governor Parson’s recently released tax proposal would leave out about one-third of Missourians, including many of those who pay the highest proportion of their income in state & local taxes, and set the state up for a Kansas-like budget bomb that would require significant cuts to schools, public safety, healthcare, and other critical needs. Read […]

The New Republic: How Red States Use Regressive Grocery Taxes to Feed the Rich

August 23, 2022

Conservative state legislatures are using pandemic-era surpluses to give tax cuts for the wealthy while maintaining unfair flat taxes that punish the poor. Read more.

Four Tax Policy Wins in the Inflation Reduction Act and Four More That Can Build on This Progress

With four major tax policy provisions, the IRA takes a huge step toward a fairer tax code and a more equitable economy. But as always, there are more steps lawmakers should take to build on this progress.

Putting Cleveland and the Nation on a Path Toward Tax and Climate Justice

Editor’s note: This originally ran as an opinion piece in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. When I left Cleveland to work on federal tax policy after 20 years running Policy Matters Ohio, I knew Ohio would stay in my heart and fuel my work.  Accustomed to an America that often ignores our toughest problems, I understood […]

blog  

The Case for More IRS Funding

August 22, 2022 • By Jon Whiten

The Case for More IRS Funding

Editor’s note: This originally ran as an opinion piece in The Hill. Though the Inflation Reduction Act is enormously popular, some politicians and pundits are trying to generate hysteria about one feature: Funding for the IRS. All the false claims are distracting us from two important things: how necessary the funding increase is to reverse […]

Newsweek: Stimulus Check Update: Child Tax Credit Bill Faces Uphill Battle

August 19, 2022

Conversations on reviving the expanded child tax credit—which the White House credited as the main driver behind bringing child poverty to record lows in 2021—might not be finished yet. Read more.

The Progressive: Finding Cash for Kids

August 18, 2022

Congress failed to extend the expanded Child Tax Credit, which cut childhood poverty by nearly a third. Now, states are adopting their own versions. Read more.

KALW’s ‘Your Call’: Senate Democrats Impose New Tax Rules on Corporations

August 15, 2022

ITEP’s Joe Hughes joined Your Call to discuss the tax provisions in the Democrats’ reconciliation bill, which passed the Senate on Sunday without one Republican vote. Listen here.

Marketwatch: Here’s How Private Equity Got Relief in Democrats’ Healthcare, Climate and Tax Package

August 15, 2022

The bipartisan duo of Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and John Thune helped private equity firms escape tens of billions of dollars in potential tax increases and instead walk away with relief from the new 15% corporate minimum tax in the Inflation Reduction Act. Read more.

NBC: Right-Wing Outcry Over IRS Funding Builds as Agency Workers Describe Shortages of Staff and Printer Paper

August 14, 2022

Inside the Internal Revenue Service, which is on the brink of a major funding infusion that Democrats and agency workers say is badly needed to boost efficiency and revenues, staffers describe bringing their own office supplies and working extensive overtime in understaffed divisions. Read more.

Insider: The Inflation Reduction Act’s Tax on Stock Buybacks Isn’t a Perfect Solution to Close the Wealth Gap — But It’s a Step in the Right Direction

August 14, 2022

One last-minute addition to the IRA received relatively little attention, and it could stand to be one of the most transformative policies in the bill. Read more.

Common Dreams: ‘Biggest Win for Tax Fairness’ in Decades: Progressives Cheer Reforms in IRA, Demand More

August 14, 2022

Following House Democrats’ passage of the Inflation Reduction Act on Friday, progressives applauded the most significant changes to the federal tax code since 2017, when Republicans’ highly regressive and deeply unpopular Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was enthusiastically welcomed by corporations and the wealthy. Read more.

Washington Post: With Sinema’s Help, Private Equity Firms Win Relief from Proposed Tax Hikes

August 11, 2022

Senate Democrats agreed Sunday to protect firms owned by the private equity industry from a new minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations, bowing to pressure from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who insisted on making the change to the Democrats’ sprawling climate, health-care and tax package. Read more.

Time: Some of America’s Largest Corporations Pay Zero Taxes. Here’s How Congressional Democrats Aim to Change That

August 11, 2022

Progressive Democrats have been grousing for what seems like eons about the fact that some of the nation’s wealthiest corporations avoid paying their fair share in taxes. This weekend, the Senate inched a step closer to a fix when it approved a historic $370 billion climate and healthcare spending package that would be paid for almost […]

Los Angeles Times: Tax Provisions May Be Democrats’ Most Unexpected Victory in the Inflation Bill

August 11, 2022

The budget reconciliation bill just passed by the Senate and heading for final congressional approval offers dramatic improvements in American policies aimed at fighting global warming and improving healthcare. Read more.

Washington Post: The Corporate Minimum Tax Could Hit These Ultra-Profitable Companies

August 11, 2022

The House is expected to approve the Inflation Reduction Act on Friday that includes a minimum tax rate of 15 percent on highly profitable companies — a levy that could hit Amazon, Verizon and others. The tax would help pay for large investments across climate and health care. Read more.

U.S. News: What the Inflation Reduction Act Means for You

August 11, 2022

The Inflation Reduction Act requires certain large corporations to pay a minimum income tax of 15% and a 1% tax on stock buybacks. The bill also allocates an additional $80 billion in funding to the Internal Revenue Service for enforcement efforts like conducting audits and uncovering instances of tax fraud. Read more.