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The lack of investment in public school systems is a problem in jurisdictions throughout the country. So, at this time of year when many states across the country are temporarily suspending sales taxes to provide a break to taxpayers who have to purchase back-to-school supplies, it’s worth examining whether this is the most effective use of resources.
Politico: The History of 21st Century Tax Cuts
July 12, 2018
The history of 21st-century tax cuts in the U.S. involves the top end getting most of the proceeds, Pro Tax’s Toby Eckert reports off of a new report from the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. In all, the top quintile of households took in about 65 percent of the tax cut benefits since […]
New York Times: $111 Billion in Tax Cuts for the Top 1 Percent
July 11, 2018
Think of it this way: Income inequality has soared in recent decades, with the wealthy pulling away from everyone else and the upper-middle-class doing better than the working class or poor. Yet our federal government has responded by aggravating these trends. It has handed huge tax cuts to the small segment of Americans who need […]
Mother Jones: Guess Who Benefits from Republican Tax Cuts?
July 11, 2018
In news that will shock no one, the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy has tallied up the results of all the Republican tax cuts since 2000 and concluded that … most of it went to the rich. The average rich household today pays nearly $100,000 less in taxes than they would under the Clinton-era […]
Vox: America’s Getting $10 Trillion in Tax Cuts, and 20% of Them Are Going to the Richest 1%
July 11, 2018
The first analysis, from the Institute on Taxation and Economic and Policy, a liberal-leaning think tank, found that from 2001 through 2018, changes to the federal tax code have reduced revenue by $5.1 trillion. Sixty-five percent of the savings have gone to the richest fifth of Americans, with 22 percent of them going exclusively to […]
The Hill: The GOP Tax Bill Rewards Offshoring – Here’s What We Can Do to Stop It
July 11, 2018
The new law allows companies to pay half or less of the corporate tax rate on profits earned abroad as they would here at home, while also exempting from tax entirely a 10 percent return on tangible investments – such as plants and equipment – that are made overseas. As experts from the Tax Policy […]
Bloomberg Law: $5.1 Trillion Revenue Reduction
July 11, 2018
Significant federal tax changes from 2001 through 2018 have reduced revenue by $5.1 trillion, according to an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analysis published July 11. “By the end of 2025, the tally of tax cuts will grow to $10.6 trillion. Nearly $2 trillion of this amount will have gone to the richest 1 […]
The Hill: Tax Cuts Since 2000 Have Mostly Benefited High Earners
July 11, 2018
Households in the top fifth of income levels have received 65 percent of the value of tax changes enacted since 2000, according to a report released Wednesday by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The report looked at significant tax cuts and increases enacted during the administrations of George W. Bush, Barack […]
Yahoo! Finance: The Steep Cost of Tax Cuts Since 2001
July 11, 2018
Tax cuts enacted since the turn of the 21st century have added nearly $6 trillion to the deficit while disproportionately benefiting wealthy households, according to a new study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Since President George W. Bush took office in 2001, “significant federal tax changes have reduced revenue by $5.1 trillion, […]
65 Percent of Federal Tax Cuts Since 2000 Have Gone to Richest 20 Percent
July 11, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
Since 2000, Congress has passed several rounds of tax cuts that have increased the federal deficit by nearly $6 trillion and disproportionately benefited the top 20 percent of households, which received nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of the value of all tax changes.
San Jose Mercury News: If California Gas Prices Take Their Seasonal Tumble, Will That Save the Gas Tax?
July 10, 2018
Just so you know, California isn’t the only state raising gasoline taxes. As 2018’s second half starts, drivers in seven states face just-raised taxes on fuel, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. In fact, 27 states nationwide have increased gasoline taxes in the past five years – with Missouri voters facing an […]
Washington Post: At State Level, GOP Renews Push to Require ‘supermajorities’ for Tax Hikes, Imperiling Progressive Agenda
July 9, 2018
In three additional states — Florida, Oregon and North Carolina — conservative lawmakers and business groups are currently advancing similar measures, said Meg Wiehe, a tax analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank. Read more
Orange County Register: California Isn’t the Only State Hiking Gas Taxes
July 6, 2018
Just so you know, California isn’t the only state raising gasoline taxes. As 2018’s second half starts, drivers in seven states face just-raised taxes on fuel, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. In fact, 27 states nationwide have increased gasoline taxes in the past five years – with Missouri voters facing an Election […]
The Bond Buyer: Where SALT Workarounds Are Being Promoted
July 5, 2018
he $10,000 federal cap on the deductibility of state and local taxes has led to a flurry of activity in red states to promote tax credits for taxpayers’ efforts to make charitable donations to get around that cap. That’s the finding of a survey by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy that highlights the […]
Fox Business: Higher State Taxes, Not OPEC, Boosting Gas Prices
July 5, 2018
In July, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee were among seven states that raised their gas taxes Opens a New Window. . At least 27 states have raised or updated their gas taxes since 2013, according to a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Opens a New Window. . California – where drivers pay some […]
24/7 Wall Street: 10 States With the Lowest Gas Prices Get Government Help
July 5, 2018
While oil prices are the major component of gas prices, state taxes are often overlooked. And they are unlikely to change very much. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, most increases have been a few pennies, even as the number of states that have bumped them has grown. The organization reports: In […]
The Nation: Will Red-State Protests Spark Electoral Change?
July 5, 2018
State lawmakers came “out of the gate in 2011 with a pretty regressive, large-scale tax-cut plan,” said Meg Wiehe, deputy director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonprofit, tax-focused research group. Led by Governor Fallin, the Oklahoma GOP wanted to scrap the income tax entirely—a plan that was the brainchild of […]
USA Today: Gas Taxes Rise Sunday in Seven States as AAA Projects Record Travel for July 4th
July 2, 2018
Massive teacher protests this spring in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kentucky and other states prompted the Oklahoma Legislature to raise taxes on cigarettes, fuel and oil and gas production to pay for raises averaging $6,100 per year and to boost funding for schools, support personnel and state workers. “The last time the Sooner State raised its gas tax […]
Augusta Free Press: Rising Gas Prices, Health Costs Mitigate Impact of Tax Cuts
July 2, 2018
Meanwhile, six months after passage of the tax cut law, Virginia’s wealthiest one percent will be watching fireworks at the country club in great comfort knowing that their tax cuts will provide them with a $60,000 average tax cut a year, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. According to figures from GasBuddy.com, the price […]
Seattle Times: Fight Heats up over Washington State Carbon ‘Fee’ Likely to Make Fall Ballot
July 2, 2018
Opponents criticize the measure as a regressive tax on Washingtonians. They note that the state — with a sales tax but no income tax — already is considered to have the most regressive tax system in the nation, according to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more
American Prospect: The Two Biggest Lies in Donald Trump’s Tax Plan
June 29, 2018
Following is an excerpt from an essay in the American Prospect by ITEP Senior Fellow Matt Gardner: Despite a full-court charm offensive by the White House, its media surrogates, and big corporations that benefit most from the 2017 Republican Tax Act, the public stubbornly sees the truth: that President Trump’s tax bill was designed for […]
San Antonio Express News: Why Immigrants Come
June 29, 2018
What’s needed is a change of policy and a change of focus. The objective should not be to decrease the supply of labor needed in the farm fields and hospitality industries but rather to create a program and a process whereby employers can legally hire these undocumented workers to do the jobs they can’t find […]
Fast Company: AT&T’s Long Partnership with NSA Is Just Another Swamp Romance
June 28, 2018
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said AT&T enjoyed an effective tax rate of just 8 percent between 2008 and 2015, despite the fact that the company enjoyed record profits, and took full advantage of tax breaks and loopholes. AT&T objected, saying it pays an effective tax of 32.7%. Read more
American Prospect: Massive Spending Cuts, the Tax Act’s Hidden Costs
June 28, 2018
According to an analysis released last year by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, those in the bottom fifth of the income distribution paid just under 7 percent of their income in federal taxes, and just over 12 percent in state and local taxes. That contrasts with the top 1 percent of tax filers, […]
Rigging the System and Poor Shaming (Rightly) Are Incompatible Political Strategies
June 27, 2018 • By Jenice Robinson
The absurdity of blaming poor and moderate-income people for their circumstances is close to running its course as an effective political tool, particularly as some elected officials more boldly assert their intent to cater to the whims of the wealthy. Take last year’s GOP-led drive to eliminate the Affordable Care Act (ACA), for example. House […]
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