Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

The Hill: Even Jeff Bezos should pay income taxes

June 15, 2021

According to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, 55 of the largest corporations in America — including Archer Daniels Midland, FedEx and Nike — paid no federal income taxes last year, despite racking up almost $41 billion in pre-tax profits. At 21 percent, their total tax bill would have been $12 billion. Instead, […]

VOA News: IRS Data Leak Reveals How Little America’s Wealthiest Pay in Taxes

June 11, 2021

“I think it’s a big wake-up call,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington. “It tells us things that tax experts have already known for a long time. But it’s the amount of detail, the specific names, that we don’t normally see,” Wamhoff said. […]

Sacramento Bee: White, Asian families have most to gain if Congress restores tax break Trump capped, report says

June 10, 2021

“Outright repeal of the SALT cap without an adequate replacement would exacerbate racial inequities in this country,” said a study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s Carl Davis and Jessica Schieder. The report noted that property taxes tend to be a big component of state and local taxes, which could “disproportionately benefit home-owning […]

Politico: How much companies that paid no corporate income tax spent on lobbying

June 10, 2021

ProPublica’s bombshell report on Tuesday showing that some of the wealthiest Americans routinely pay little or no taxes, a new report from watchdog group Public Citizen today dives into the lobbying expenditures of 55 corporations that paid no federal corporate income tax in 2020, according to an analysis from the liberal Institute on Taxation and […]

Market Watch: How would Biden’s tax hikes hit the wealth of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and other billionaires? First, they’d have to die, experts say

June 10, 2021

“The whole exposé is really an argument for the Biden proposal to tax unrealized capital gains at death,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, speaking about the ProPublica investigation. “I do think if you tax gains at death, it would be a huge step […]

Fortune: Biden’s plan will stop Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk from avoiding billions in taxes

June 9, 2021

Following is an excerpt of an opEd by Steve Wamhoff published in Fortune: It is no surprise that billionaires pay little in federal taxes relative to their incomes, but the level of detail provided by ProPublica Tuesday about how 25 billionaires pulled this off is astonishing. It is also an argument for one of President […]

New York Times: Investors Fret as Biden Takes Aim at a 100-Year-Old Tax Loophole

June 8, 2021

In this congressional session, Democrats appear to be placing enormous emphasis on creating a fairer tax code along with investing in infrastructure and social programs, said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit group in Washington that advocates equitable revenue-raising measures. Read more

Marketplace: Why are some states experiencing a tax revenue surplus?

June 8, 2021

But according to Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, no one is swimming in cash. “A lot of states were just barely trying to get back to where they were before the last recession,” he said. Read more

Washington Post: Plans for a Global Minimum Tax Revolution, Explained

June 8, 2021

Many big corporations do. At least 55 large U.S. companies, including Nike Inc. and FedEx Corp., reported paying no U.S. federal income taxes in 2020 even though they were profitable, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. And some nations benefit by attracting businesses with low rates. Read more

Fortune: Last year 55 Fortune 500 companies paid no U.S. income tax. How can they get away with that?

June 7, 2021

Last year at least 55 major, profitable U.S. corporations paid no U.S. income tax, reports the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Some are famous —Nike, FedEx, Salesforce.com—and all are in the Fortune 500 or the S&P 500. How can they get away with that? Read more

CBS News: G-7 nations back global minimum corporate tax of at least 15%

June 5, 2021

Nations have been grappling with the question of how to deter companies from legally avoiding paying taxes by resorting to tax havens — typically small countries that entice companies with low or zero taxes, even though the firms do little actual business there. According to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning […]

Talking Points Memo: If Biden’s Corporate Tax Offer Isn’t A Feint, Then It’s A Massive Concession

June 4, 2021

Their specific opposition to the corporate tax hike, Matt Gardner, corporate tax expert at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told TPM, is part of their “hidebound refusal to contemplate anything that reverses any element of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” “Where is the tax increase that Republican leaders in Congress haven’t […]

Bloomberg: Hedge Funds, Tech Spur Texas Wealth Boom as California Fades

June 4, 2021

The growth comes with headaches. Traffic is getting worse and public transportation is limited. The influx of people is driving up housing prices, forcing up the cost of living by boosting property taxes. Given high levies on real estate and the state sales tax, the fiscal burden on middle-class people is higher in Texas than […]

Business Insider: Biden offers to ditch his rollback of Trump-era tax cuts in major infrastructure concession to GOP

June 3, 2021

Instead, Biden put forward a 15% minimum corporate tax as a possible solution, a levy that would be squarely aimed at corporations paying little to no taxes. The president has previously cited a report from the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy indicating 55 major American companies paid nothing in federal income taxes in […]

Vox: You should be suspicious of benevolent big business

May 28, 2021

Amazon, like a lot of big companies, is good at keeping its tax bill low. In some recent years, it’s paid zero federal income tax; it’s managed to pay very little in other years, even as its profits soared. According to the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), Amazon’s effective federal tax rate […]

Phoenix Business Journal: Arizona flat tax proponents point to survey showing residents’ support

May 22, 2021

The Republic also reported that an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analysis found that 20% of Arizona taxpayers would get 91% of the reductions. The report said the switch would cut state revenues by $1.5 billion per year. The plan has drawn opposition from cities in the state. They say the reduced revenue will […]

NJ.Com: Live in N.J.? You’ll pay more in taxes over a lifetime than anywhere else, study says

May 22, 2021

Five states, including New Jersey, would be the only states where more than 1% of their taxpayers would face a higher tax bill under Biden’s proposals, according to the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

The Arizona Republic: Gov. Doug Ducey’s flat-tax plan is an oh-so-sweet deal for Arizona’s upper crust

May 21, 2021

Read more

KOIN: ‘Nike, just pay it’: Ad tells Nike to pay federal tax

May 20, 2021

“Last year you made $2.9 billion in profit but paid zero federal income tax,” the ad states. “Nike, thanks to your ads, I’m unstoppable. I have power. I am a change maker. You inspired us to step up. Now, it’s your turn. Nike, just pay it.” The claim is based on a report by the […]

CNBC: Taxes would likely rise for the wealthy regardless of Biden’s plans

May 19, 2021

Two-thirds of taxpayers in the top 1% would see their taxes increase as a result of the Biden proposal, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. (This group has an average income of $2.2 million, according to the analysis.) Read more

Vice: These 55 Companies Kick Ass at Avoiding Taxes. Congratulations!

May 19, 2021

That’s exactly what many big corporations did this year, once again. At least fifty-five companies managed to book a combined total of more than $40 billion in pre-tax profits in their most recent fiscal year, while reducing their corporate income tax bill to zero, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Those […]

The Guardian: Millionaires who support taxing the rich protest in front of Jeff Bezos’s homes

May 17, 2021

Bezos has said he supports raising the corporate tax rate. But Amazon has long been the subject of protests about tax avoidance. According to calculations by the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in February, in 2020 Amazon only paid a 9.4% federal income tax rate, less than half the statutory 21%. Read more

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Attacks on Voting Rights, Secret Tax-Cut Negotiations in Arizona Reflect Broader Trend to Undermine Democracy

May 13, 2021 • By Carl Davis, ITEP Staff, Jenice Robinson

Attacks on Voting Rights, Secret Tax-Cut Negotiations in Arizona Reflect Broader Trend to Undermine Democracy

The onslaught of news about multiple states introducing or passing legislation to make it harder to vote is a clear signal that our democracy is in crisis. Decades of policymaking and judicial rulings have created a system in which the voices of the wealthy and powerful have more weight, and some lawmakers are determined to further rig the system and keep it that way.

The New York Times: How to collect a trillion dollars

May 11, 2021

It’s difficult to quantify just how much money goes uncollected each year, officials say. Corporate tax collections in the U.S. are “at historic lows and well below what other countries collect,” according to a recent Treasury report. U.S. multinational companies can be taxed at a 50 percent discount compared with their domestic peers, an incentive […]

Commonwealth Magazine: Mass. delegation not jumping on SALT bandwagon

May 11, 2021

The politics of SALT are tricky. While the SALT deduction benefits a wide swath of taxpayers across many states, the biggest beneficiaries tend to be wealthy people with big homes who pay a lot of state income and property tax. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates the richest 5 percent would receive 85 […]