Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

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

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

Bloomberg: Key Democrat Revives Plan to Make Capital Gains Tax Due Annually

April 2, 2019

And Steve Wamhoff, the director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said the bill “would certainly slow down the ability of billionaires to accumulate massive fortunes very rapidly.” Capital gains represent a significant portion of the money earned by the wealthiest households, compared to lower-income taxpayers. Sales of […]

The Columbian: Do We Care that the Tax System Is Unfair?

April 1, 2019

While our state is a bastion of progressive politics and liberal activism (for better or worse), it also has the most regressive tax system in the country. In other words, poor people in Washington pay a disproportionate amount of taxes. Last year, a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy determined that the […]

The Daily Mail: The States Where Poor Pay Higher Taxes than the Rich

March 28, 2019

Poor Americans pay out a higher share of their income toward taxes than their wealthy counterparts in 45 states, according to a new report. However, rich Americans typically pay a higher dollar amount in taxes compared to their low-income counterparts. Tax season is here – and the state where you live could determine whether you […]

Yahoo! Finance: What Are the World’s Best Tax Havens

March 26, 2019

Media reports on the Paradise Papers have subsided, but no one has forgotten the collection of 13.4 million leaked financial files taken from a combination of offshore service providers and company registries, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The investigation reveals the offshore interests of wealthy and powerful individuals and examines how multinational […]

NBC News: Factory Workers at GM See Layoffs, not Benefits, after Tax Cuts

March 22, 2019

Matt Gardner, a senior fellow with the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan, liberal think tank, said GM’s announcement confirmed economists’ arguments regarding the tax cuts. “Corporations will always base their investment and job-creation decisions on market fundamentals and consumer demand, not on incremental tax giveaways,” Gardner wrote on his blog. “No amount […]

The American Prospect: New Legislation Would Rein in Corporate Offshoring

March 18, 2019

One clue, at least on the international side, might be found in a report issued last year by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). In “Understanding and Fixing the New International Corporate Tax System,” ITEP laid out priorities for a new international tax system that include eliminating the ability for companies to reincorporate […]

GQ: Local and State Taxes Are Making the Wealthy More Rich Now Too

March 12, 2019

According to a new report by the progressive think tank Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), as relayed in the Washington Post, state and local governments that are heavily reliant on sales and excise taxes, rather than income taxes, shift the economic burden onto low- and moderate-income taxpayers. At every level, those who work […]

New York Daily News: Four Ways to Make New York Taxes More Fair

March 12, 2019

But Cuomo hasn’t talked about the benefits of the Trump tax law for ultra-millionaires — the very richest New Yorkers, mainly in Manhattan. Trump and his GOP minions cut taxes substantially for the richest 5%, who get an $8 billion-plus windfall, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Rich folks got lucrative tax […]

KUOW: Why Washington Ranks as the Worst State for Poor Residents

March 12, 2019

Washington ranks as the worst state for low-income earners to live, and it’s notably worse than any other state. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) places Washington, Texas and Florida at the top of the “terrible 10” list in its annual report. The institute says these have the most regressive tax systems, in […]

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White House Budget Fails to Acknowledge Role of Tax Cuts in the Deficit while Calling for Draconian Spending Cuts

March 11, 2019 • By Alan Essig

As expected, the president’s budget would enshrine top-heavy tax cuts into law and finance them by slashing domestic programs. It is time for a course correction.

Crains Chicago: It’s Time to Tax Retirement Income, Illinois

March 11, 2019

On federal returns, income tax is paid on retirement resources that have not been previously taxed—defined-benefit pensions, 401(k)s, and traditional individual retirement accounts. Higher-income seniors also pay taxes on Social Security benefits. Among the states, policy varies. According to the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, 11 states tax some portion of Social Security benefits, […]

Philadelphia Inquirer: Why It’s Not as Simple as ‘New Jersey Is a High-Tax State’ or ‘Texas Is a Low-Tax State’

March 10, 2019

A recent study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analyzed the burdens of state and local taxes across the nation. The results were eye opening, though hardly surprising. Nationally, households in the lowest 20 percent income group spent 11.4 percent of their income on state and local taxes. In comparison, the top 1 […]