Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

Politico: Morning Tax

October 1, 2018

Today also marks 25 years since the last federal gas tax increase, which was raised to its current 18.3 cents per gallon in 1993. Plenty of people have talked about hiking the gas tax again over the last quarter-century — even potentially President Donald Trump — without much success, as Republicans have largely opposed the […]

NJ.com: Murphy Pushes Plan to Save Property Tax Breaks

September 26, 2018

Only residents of New York, Connecticut, and California deduct more from federal taxes than New Jerseyans, according the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Most of the states hit hardest send billions of dollars more to Washington than they get back in services. Read more

Law360: Permanent Tax Cuts Favor Richest in All But Three States

September 25, 2018

The second round of tax cuts passed Thursday and Friday by the U.S. House of Representatives would overwhelmingly favor the richest Americans, except for those in three high-tax states, according to… Read more

Bloomberg BNA: Understanding the Post-Tax Cuts Buybacks Surge: A Primer

September 21, 2018

But Matt Gardner, a senior fellow at the liberal-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said the anger over buybacks stems from the idea that, with the passage of the tax law (Pub. L. No. 115-97), Americans “were promised something else” by lawmakers and the administration. Real wage growth, he added, is “flat as a […]

Chicago Magazine: Illinois Is a Few Elections Away From a Graduated Income Tax

September 21, 2018

Illinois has one of the most regressive tax systems in the nation — and politicians are taking notice. Under our system, the burden of taxation falls disproportionately on those least able to pay it. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Illinois is one of the “Terrible Ten Most Regressive State & Local Tax Systems,” clocking in […]

The Inquisitor: Amazon Proposal to Cage Warehouse Workers Criticized

September 14, 2018

“For states contemplating tax incentives for Amazon, the salient question is: what do you give a tax avoider who already has everything?,” Matthew Gardner, senior fellow at Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, asked, after explaining how Amazon managed to make more than $5 billion in 2017, without paying a dime of federal income taxes. […]

Politico Morning Tax: Let’s Talk SALT

September 12, 2018

Cuomo is far from the only Democratic governor or lawmaker to unload on the SALT cap as, essentially, a broadside against progressive states. But at least one liberal think tank is calling for the limits to stay in place, even as it continues to denounce the TCJA as a giveaway to the wealthy. “Outright repeal […]

The Washington Post: GOP Pushes for New $2 Trillion Round of Tax Cuts

September 11, 2018

Democrats said the GOP’s second round of tax cuts would punish the poor and the middle class, arguing that they will provide a pretext for later spending cuts to entitlement programs that help the elderly. The richest 1 percent of Americans would see an average $24,130 cut from extending the individual tax cuts, compared with […]

Education Week: How a Proposed Tax Rule Could Hurt School Vouchers

September 11, 2018

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017, wealthy residents in states such as New York and California face sizable increases in their federal tax bills because of a $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions they can make on their federal returns. Democratic lawmakers allege the so-called SALT-cap unfairly targets left-leaning […]

Seattle Times: Is a State Like Washington with No Income Tax Better or Worse?

September 11, 2018

These taxes place an unfair burden on the poor, according to research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The reason is the lowest earners in the state devote the lion’s share of their take-home pay to buying things that are subject to sales taxes. The wealthy, who can save a chunk of their […]

The Journal News: Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Anti-Trump Tax Plan Crumbling in Face of IRS Regulations

September 11, 2018

Similar programs give state tax credits on 100 percent of the donations in states such as Alabama, Georgia, Arizona and South Carolina. It’s a system that has proved profitable for savvy taxpayers, said Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

Politico: A SALT Shake up

September 6, 2018

So what happens now after this new clarification? “Under the right circumstances, some business owners are going to keep getting more back in tax cuts than they ever contributed to these tax credit programs,” said Carl Davis of the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “They’ll be stacking state tax credits and federal write-offs […]

WRAL: Capping North Carolina’s Top Tax Rate Isn’t Good for Our Communities

September 4, 2018

Following is an excerpt from an op-ed written by ITEP deputy director Meg Wiehe: Earlier this year, teachers across the country staged walkouts or full-on strikes to protest low wages and lack of investment in education. North Carolina public school teachers and their allies participated too, calling for better pay and more overall school spending […]

Philadelphia Inquirer: Why It’s an Unhappy Labor Day for Some Workers

September 3, 2018

Meanwhile, President Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut — like previous massive tax cuts — has failed to trickle down to average workers in a meaningful way, and many of his policies are hurting American workers. Just 4 percent of workers at Fortune 500 companies received a bonus or wage increase as a result of the […]

Atlanta Journal Constitution: IRS Proposal Could Hurt Georgia Rural Hospital, School Tax Credits

August 25, 2018

The change will have no impact on many Georgians because they don’t itemize their deductions when they file their tax returns. “For about 90 percent of people who are just claiming the standard deduction, this (rule) isn’t going to have any impact at all,” said Carl Davis, the research director with the Institute on Taxation […]

The Montgomery Advertiser: IRS Proposes Regulations that Could Impact Alabama Accountability Act Donors

August 24, 2018

Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization, said the regulations “make a lot of sense as far as what is charity and what isn’t.” The graphic shows how the donations to the Alabama Accountability Act benefit donors. The fundamental problem, he added, was that deductions exceeded the […]

CNBC: Cutting SALT–It Could Be the Last Day for This Tax Saving Strategy

August 24, 2018

There are 18 states with private school voucher tax credits, including programs in Arizona, Alabama and South Carolina. A number of them offer credits to contributing taxpayers on a dollar-for-dollar basis. “In a perverse situation, you donate $100 and you get back $137 in the form of state tax credits and deductions,” said Carl Davis, […]

Bloomberg: New Yorkers Have Four Days to Try to Beat SALT Cap

August 24, 2018

Residents of states that have had charitable tax break programs in effect for some time, such as Georgia and South Carolina, that benefit hospitals or schools, will probably have an easier time writing checks before the new rules go into effect, said Steve Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “The reality […]

Washington Post: New Treasury Proposal Would Stop Attempts to Weaken Tax Law

August 24, 2018

Read more

The Hill: IRS Was Correct to Include Private School Credits in New Tax Regulations

August 24, 2018

Following is an excerpt of an op-ed by Carl Davis, ITEP researcher director, regarding the new regulations issued by the Treasury Department: Last year’s federal tax overhaul has cast a bright light on a corner of the tax code that long has needed scrutiny. With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) […]

Reuters: U.S. Treasury, IRS move to block states dodging tax deduction cap

August 23, 2018

Under the proposed rule, however, a New York taxpayer could not receive a federal charitable deduction for the portion of their donation to the fund for which they received a state tax credit, unless the credit was for 15 percent or less. “If you make a donation of $100 and you get a big chunk […]

news release  

Proposed IRS Regulations Would End SALT Workarounds and Rightly Tamp Down on School Voucher Tax Shelters

August 23, 2018 • By Carl Davis

The main difference between states that recently passed SALT workaround legislation and states that provide overly generous credits for donations to private schools are their political leanings. Private school supporters were hoping for a special carve out that would allow their tax shelter to remain intact, but the IRS was correct not to pick winners and losers.

New Jersey Online: Trump Administration Rejects Efforts to Save Your Property Tax Break

August 23, 2018

And in New Jersey, more than four in 10 taxpayers claimed that tax break and deducted an average deduction of $17,850 in 2015, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. Only residents of New York, Connecticut and California deduct more from federal taxes than New Jerseyans, according the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

The Oregonian: Trump Administration Moves to Stop Oregon, Other States from Circumventing New Tax Law

August 23, 2018

Treasury said it expects that only about 1 percent of all U.S. taxpayers would see a reduction of their tax credits for donations to a private-school voucher fund. Several states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Montana and South Carolina — allow taxpayers who donate to private-school funds to get a 100 percent credit against their state […]

Politico Morning Tax: Still More SALT Intake

August 23, 2018

Carl Davis of the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy also pointed out that Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) — who have had staff meet with Treasury and White House officials on the issue — hail from states with generous credits for donations to fund school vouchers. Read more