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Tax Provisions in the White House Build Back Better Framework: The Good and Bad
October 28, 2021 • By Amy Hanauer
The tax provisions in the Build Back Better framework released by the White House today include enormously helpful reforms but also some disappointments. The good news is that the plan would raise nearly $2 trillion over a decade from those who can afford to pay–the richest Americans and large, profitable corporations. The bad news is that some fundamental problems with our tax code would remain unaddressed.
President Reagan is lionized by many for cutting taxes and government. But the story is more complicated. Reagan knee-capped regulation and much domestic spending, and early in his administration he slashed taxes in ways that drastically reduced revenue. Yet he vastly expanded military spending, so his cuts were only to things he disliked. Less known […]
The Hill: Overnight On The Money — Senate Democrats lay out their tax plans
October 27, 2021
The background: The proposal is aimed at preventing large corporations from paying zero in federal income taxes. According to the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, at least 55 large U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes in 2020, including FedEx and Nike. Read more
Bloomberg: How Democrats Could Tax Companies More—Without Undoing Trump’s Tax Cuts
October 22, 2021
However, Democrats would need to take a much more aggressive approach if they want to raise revenue to cover some of the gap from a company, according to Steve Wamhoff, the director of federal policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank. For example, Biden has floated a 21% minimum […]
Marketwatch: As Democrats’ tax proposals evolve, the outlook for the super-rich is improving
October 22, 2021
“There is no doubt that wealthy people are talking Democratic lawmakers into doing things that are not popular with the American public,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. For example, more than half of U.S. adults (59%) said they are bothered “a lot” that […]
Business Insider: Biden roasts 55 companies like Nike and FedEx for paying less in taxes than the price of a cup of coffee
October 21, 2021
To make the case, he’s referencing one of his favorite talking points when it comes to the corporate tax: Multinational corporations who paid $0 in income taxes. An April report from the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that 55 corporations including Nike and FedEx paid no federal income taxes on their 2020 […]
The Washington Post: Biden’s favorite stat — that 55 major corporations paid no federal income tax
October 21, 2021
The number comes from a report issued in April by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The group studied the corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission of companies listed in the Fortune 500, zeroing in on companies that posted profits. In 2020, ITEP found, 55 profitable companies indicated that they […]
Barrons: Even Scaled Back, Biden’s Tax Reforms Would Reshape Business
October 19, 2021
Following is an excerpt of an opEd by ITEP Executive Director Amy Hanauer: Despite the drama about getting majorities of lawmakers to support it, the tax bill before Congress right now would deliver fundamental reform. The Build Back Better proposal raises revenue from corporations and the wealthy, blocks corporate tax avoidance, and funds crucial priorities that […]
Fast Company: Is the Global Minimum Tax Enough?
October 13, 2021
The result of many months of negotiations, the decision means companies doing business abroad will have to pay a minimum tax of 15% on their overseas profits, leaving little advantage to continue various “accounting gimmicks” currently in play, says Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), […]
McClatchy: Biden’s spending plan has big income tax changes. Here are the Californians who would benefit
October 12, 2021
Chief beneficiaries of tax cuts would be parents and very low-income workers without children who are among the lowest 20% of income earners, which means those making less than $29,100 in California. Increases in the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit help people in their income bracket. “This is going to have […]
Brinkwire: Update on the IRS Child Tax Credit for 2021
October 12, 2021
Only kids with Social Security numbers are eligible to claim the tax credit, CNBC reports. So, some lawmakers have proposed to allow kids with individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN) to receive the credit. Researchers at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy think this change could benefit up to one million children. Read more
Associated Press: How US states help rich foreigners shield assets
October 10, 2021
The Pandora Papers revealed how hundreds of politicians, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have used shell companies and trusts to hide their wealth and investments. “The Pandora Papers is all about individuals using secrecy jurisdictions, which we would call tax havens, when the goal is to evade taxes,″ said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal […]
Associated Press: ‘Pandora Papers’ bring renewed calls for tax haven scrutiny
October 8, 2021
“The Pandora Papers is all about individuals using secrecy jurisdictions, which we would call tax havens, when the goal is to evade taxes,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington. Read more
Politico: Democrats likely to throw billions in tax hikes overboard as spending plans shrink
October 8, 2021
“Democrats need to think about reforms to capital gains that prevent rich people from avoiding capital gains,” said Steve Wamhoff, a former tax aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) now at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “You can do all kinds of things to improve the tax code but if those people […]
Arkansas Times: Arkansas income tax cut plan favors the rich. Duh.
October 8, 2021
Analyses by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) show that plans to cut the top income tax rate would largely benefit Arkansans with the highest incomes and cost hundreds of millions in annual revenue. ITEP estimates that cutting the top tax rate from 5.9 percent to 5.5 percent would cost the state $138 million annually. […]
Yahoo! Finance: Democrats’ tax plan makes ‘baby steps’ toward racial wealth equity
October 6, 2021
By lifting up families at the bottom through tax credits and taxing affluent households more, Democrats can help narrow the racial wealth gap. But their latest plan may not be ambitious enough, according to experts, after they scaled back some of President Joe Biden’s initial proposals. “It’s baby steps,” Carl Davis, research director at the […]
Truthout: Elizabeth Warren Probes “Corrupt” Link Between Tax System and Private Sector
October 6, 2021
A report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy earlier this year found that 55 large corporations, including FedEx, Nike and American Electric Power, paid $0 in federal income taxes in 2020. In fact, the effective tax rate was in the negatives for many of these companies, partially thanks to the 2017 tax cuts […]
How State Income Tax Reforms Can Narrow the Racial Income and Wealth Gaps
October 4, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
This report is second in a series that will examine how state tax codes impact the racial income and wealth gaps and offer policy recommendations for addressing those inequities. Currently, all but five state tax systems are upside down, meaning they tax the top 1 percent at a lower rate than the poorest 20 percent. Longstanding economic and social injustices, including unequal access to education and job discrimination among other things, have created an economy in which white families are more likely to thrive and build wealth and be in the highest-income brackets. So, state tax systems that rely more on regressive…
Galen Hendricks
September 29, 2021 • By Galen Hendricks
Galen Hendricks joined ITEP in 2021. As a data analyst, he supports ITEP’s microsimulation model and analyzes the impacts of tax policy changes. Prior to joining ITEP, Galen worked at the Center for American Progress, where he conducted research on federal fiscal policy and labor market trends.
Maine Beacon: Analysis: Dems’ budget plan would raise taxes on rich, cut rates for 80% of Mainers
September 25, 2021
A report released this week by a national policy group found that proposed changes to the tax code advanced by the House Ways and Means Committee to pay for the sweeping expansion of the social safety net within Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget bill could result in a tax cut for 80% of Mainers while only […]
Wall Street Journal: Zero-tax companies could remain
September 24, 2021
Mr. Biden’s often-cited list of 55 companies comes from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP, a progressive group that publishes a regular report on the zero-tax-company phenomenon. This year’s list included companies such as VeriSign Inc., Sealed Air Corp. and DTE Energy Co. Amazon.com Inc., often the political poster child for light […]
The Motley Fool: House Democrats Push for Expansion of Tax Credit Designed for Low Earners
September 19, 2021
Now, House Democrats want to make the expanded EITC a permanent fixture of the tax code. If they get their way, the increased credit could provide $12.4 billion to families in 2022, impacting 19.5 million workers, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. At the same time, Democratic lawmakers are pushing to keep […]
New ITEP Report Reveals a Trove of Data that Support the Case for a Higher Corporate Tax Rate
September 17, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
Media contact A new report from ITEP highlights multiple data sets that reveal how U.S.-based multinational corporations are avoiding taxes and debunks claims that a higher tax rate would make firms less globally competitive. The report, Why Congress Should Reform the Federal Corporate Income Tax, comes as Congress is weighing a budget plan that would increase the statutory corporate […]
The Hill: Lessons from Occupy Wall Street for today’s tax fight
September 17, 2021
Following is an excerpt from an opEd by Amy Hanauer, ITEP’s executive director, published in The Hill. Right now, Congress is debating President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, a plan that would make a meaningful dent in the key questions the Occupy movement raised. Who is the economy for? How can it work for all of us, not just […]
CNBC: About 1 Million More Kids Could Get the Child Tax Credit in the Future Thanks to This Change in Plan From Democrats
September 17, 2021
One major change in the current proposal is allowing children with individual taxpayer identification numbers, or ITINs, to receive the credit. These kids, who are often undocumented children growing up in the U.S., were left out of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Thus, their parents have not been able to claim the child […]
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