Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

CNBC: Senate Democrats’ plan to curb eligibility for third stimulus check cuts off 12 million adults

March 4, 2021

The new income caps would mean that 11.8 million fewer adults and 4.6 million fewer kids would receive a third stimulus payment, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy calculates. “That being said, for most people it does not make a difference and it basically makes no difference for the bottom 60% of Americans, the […]

KKNX: WA Democrats push for capital gains tax in a year when ‘tax’ doesn’t seem like a bad word

March 1, 2021

Democrats say the system isn’t working and often point to a 2018 study by the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) that ranked Washington as having the most regressive tax system in the nation. The study found that the lowest 20 percent of earners in Washington spend nearly 18 percent of their income on […]

Marketplace: High-income taxpayers help some states stay above water

March 1, 2021

However, in 22 states, tax revenue actually increased, with revenue in four states — Idaho, Utah, South Dakota and Colorado — up more than 5%. Revenue fell in the remaining states, with seven down more than 10% —Texas, Oregon, Florida, Nevada, North Dakota, Hawaii and Alaska. This disparity has a lot to do with the […]

Bloomberg Tax: ‘Sham Transactions’ Trigger States to Crack Down on Tax Havens

February 26, 2021

Some lawmakers in Hawaii want worldwide reporting to become a hard requirement under H.B. 441 and S.B. 1302, which would transition the state beginning Jan. 1, 2022. The preamble of the legislation points to a 2019 report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that found offshore tax havens cost Hawaii $38 million annually. […]

WJTV: Experts discuss bill that would eliminate Mississippi’s state income tax

February 26, 2021

According to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), the proposal to increase the state’s sales tax rate to 9.5 percent would give Mississippians the highest sales tax in the country. Meg Wiehe, deputy executive director of ITEP, was among those who analyzed the data. “By increasing the rate to 9.5 percent […]

CNET: New child tax credit could bring more money than the stimulus check. What to know

February 26, 2021

For the bottom 20% of families in terms of income, the proposed expansion of the CTC would increase income by an average of 9.7% — even higher if you only consider tax filers with children, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The proposal would also lift 4.1 million children above the poverty […]

Politifact: Facebook post misleads about tax bill breakdown

February 24, 2021

Experts say analyzing this claim isn’t easy because the post lacks necessary details. Matt Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said the post is missing critical information needed to make an accurate comparison — including whether federal and state taxes are being considered. Beyond that, he pointed out the post […]

Market Watch: Billionaire philanthropy is a ‘PR scam,’ says CEO who raised his workers’ minimum pay to $70,000

February 23, 2021

Billionaires pay the lowest tax rate of any income group nationally, Price added. In Washington state, the richest pay 3% of their income on taxes, while the poor pay 18%, he said. (That’s according to a report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank.) Read more

BGR: Families are going to love this stimulus check news

February 22, 2021

This is what was found by an analysis from a left-leaning nonpartisan think tank called the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy which looked at both the Biden plan as well as related proposals from the House Ways and Means Committee: Rather than simply providing the poorest Americans with $1,400 stimulus checks, Biden’s coronavirus-related stimulus proposal would actually give […]

Heavy.com: Third Stimulus: Poorest Americans Could See 33% Income Boost

February 21, 2021

The relief bill, proposed last month, allocates $1,400 direct checks to eligible individuals and expands the the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), CBS News reported. With those three measures, the poorest 20% of Americans could see a 33% boost in their pre-tax incomes, CBS said, citing the Institute on Taxation and […]

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Enforcing Current Tax Law Makes Financial Sense

February 19, 2021 • By Steve Wamhoff

While lawmakers disagree sharply over what our tax law should look like, there should be no argument that we must enforce tax laws currently on the books. Yet, Republican Congresses systematically weakened the IRS’s ability to enforce tax laws by defunding the agency, resulting in hundreds of billions in lost tax revenue every year. Two bills introduced in the U.S. House would address this by increasing tax audits of big corporations and high-income individuals and by providing more resources to the IRS.

Bond Buyer: Direct Aid to Local Governments Is on the Way

February 16, 2021

Nationally the expansion of the EITC for workers without children would be the largest since 2009. “The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that such expansions along with direct assistance would provide an average income boost of 33% for the poorest 20% of households,” said Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., chairman of the Ways and […]

CBS News: Stimulus bill would boost incomes of poorest Americans by nearly $4,000

February 16, 2021

nder the plan advancing in the House Ways and Means Committee, the next stimulus bill would send $1,400 to eligible people, as well as expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Altogether, the three programs would provide a 33% boost to the pre-tax incomes of the poorest 20% of Americans […]

NEXSTAR Media Wire: Biden stimulus plan would boost incomes for poorest, analysis shows

February 16, 2021

President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan would benefit millions of Americans, but it would have an outsized impact for the people who make up the poorest fifth of the population, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank that studies tax policy analyzed […]

The New York Times: California: Liberal Model or Cautionary Tale?

February 16, 2021

Below is an excerpt of an LTE by ITEP Research Director Carl Davis:   Of course, the very richest people in California pay more tax than they would if they lived in Texas or Washington. But these top earners can afford to live wherever they want. The best available research concludes that top earners rarely […]

Nasdaq.com: World Reimagined Podcast

February 16, 2021

An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) showed that U.S. President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan would benefit millions of Americans and would have an outsized impact for the people who make up the poorest fifth of the population. Read more

Fox Business: Biden’s $1.9T stimulus would give almost $3,600 to poorest Americans, analysis finds

February 15, 2021

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a left-leaning nonpartisan think tank, analyzed the cash payment and tax proposals from the House Ways and Means Committee as part of Biden’s stimulus proposal last week. For the poorest 20% of Americans making less than $21,300, the ITEP analysis found they would, on average, pocket $3,590 […]

Thestranger.com: The Choice Is Clear for Washington Democrats: Pass Progressive Taxes or Perpetuate a Racist Tax Code

February 15, 2021

In their analysis of a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the Budget and Policy Center showed that the effective state and local tax rate for Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and Pacific Islanders is between half a point and one point higher than it is for white people. “While these differences may […]

Progressive.org: A Chance for New Beginnings

February 15, 2021

Besides doing essential work, undocumented workers contribute $11.7 billion a year in state and local taxes, according to a 2017 estimate by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

CNBC: A new child tax credit expansion could provide monthly income. Some question whether the help is too much or too little

February 14, 2021

The credit would phase out for those making above those levels, where it would be reduced and then plateau at $2,000 per child. It would be capped for individuals with $200,000 in income and couples with $400,000, the same thresholds in place for the credit today. “The idea is the current $2,000 that people get […]

New York Amsterdam News: To dismantle white supremacy we must tax the rich

February 11, 2021

To further compound racial inequality, other parts of our tax code essentially function as giveaways to the wealthiest white households. Take the tax deduction for income earned from pass-through businesses. Over half of the savings from this deduction alone accrues exclusively to the top 1% of households, who are mostly white. Similarly, the Institute on […]

Yahoo! Lifestyle: This Chart Explains What Your Family Will Get From The Stimulus Package

February 10, 2021

The economic repercussions of the pandemic have devastated many families: from teachers who have no choice but to return to the classroom toretail workers who find themselves out of work due to closed storefronts, most families are feeling the pinch. President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, called the American Rescue Plan, has been somewhat of […]

Wall Street Journal: Amazon’s U.S. Tax Costs Jumped in 2020. It Likely Would Pay Even More Under Biden Plan.

February 5, 2021

Amazon’s low reported tax expenses in earlier years, along with similar figures from other companies, helped spur Democratic proposals for minimum taxes that would affect them. “Half a loaf is better than none,” Matt Gardner, senior fellow at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said of Amazon’s higher tax costs for 2020. However, […]

Bloomberg: Cuomo, Murphy Call for More Covid Relief to Hardest-Hit States

February 5, 2021

New Jerseyans stood to pay $3.1 billion more in taxes annually as a result of the 2017 change, according to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan research group based in Washington. Read more

Washington Post: Here’s the new Democratic plan for $1,400 stimulus checks

February 4, 2021

The best argument in favor of the checks is that they have kept many Americans out of poverty during the crisis. An analysis by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found the bottom 20 percent of Americans — those earning less than $21,300 — would see their income rise nearly 30 percent, helping […]