Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

Alternet: Twice as Many Companies to Pay Zero Taxes for 2018 Due to Trump’s Tax Gift to the Rich and Powerful

April 12, 2019

You may owe taxes on your salary over the last year, but many Fortune 500 companies won’t pay squat on billions in profits, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The 2018 tax rate for at least 60 profitable Fortune 500 companies will be virtually nothing or even less—which is about […]

The Fiscal Times: More Big Companies Paying Zero Taxes

April 12, 2019

Sen. Warren’s corporate tax proposal came the same day as a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that says at least 60 large U.S. companies paid no taxes in 2018 – twice the number the group found in 2017, before the GOP tax cuts went into effect. Those 60 companies had […]

Investor’s Business Daily: Amazon And Walmart Have A Titans’ Spat Over Minimum Wage, Taxes

April 12, 2019

The story cited a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that Amazon will pay nothing in federal income taxes for the second year in a row. Read more

TPM: Warren Unveils Plan for $1 Trillion in Taxes on Corporations

April 12, 2019

Warren’s plan is aimed at large corporations — ones that have generally paid lower tax rates than smaller companies in recent years. The GOP tax cut law nearly doubled the number of publicly held companies that paid no federal taxes from 30 to 60 in the last year alone, according to a recent study from […]

The Intercept: Elizabeth Warren Has a Novel Idea

April 12, 2019

Under President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the corporate tax rate dropped from 35 percent to 21 percent, making it easier for companies to avoid paying taxes. This year, twice as many companies are paying zero taxes on their billions of profit, NBC News reported. At least 60 companies reported […]

Huffington Post: 60 Top Corporations Paid $0 Federal Taxes Under Trump Tax Law

April 12, 2019

President Donald Trump’s new tax law aided corporations so radically that twice as many companies paid no federal taxes whatsoever in 2018, despite billions of dollars in profit, according to a new study. Amazon, Netflix, Chevron, Eli Lilly, Delta Airlines, General Motors, IBM and Goodyear were among the tax-free corporate titans, according to an analysis by […]

Daily Mail: The Number of U.S. Companies Paying Zero Federal taxes DOUBLED when Trump’s Tax Plan Took Effect in 2018

April 12, 2019

The change cut the tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and allowed companies to take advantage of deductions, tax credits and rebates. That change alone is projected to save corporations $1.35 trillion over the next decade, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. ‘We know that there’s this pretty glaring contrast between what […]

Washington Post: The Democrats new Tax Plan Is Their Clearest, Most Efficient Blueprint Yet

April 11, 2019

Just in time for Tax Day, we have new insight into the dueling partisan visions for the U.S. tax system. We already knew that the GOP’s 2017 tax law mostly benefited corporations and the wealthy; that’s old news. But on Thursday, we got some illustrative examples, courtesy of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The organization found that […]

NBC News: Twice as Many Companies Paying Zero Taxes under Trump Tax Plan

April 11, 2019

The controversial Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed by President Donald Trump in December 2017, lowered the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, among other cuts. That’s partly to blame for giving corporations an easier way out of paying taxes, said Matthew Gardner, an ITEP senior fellow and lead author of the […]

NBC News: Warren Targets Big Business with $1 Trillion ‘Profits’ Tax

April 11, 2019

The 2020 presidential hopeful said her “real corporate profits tax” is aimed at companies that report large annual gains but pay little in taxes thanks to a variety of tax credits and deductions that are available to lower their overall bill. An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank, […]

The Hill: Report Finds Twice as Many Companies Will Pay Zero Tax This Year

April 11, 2019

The report cites data released Thursday from the left-leaning Washington, D.C., think-tank the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). ITEP reported that the companies listed used a “diverse array of legal tax breaks,” including accelerated depreciation, stock options and energy-related tax subsidies to “zero out” their federal income taxes. According to the report, some of the companies […]

Fast Company: Amazon and Netflix Are among Many Companies Paying Zero Federal Taxes under Trump’s Tax Law

April 11, 2019

Tax season is upon us–and by us, I mean everyone who is not Amazon, Netflix, Chevron, or pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly and Co., because they are among the 60 or so corporations that paid zero dollars in federal income taxes on the billions of dollars in profits they earned in 2018. That’s according to a new analysis, released […]

KALW: Who Pays Taxes, and Where Does It Go?

April 11, 2019

On this edition of Your Call, we’ll ask who bears what share of the tax burden and where their money goes. Donald Trump’s 2017 tax law gave most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while increasing taxes on some Americans. It also created a windfall for corporations. Now California legislators are considering […]

AP: Bezos, Hunting for Big Wins, Is Comfortable with Big Fails

April 11, 2019

A top spokesman at the world’s largest retailer was also quick to mock on Twitter Amazon’s challenge with its own jab on the issue of taxes. “Hey retail competitors out there (You know who you are) How about paying your taxes?” Walmart’s Dan Bartlett tweeted. Bartlett shared an article that cited a report from the […]

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The Working Families Tax Relief Act Would Boost Incomes and Economic Security for Workers and Children

April 10, 2019 • By Steve Wamhoff

The Working Families Tax Relief Act Would Boost Incomes and Economic Security for Workers and Children

Sens. Sherrod Brown, Michael Bennet, Richard Durbin, and Ron Wyden (along with the backing of most of the Democratic caucus in the Senate) today rolled out a new proposal to expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Called the Working Families Tax Relief Act (WFTRA), the proposal would provide a substantial benefit, especially to low-income working families.

Politifact: Kamala Harris Calls Her LIFT Plan ‘The Most Significant Middle-Class Tax Cut in Generations.’ Is It?

April 10, 2019

Meg Wiehe, deputy director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, considered a left-of-center think tank, said Harris’ descriptions are “a fair and an accurate portrayal.” Wiehe said it’s not just the size of Harris’ plan that makes it significant. It’s how it delivers the benefit. “These refundable credits really are the most cost-effective, […]

The Washington Post: Health Care Is Shockingly Expensive. Why Can’t You Deduct It?

April 10, 2019

My proposal won’t add much to the $22 trillion national debt, relatively speaking. According to an AARP fact sheet, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated that lowering the threshold from 10 percent to 7.5 percent would cost $1.2 billion in 2019. It will unquestionably cost more than that to eliminate the threshold for […]

Crosscut: I’m Rich, I Should Pay More Taxes in Washington

April 10, 2019

But if you’re a working family, Washington is a different story. That’s because in Washington, our lowest-income families pay taxes that amount to a six times greater share of their income than what the wealthiest households pay. We have the most upside-down tax code in the country, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic […]

The DC Line: By offsetting federal tax cuts locally, we can improve the quality of life for all DC residents

April 9, 2019

Misha Hill of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has estimated that the top 20 percent income bracket of DC residents will receive almost $700 million in federal tax cuts this year, with most ($541 million) going to the top 5 percent (with incomes above $319,000 per year). The same study finds that […]

Fast Company: Soak the Rich but How?

April 9, 2019

“Right now, the personal income tax has all kinds of special breaks,” says Steve Wamhoff, the director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, who supports raising the marginal tax rates. “So at some level it doesn’t really matter where you set the top rate if rich people are not […]

Crain’s Detroit: Legal Pot v. Black Market

April 6, 2019

“When you have so many communities opting out, you could have less quantity being sold in the legal market,” said Carl Davis, research director for Washington D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “They either have to drive a long way to buy legal or turn to the illicit market, which in turn hurts the […]

CNBC: Why Amazon Paid No Federal Income Tax

April 4, 2019

In this CNBC video, Matthew Gardner, ITEP senior fellow, outlines how Amazon got away with paying no federal taxes for the last two years. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/03/why-amazon-paid-no-federal-income-tax.html

New York Times: A Man with a Plan for Inequality

April 3, 2019

Their largest holdings often include stocks. Which means that the lower tax rate on capital gains, combined with the deferral of taxing them, has enormous financial consequences, as Steve Wamhoff, of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, explains on JustTaxes.org. “Wealthy households, who already own the most in assets, can defer paying tax and […]

CNBC: What the Wyden-Proposed Tax on Unrealized Capital Gains Might mean for You

April 3, 2019

Marking an asset to market means that you’re treating it as if you’ve sold it for fair market value at the end of the year, accounting for the gain or loss incurred. “It won’t help the wealthy to hold the asset for a longer time; that ability to defer the tax would be taken away,” […]

Bloomberg: Tax-the-Rich Fervor Builds in Statehouses After Trump’s Big Cut

April 2, 2019

The tax-the-rich proposals pending in states are “a reflection of a broader national trend towards recognizing what voters have felt for a long time — that high income individuals and corporations are paying too little,” said Carl Davis, research director of the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more