Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

The Cheat Sheet: 10 Worst States in America for Fair Tax Systems

November 9, 2016

“Americans generally believe that higher income households should pay a greater percentage of their incomes in taxes than lower income households. Yet the exact opposite occurs. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds the nationwide average effective state and local tax rates by income group are 10.9% for the poorest 20% of individuals […]

Forbes: Top 100 S&P Companies Averaged 25% In Income Taxes Actually Paid

November 8, 2016

“I spoke with two of the four experts that WalletHub consulted.  Being accounting professors, they knew that the income tax expense on financial statements and the amount actually paid are ‘two very different things’.   I also spoke with Matthew Gardner of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.  He summed up the problem pretty […]

The Atlantic: Are Washingtonians About to Vote Down a Chance to Fight Climate Change?

November 7, 2016

“Progressives in Washington have argued for years that the state’s tax system is unfair and exacerbates inequality. Indeed, according to a 2015 report by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the poorest 20 percent of Washingtonians (who make $21,000 per year or less) pay roughly 16.8 percent of their income in taxes every […]

Yahoo! Finance: New Jersey just hiked its gas tax by 159%. Is your state next?

November 7, 2016

“Of course, New Jersey isn’t the only state that has or is toying with raising gasoline taxes. Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington upped their gas taxes in 2015, notes the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Louisiana, Tennessee, Alaska, Alabama and Minnesota are contemplating increases in 2017.” […]

BNA State Tax: Extras on excise: New Jersey fuel taxes are going up in the world

November 3, 2016

“New Jersey isn’t the only state that has seen a gas tax increase in recent years. Nineteen states and D.C. have seen gas tax changes in the past three years, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.” Read more

Progressive Pulse: New policy brief: The tax cut that North Carolina should enact

November 3, 2016

“According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, low-income North Carolinians pay nearly twice the share of their income in taxes as our state’s richest residents. Reinstating the EITC would be a crucial step towards rebalancing the tax load for all North Carolina taxpayers.” Read more

The Acadiana Advocate: Task force reveals budget, tax recommendations for Legislature

November 3, 2016

“Meanwhile, the Louisiana Budget Project, which advocates on behalf of low and moderate income people, said “more is needed to put Louisiana’s budget back in the black.” “A preliminary analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that even if the Legislature agrees to the sales tax and income-tax changes recommended by the […]

Oklahoma Watch: Five Things to Remember About the Penny Tax Proposal

November 3, 2016

“The tax would fall hardest on the poor, who spend a larger portion of their income on retail purchases. It would cost the bottom 20 percent of households an average of $90 a year. Middle-income households would pay about $262 a year. And the top 1 percent would pay $1,691, according to a data analysis […]

Fox Business: New Jersey Gas Tax Hike: Will Your State Be Next?

November 1, 2016

“‘Many other states are facing similar issues, but haven’t raised the gas tax in a decade or more,’ said Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. ‘It can be a political challenge.'” Read more

Las Cruces Sun-News: Millennials like this mixed-ethnicity couple are reshaping America

October 31, 2016

“Luz said her father, a manual laborer, pays income tax — as do half the immigrants living in the United States without legal status, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.” Read more

Poughkeepsie Journal: Tax exempt: Millions in breaks for IDAs, but few jobs

October 31, 2016

“Matt Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit research group, agreed that New York has done a good job of keeping tabs on tax breaks for development projects. What it hasn’t done is slow down on giving them away.” Read more

Casper Star-Tribune: Powerful Wyoming Liberty Group hits reset on image

October 31, 2016

“But Wyoming’s tax system is advantageous to the rich, with the state’s poor and middle classes paying a disproportionate amount of their income on sales and property taxes, said Carl Davis, the research director of the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.” Read more

The Daily Targum: KHAVICH: Enforcement of law is not anti-immigrant

October 31, 2016

“As to their contributions, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy calculated that the undocumented population pays nearly $12 billion in taxes annually.” Read more

Times Reporter: Al Landis is best candidate for Statehouse

October 28, 2016

“In fact, a study of state tax systems from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reported the bottom 20 percent put 11.7 percent of their income toward taxes while the top 1 percent, who make over $356,000 a year, pay 5.5 percent toward the same taxes.” Read more

The Bay State Banner: Corporations dodge $718 billion in taxes through offshore tax havens

October 28, 2016

“According to a new report, Offshore Shell Games 2016, by CTJ, ITEP & USPIRG , American firms are avoiding up to $718 billion in U.S. taxes on $2.5 trillion in profits held offshore. These jaw-dropping numbers will keep getting bigger until we fix the corporate tax system.” Read more

Detroit Free Press: Undocumented immigrants in Michigan face uncertain future

October 25, 2016

“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated undocumented immigrants paid about $10.6 billion in state and local taxes in 2010 — about $8 billion of which was accumulated through sales and excise taxes.” Read more

Observer-Reporter: Tax loopholes

October 25, 2016

“‘It’s emblematic of the way most people feel about the tax system,’ said Matt Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization. ‘It favors those who have the resources.'” Read more

Bloomberg BNA: Thousands of Subsidiaries Go Missing From Bank SEC Filings

October 25, 2016

“Matt Gardner, executive director with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told Bloomberg BNA that rules governing materiality ‘are neither stringent nor precise,’ and that banks are realizing they don’t have to disclose them if they don’t want to.” Read more

Times Leader: How tax policy favors the rich

October 25, 2016

“’It’s emblematic of the way most people feel about the tax system,’ said Matt Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization. ‘It favors those who have the resources.'” Read more

Columbia Daily Tribune: Open borders make America great

October 25, 2016

“And though there are competing analyses about whether unlawfully present immigrants contribute more to the economy than they cost in education and health expenses, what cannot be denied is that, according to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, illegal immigrants contribute more than $11.6 billion to state and local coffers each year and […]

Quartz: It’s possible that half of undocumented US immigrants have paid more taxes than Donald Trump

October 25, 2016

“She’s right on the proportion of unauthorized immigrants who pay taxes, according to research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP.” Read more

News Review: Burden remains

October 25, 2016

“In addition, Nevada finishes just out of the ‘terrible top 10’ list of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s assessment of overall fairness in state tax systems. Nevada ranks the 13th most unfair state and local tax system in the country.” Read more

Newsmax: AFT Criticizes ‘Neovouchers’ for Private Schools

October 18, 2016

“States using ‘neovouchers’ – or backdoor vouchers – to encourage donations to private school scholarship funds or to offset the costs of private school tuitions illegally allow wealthy taxpayers to turn a profit when making charitable contributions to private schools, according to a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.” Read more

FAIR: ‘Real Estate Investors Should Be Treated Like Any Other Businessmen’

October 18, 2016

“The statement revealed nothing we didn’t know about Trump, but it did raise a few questions for some folks about taxes—who pays what and why. Richard Phillips is senior policy analyst at Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. He joins us by phone from Washington, DC. Welcome to CounterSpin, […]

Republican Eagle: Offshore tax havens cost U.S. $718 billion in taxes

October 18, 2016

“According to a new report, Offshore Shell Games 2016, by Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) & the U.S. Public Interest Group Education Fund, American firms are avoiding up to $718 billion in U.S. taxes on $2.5 trillion in profits held offshore. These jaw-dropping numbers will keep getting […]