Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

CBS Philadelphia: Child Tax Credit: How Much Money Can Parents Expect In Monthly Payments?

April 27, 2021

he Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy believes that households accounting for 83 million children would benefit to some degree. Anywhere from eight to 12 million children live in households facing food insecurity due to lack of money, according to recent Census data from late 2020. Estimates suggest that expanding the Child Tax Credit would […]

Associated Press: Should states set pot policy by its potency? Some say yes

April 20, 2021

Potency taxes have an upside for states: more stable revenue than sales taxes, says Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive think tank. That’s because sales tax totals can fall with prices in a maturing market. Read more

The Washington Post: Biden Wants to Crack Down on Corporate Tax Loopholes, Resuming a Battle His Predecessors Lost

April 20, 2021

More than 60 percent of U.S. multinationals’ reported foreign income is booked in seven small countries that promise to only nibble at corporate profits, about twice the share as in 2000, according to Bank of America. The tax avoidance efforts — entirely legal under U.S. law — resulted in 55 of the nation’s largest corporations […]

New York Times: Make Tax-Dodging Companies Pay for Biden’s Infrastructure Plan

April 18, 2021

American companies and companies that make money in the United States are not paying enough money in taxes. Even as profits have soared, tax payments have declined. Fifty-five of the nation’s largest corporations — including FedEx, Nike and the agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland — paid nothing in federal income taxes in 2020, despite collectively […]

The Guardian: US CEOs think Biden’s corporate tax rate hike will have negative impact – survey

April 12, 2021

A report released earlier this month from the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that at least 55 of America’s top companies, including FedEx and Nike, paid no federal corporate income tax because of loopholes and substitutes. The report found that the tax breaks cost $8.5bn in potential tax revenue. Read more

CNBC: Progressive group targets FedEx, Nike in campaign calling for higher corporate taxes

April 12, 2021

A report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says FedEx “zeroed out its federal income tax on $1.2 billion of U.S. pretax income in 2020 and received a rebate of $230 million.” The report says the lack of payments in taxes by some corporations is likely linked to historic tax breaks as well […]

Forbes: 98% Of CEOs Say Biden’s Corporate Tax Rate Hike Will Hurt Their Companies, According To Survey

April 12, 2021

55. That’s how many major U.S. companies—all part of either the Fortune 500 or the S&P 500 index—that paid no corporate income tax in 2020 thanks to credits and deductions, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.  Read more

MSNBC: Corporate taxes can’t stay low while America crumbles

April 12, 2021

There’s no question that the tax code is extremely generous to big business. A recent report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that despite being profitable last year, 55 of the biggest companies in the U.S. paid no federal income taxes. Corporations managed this through a combination of “long-standing tax breaks preserved […]

The Hill: White House sends mixed message on higher taxes

April 11, 2021

According to a report released Thursday by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), the personal income tax increases in Biden’s campaign plan would impact only 1.9 percent of taxpayers for the 2022 tax year. That analysis was conducted assuming that tax increases applied to both single filers and married couples with income […]

The Sacramento Bee: Rich Californians have most to gain if Congress lifts cap on local tax deductions, report says

April 11, 2021

State residents earning more than $992,800, California’s wealthiest 1%, could see an average savings of $98,650 in 2022, according to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington-based economic analysis firm. Overall, Californians would save $33.4 billion next year if the SALT limits are lifted—with $17.4 billion of that going to people […]

The Hill: Democrats see political winner in tax fight

April 11, 2021

As ammunition, Democrats are pointing to a recent report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive think tank, which found that 55 of the nation’s largest corporations — including Nike, FedEx and Salesforce — paid no federal taxes in 2020 despite enormous pre-tax profits. In some cases, the companies received a substantial federal […]

CNN: Jeff Bezos endorsed higher corporate tax rates. But it won’t cost him much

April 10, 2021

Amazon (AMZN) isn’t doing anything illegal or improper — or unusual. Few corporations pay 21% of their reported pre-tax earnings in corporate income tax. That’s because there are many ways to reduce the amount of taxable income subject to that tax rate. “They care a lot less what the rate is than they do with […]

Bloomberg: Plans for a Global Minimum Tax Revolution, Explained

April 9, 2021

Many large 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 corporations with low rates. Read more

New York Times: Corporate Taxes Are Wealth Taxes

April 8, 2021

Since the mid-20th century, however, politicians of both political parties have supported cuts in the corporate-tax rate, often under intense lobbying from corporate America. The cuts have been so large — including in President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul — that at least 55 big companies paid zero federal income taxes last year, according to […]

Newsweek: Top US CEOs Open to Corporate Tax Rate of 28%, Biden Says Trump Cuts Failed

April 8, 2021

Biden campaigned on not raising taxes on anyone making less than $400,000, which would severely limit Democrats’ ability to fund the infrastructure plan should the GOP and lobbyists convince Congress to squash a corporate tax hike. Biden criticized 55 of the largest U.S. companies this week for using “various loopholes where they pay not a […]

AlJazeera: Pros, cons and pragmatism: Biden’s plan to fund infrastructure

April 8, 2021

Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, agrees. “The low cost of borrowing and the pressing spending needs we face right now make deficit and debt reduction a lower priority at the moment,” he said. Gardner sees the once-in-a-century disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic as a ripe opportunity […]

Miami Herald: Biden’s infrastructure tax hike worries some Democrats about impact on wealthy voters

April 8, 2021

To Democratic strategists, including those close to the president, the tax plan is finely calibrated to earn the most support, drawing extra revenue from the least sympathetic segments of the tax base. A report released last week from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive group, said that more than 50 of America’s […]

Bloomberg: White House Sees GOP’s Corporate Tax-Cut Defense as a Big Loser

April 8, 2021

Biden said at least 55 of the largest U.S. companies paid no federal corporate income taxes in their most recent fiscal year. “It’s just not fair. It’s not fair to the rest of the American taxpayers,” the president said. He was citing a study by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

Reno Gazette Journal: Is America big enough to go big again?

April 8, 2021

A new study reports that at least 55 of the biggest corporations paid a goose egg in U.S. income taxes last year — zero, nada — despite hauling in billions in profits. As Sen. Bernie Sanders points out: “If you paid $120 for a pair of Nike Air Force 1 shoes, you paid more to Nike than […]

Washington Post: Biden Says He’s Open to Compromise With Republicans on $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan

April 8, 2021

Fifty-five corporations saw zero federal tax liability in 2020, according to a report this week by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank. The amount of corporate tax revenue raised by the government has fallen from above 2 percent of the United States’ gross domestic product before the GOP tax law […]

NBC News: Biden’s plan to overhaul tax code would close offshore tax loopholes

April 8, 2021

According to a recent report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, at least 55 of America’s biggest companies paid nothing in federal taxes for 2020, despite earning a collective $40.5 billion in pretax income. To address these kinds of discrepancies, the president’s plan would impose a minimum tax of 15 percent on firms […]

Business Insider: Biden says he wants a 28% corporate tax rate because he’s ‘sick and tired of ordinary people being fleeced’

April 8, 2021

The president blasted companies paying little or no federal taxes, without naming them. He cited a recent report from the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that found that 55 US multinational corporations paid $0 in income taxes last year. That roster included household names like FedEx, Nike, and HP. “It’s just not fair. […]

Bloomberg: Biden Tax Plan Seen Hitting Tech, Pharmaceutical Companies

April 8, 2021

The provisions — part of the administration’s plan to finance a $2.25 trillion infrastructure package — mean that tech and pharmaceutical companies could lose many of the tax-planning tools that allowed them to pay low rates for years. “This is aiming to prevent gaming the system entirely,” said Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the […]

news release  

55 Corporations Exploit Old and New Loopholes to Pay $0 in Federal Taxes in 2020

April 2, 2021 • By ITEP Staff

Media contact Twenty-six of the 55 companies paid nothing over three years In 2020, a year marked by a pandemic, small business closures and widespread job loss for ordinary people, many major U.S. corporations remained profitable and 55 of them paid $0 in federal corporate income taxes on a combined $40 billion in profits, the […]

The New York Times: Biden Tax Plan Challenges G.O.P. Formula for Economic Growth

March 31, 2021

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which has long criticized American businesses for managing to avoid paying what they owe, conducted a study of Fortune 500 companies that were profitable and that provided enough information to calculate effective tax rates. The institute found that those companies on average paid 11.3 percent on their 2018 […]