Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

The Sun: Nearly one million kids could get child tax credits in new plan… are you in line for cash?

September 17, 2021

Researchers at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy think this change could benefit up to one million children. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act prevented families with ITINs to claim the stimulus payment. Read more

Boston Now: Housing, commuting and medical care pushes 9.4% of Bay Staters into poverty, Census data shows

September 14, 2021

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy also pointed to the stimulus payments as a reason why there was no commensurate spike in poverty in 2020 to go with the deepest unemployment spike since the Depression era. “At the start of the health and economic crisis, we knew that we needed deep government investments to […]

Houston Chronicle: Stimulus checks saved many from poverty, Census data show

September 14, 2021

“At the start of the health and economic crisis, we knew that we needed deep government investments to alleviate widespread hardship,” said Aidan Davis, a senior policy analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, in a statement. “The last year and a half demonstrates that the nation can make a significant dent in […]

Los Angeles Times: Democrats are ready to raise taxes, but not by nearly enough

September 14, 2021

They write off executive stock options, take advantage of federal research and development subsidies, and use accelerated depreciation schedules to write off the decline in the value of equipment faster than the equipment actually loses value. According to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, 26 profitable corporations paid no income tax or recorded a […]

The Hill: House Democrats take step back from Biden on tax hikes

September 14, 2021

Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said the committee’s proposal would be a “huge improvement” over the current tax code. But he also said that a lot of the income of very wealthy people would not be taxed at all, because the committee didn’t adopt Biden’s […]

CNBC: House Democrats push for permanent EITC expansion

September 14, 2021

A permanent expansion may cost $135 billion over the next decade, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates. If enacted, the increased credit may provide $12.4 billion to families in 2022, affecting 19.5 million workers, research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows. Read more

Marketwatch: Biden v. House Democrats: How their proposed tax hikes differ on Roth IRAs, capital gains

September 14, 2021

But the Ways and Means Committee proposals do “not go as far as the Biden administration proposals go,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The committee’s proposal comes months after Biden unveiled his own proposal for tax hikes, which include a higher top income […]

ITEP: House Ways and Means Revenue Proposals Are a Promising Start, Leave Some Crucial Work Undone

Earlier this year, the Biden administration put forth a transformative tax proposal that would raise significant revenue, reduce corporate tax avoidance, and substantially increase taxes paid by the wealthiest individuals. The Ways and Means Committee has kept some of these important reforms but has diluted others in ways that would leave some of the work of tax reform undone. 

Daily Tax Report: House Democrats’ International Tax Plan More Modest in Aim

September 13, 2021

“It’s definitely more corporate-friendly than the Biden plan,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy for the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. But in big-picture terms, he added, it’s also “a big improvement over the tax code as it exists now.” Read more

Huffington Post: How Farms Became Wealthy Heirs’ Anti-Tax Mascot

September 8, 2021

The tax proposals in question do not actually target family farms. The White House has called for higher taxes on capital gains, like the profits from buying a stock and later selling it at a higher price, for people with annual incomes above $1 million. Capital gains currently enjoy special lower tax rates that top […]

Business Insider: Biden is picking a fight on corporate taxes with Disney, Fedex, and others. Senate Democrats may go easier.

September 8, 2021

He also ripped into 55 large companies that paid no federal income taxes in 2020, per a report from the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Those firms who paid nothing included household names like FedEx and Nike. Read more

The Intercept: Companies Lobbying Infrastructure Tax Increase Have Avoided Paying Billions in Taxes

September 8, 2021

A 2016 report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Citizens for Tax Justice, and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Bristol Myers Squibb held $25 billion across 23 tax haven subsidiaries. In 2012 the company set up a tax haven subsidiary in Ireland, which the IRS later described as an “abusive” […]

Wall Street Journal: Heirs, Estates and the Step-Up in Basis Rule

September 8, 2021

Following is an excerpt from a letter to the editor published in the Wall Street Journal by Steve Wamhoff, ITEP federal policy director. Under current law, America’s wealthiest people can avoid paying taxes on a substantial share of their income. Most of what Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos make is appreciation on their assets, also […]

The Nation: The New New Deal

September 6, 2021

Amy Hanauer, the executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, sees the budget as a “long overdue” opportunity to achieve fairer taxation. Biden and Senate Democrats have highlighted the need for a plan to reverse the Trump administration’s giveaways to corporations and the billionaire class. If the pandemic taught us anything, Hanauer […]

The Hill: Progressives prepare to launch counterattack in tax fight

September 2, 2021

“Clearly what is happening is that some lawmakers are responding to a lobbying campaign by corporations and very wealthy people, and that campaign is really kicking into gear now,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

Salon: Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp now lobbies for tax loophole she called “one of the biggest scams”

September 2, 2021

Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, told Salon that the current loophole “unfairly allows billionaires like Jeff Bezos to avoid paying income tax on most of their real income,” because it comes from appreciation on his assets, which are now worth $99 billion more than they were 10 years ago. […]

It’s Not About Farms: Don’t Let Lies Crush Biden’s Tax Plan

Several former Democratic members of Congress have joined a campaign to misrepresent President Biden’s proposal to close a huge tax loophole for wealthy people with capital gains. This proposed reform is the cornerstone of the president’s tax plan. If lawmakers fall for the lies, Biden's plan will collapse. Instead, they should do what is both popular and fair: enact the plan intact so that millionaires and billionaires no longer escape the federal income tax.  

Joe Hughes

August 27, 2021 • By ITEP Staff

Joe Hughes

Joe supports ITEP in monitoring federal tax policies. His research focuses on progressive tax priorities to ensure corporations and the ultra wealthy pay their fair share. Prior to joining ITEP in 2021, Joe worked at the Congressional Research Service and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He completed a master’s in applied economics at George Washington University and undergraduate studies at the University of Tennessee.

New Report Outlines Less Costly Alternatives to SALT Repeal

Media contact Ever since former President Trump and the GOP-led Congress enacted a $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions in December 2017, federal and state lawmakers in the mostly “blue”, higher-income states that have more residents affected by the provision have been weighing measures to repeal the cap or provide state-level workarounds.   Repealing the cap has made […]

Bloomberg Law: Wyden Plan Retains Tax Boost But Mulls Foreign Tax Credit Perk

August 25, 2021

But public opinion supports the idea of companies paying higher taxes on their offshore profits, said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, and he sees Congress approving a significant package of changes. “At the end of the day, the need for revenue to pay for investments, […]

Newark Star-Ledger: U.S. House paves way to increase property tax breaks after delay spurred by N.J. Democrat

August 24, 2021

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive research group, said 80% of the 1.9 million New Jerseyans who would benefit from removing the cap had an average income of $216,000 or less, even though 72% of the benefits would go to the richest 5%. The House’s August recess had been temporarily short-circuited and […]

The Motley Fool: Low-Income Americans Will Get an Average of $3,590 in Stimulus Money in 2021

August 20, 2021

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the lowest-earning Americans will receive more financial relief this year than some of their higher-earning counterparts. Specifically, those who have a household income of $21,300 or less will get an average of $3,590 in stimulus money and tax credits this year. On average, this includes: $2,210 […]

Mississippi Today: Mississippi tax laws place higher burden on people of color

August 19, 2021

“Black households pay an average of 8.7% of their income in state and local tax while Hispanic families pay 9.1%,” according to a recently released study by non-profit One Voice, based on data compiled by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “Those rates are significantly above the statewide average tax rate of 8.4% and […]

Neva Butkus

August 18, 2021 • By ITEP Staff

Neva Butkus

Neva supports researchers and advocates in their fight for equitable and adequate state tax systems through policy analysis, research and collaboration. Prior to ITEP, Neva was a Senior Policy Analyst at the Louisiana Budget Project where her research and advocacy included issues of corporate tax policy, working family tax credits, unemployment insurance, and K-12 finance policy.

Brakeyshia Samms

August 18, 2021 • By ITEP Staff

Brakeyshia Samms

Brakeyshia researches and writes about tax policies to inform the public and supports advocates and policymakers with analyses to help secure equitable tax policies, sound fiscal practices, and policy solutions that remedy historical injustices.