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Washington Post: NJ Democrats Loved the Idea of Taxing the Rich Until They Could Actually Do It
May 24, 2018
A spokesman for Sweeney, the state Senate president, said families earning over $1.1 million in New Jersey already face an average $738 tax hike under the GOP law, citing data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a left-leaning think tank. That number accounts only for the GOP tax law’s changes for households […]
Politico Morning Tax: Is the End Near
May 24, 2018
Along those same lines, some liberals are clearly a bit queasy about the idea of the state SALT maneuvers, given that most of the benefits flow to top earners. But the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy also said it would be “unfair, arbitrary and ineffective” for the federal government to target the blue […]
Washington Times: Treasury Department Warns States over SALT Workarounds
May 24, 2018
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank, issued a new report Wednesday warning the Treasury not to single out the blue states, saying if they’re going to tackle charitable donations they could also target private school voucher programs. “Long before the tax law passed, some states abused the idea of charitable […]
State Efforts to Shield Taxpayers From SALT Cap Expose Deeper Flaws with Tax Incentives for Charitable Contributions
May 23, 2018 • By Carl Davis
Long before the tax law passed, some states abused the idea of charitable giving to funnel public money to various activities, such as private K-12 education, by reimbursing up to 100 percent of their taxpayers’ donations with tax credits. The flimsy, hastily-written SALT deduction cap enacted last year made this type of gaming even easier than before, and it was entirely predictable that states would respond by enacting more tax credits of this type.
San Francisco Chronicle: How Amazon and Entrepreneurs Can Pay Zero Federal Income Tax, and Do So Legally
May 16, 2018
With the recent news that Amazon paid zero federal taxes for 2017, every entrepreneur should be asking, :”How can my company pay no taxes, and legally, too?” According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Amazon “paid no U.S. income taxes on $5.6 billion in domestic profits last year.” But companies in a position […]
Bloomberg: The Kochs Helped Slash State Taxes. Now Teachers Are in the Streets
May 16, 2018
“There’s this promise,” says Meg Wiehe of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “ ‘We’re going to put more money in your pockets. We’re going to let your family decide how to use this money.’ But the trade-off is: Your school is unfunded, your teachers’ pay is frozen, your classrooms are crowded, your textbooks are […]
USA Today: Amazon Tax over Head Tax Foreshadows Battles to Come in other Cities
May 16, 2018
In Washington state, neither state or local government are allowed to tax income. In addition, state law caps real estate tax increases to no more than 1% a year. “It’s a very challenging environment in which to raise revenues. So from that unique perspective, the proposed tax on workers seems like the best available to […]
The Hill: We Need Real Tax Reform
May 15, 2018 • By Steve Wamhoff
Following is an excerpt from an op-ed by Steve Wamhoff, ITEP director of federal policy, published in The Hill on May 15, 2018. By now, it’s crystal clear that the Trump-GOP tax law (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA) benefits corporations and the rich more than anyone else. But Republican leaders are pushing […]
Seattle Times: Coalition Abandons Initiative Requiring Legislature to ‘Balance’ Washington’s Tax Code
May 15, 2018
It’s no great secret that Washington state has a regressive tax system, meaning people with modest incomes pay a comparatively high share of it in state and local taxes. The poorest fifth pay about 17 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while the wealthiest 1 percent pay 2.4 percent, according to the […]
Millionaires Average Annual Tax Cut in North Carolina Is Comparable to Average Teacher’s Salary
May 11, 2018 • By Meg Wiehe
North Carolina lawmakers' misplaced priorities are evident: The recent rounds of tax cuts will provide the state’s millionaires with an average annual tax break of more than $45,000, which is nearly as much as the average teacher’s annual salary of about $50,000.
Associated Press: Arizona Voters May Be Asked Whether They Want to Tax High Earners to Fund Education
May 11, 2018
Ballot initiatives to hike taxes on the rich are rare but not unheard of. A measure in Washington state in 2010 to adopt an income tax for individuals who make more than $200,000 was overwhelmingly voted down. Meg Wiehe, deputy director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said the public could be more […]
Politico: Trump Store Collecting Online Sales Tax after Criticism
May 4, 2018
The research director of the liberal-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Carl Davis, said in a blog post Thursday that “the Trump Organization quietly updated TrumpStore.com’s sales tax information page this week to indicate that the company will now collect sales tax in New York.” Read more
Business Insider: The Trump Org Just Quietly Announced It Is Collecting Sales Tax in a New State
May 4, 2018
New York’s addition to the list of states where TrumpStore.com collects sales tax, which previously included Louisiana, Florida, and Virginia, was first spotted Thursday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think tank. “Refusing to collect sales tax in New York was a risky move, and it’s not surprising that they’ve reversed course,” […]
Politico Morning Tax: Yeah, That’s a Nexus
May 4, 2018
The Trump Store has started collecting sales tax on online purchases from customers in New York, a state where it most certainly seemed to have the physical presence required for collection — a Manhattan flagship store. The liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy noted that update on the store’s website. In all, the store […]
Politifact: Bernie Sanders Says Amazon Paid no Federal Income Tax in 2017. He’s Right
May 3, 2018
The trick for companies? They get to write off the value at which the stock was later traded, not the original price for which they sold their stock to employees. “Even if the grant was pennies on the dollar, the companies get to write off the full market value,” said Matt Gardner, senior fellow at […]
Washington Post: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is sending 671,000 families an election-year check
May 3, 2018
Tax experts said the only similar recent tax break that came to mind was in 2014, when New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) pushed through a more targeted, three-year tax package aimed at middle-class families ahead of his reelection bid, according to Meg Wiehe, a tax expert at the Institute on Taxation and Economic […]
Bloomberg BNA: Higher Gas Prices May Mean Paying States More in Taxes
May 1, 2018
As a result, a few states will see revenue gains from higher prices because their tax rates are tied to the price of fuel, rather than its volume, Carl Davis, research director for the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told Bloomberg Tax. Those states include California, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, New […]
Education Week: Want to Support Schools? Stop Cutting Taxes
April 30, 2018
In fact, a 2013 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy study found that states with high tax rates are outperforming no-tax states, particularly in per capita gross state product: 8.2 percent per capita growth in gross state product compared with 5.2 percent in no-tax states. Read more
The Arizona Republic: Will #RedforEd teachers support soaking the rich to better fund Arizona schools?
April 30, 2018
Lujan says it’s is all about balancing an out-of-whack tax structure that is too dependent on sales taxes – one that has left low-income Arizonans paying far more in taxes as a percentage of their income than the wealthy. Indeed, 40 percent of Arizona taxpayers – those who earn an average of $28,300 a year […]
Detroit Free Press: Trump’s Tax Law Saves These Companies Millions
April 29, 2018
For example, embattled Wells Fargo saved $662 million off its tax bill during the first three months of 2018. Those tax savings promise to quickly wipe out the $1-billion fine the bank agreed this month to pay to settle mortgage and auto loan violations against its customers. And Google’s parent company saved as much as $1 billion […]
Washington Post: Democrats’ Tax Plan Looks an Awful Lot Like a Big Giveaway to the Wealthy
April 26, 2018
Some Democratic-led states are also moving forward with plans that would offset the tax benefits for the rich, with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) acting swiftly to enact a millionaire’s tax, according to Meg Wiehe, deputy director of ITEP, who noted Murphy has acknowledged the workaround may help the rich. Cuomo has rebuffed similar […]
CNN: Where Dissatisfied Teachers Are Taking Action Next
April 25, 2018
The nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said the state would have $2.8 billion more in annual revenue if legislators had not changed the tax system that existed in 2013. Gov. Roy Cooper had said improving education funding is a priority. Read more
Arizona and Other Teachers’ Strikes are Directly Connected to Tax-Cutting Fervor
April 24, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
Following is a statement by Meg Wiehe, deputy director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the pending teachers’ strike in Arizona. “The Arizona teachers’ strike, like other recent strikes and walkouts before it, is as much a state fiscal policy story as it is an education story. Year after year, lawmakers in […]
American Prospect: Even the CBO Says the GOP Tax Reform Will Incentivize Corporate Offshoring
April 23, 2018
In December, House Speaker Paul Ryan published on his website that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act benefits “job creators of all sizes” as it “Prevents American jobs, headquarters, and research from moving overseas by eliminating incentives that now reward companies for shifting jobs, profits, and manufacturing plants abroad.” Observers like the Institute on Taxation […]
Public Radio East: NC Continues To Fall Behind In Education Funding
April 23, 2018
The non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy finds the state would have about $3 billion more in yearly revenue if the tax system from 2013 was still in place. Read more
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