Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP's Research Priorities

Think Progress: Opposition to Washington’s historic carbon tax initiative is coming from the unlikeliest of sources

October 11, 2016

“To Bauman and his colleagues at CarbonWA, the initiative seemed like a win-win, something that would drive down carbon emissions while moving Washington’s notoriously regressive tax code — the worst in the entire country, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy — forward.” Read more

Crooks and Liars: US Corporate Tax Dodgers Hiding More Money Than The GDP Of France

October 11, 2016

“‘Multinational corporations’ use of tax havens allows them to avoid an estimated $100 billion in federal income taxes each year,’ says a new report just released by Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund (U.S. PIRG).” Read more

Don’t Mess With Taxes: IRS now accepting ITIN renewal applications

October 11, 2016

“State and local governments collect more than $11.6 billion a year from undocumented immigrants, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) update of its 50-state study.” Red more: 

CT News Junkie: Report Highlights Practice of Offshore Tax Havens

October 11, 2016

“The report, Offshore Shell Games, was compiled by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, and Citizens for Tax Justice.” Read more

Motion Picture Editors Guild: Large Companies Owe Hundreds of Billions in US Taxes, Report Says

October 11, 2016

“In 2015, the Fortune 500 companies avoided paying taxes on $2.5 trillion in accumulated profits held offshore, according to the study by the Citizens for Tax Justice, US PIRG Education Fund, and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Thirty of these companies accounted for $1.65 trillion (66%) of these offshore profits.” Read more

The Mercury News: Should California extend ‘temporary’ income taxes on top earners?

October 11, 2016

“But tax experts like Carl Davis, a senior policy analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, say there’s no proof that state income taxes on top earners have much effect at all on where millionaires choose to live. He pointed to a recent research study by a Stanford professor that found millionaires are […]

Bloomberg BNA: $718 Billion in Taxes Lost in 2015 to Offshore Profits

October 5, 2016

“The company that made the most in offshore profits in 2015 was Apple Inc. with $214.9 billion in earnings, according to “Offshore Shell Games,” by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Citizens for Tax Justice, and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The company would owe $65.4 billion in U.S. taxes if these profits weren’t […]

The Hill: Companies eyeing banks’ help with Treasury’s debt-equity rules

October 5, 2016

“But if Treasury exempts banks and other heavily regulated industries under section 385, it would ‘eviscerate’the department’s goal in clamping down on earnings stripping, warned Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Financial companies are ‘heavy users of offshore tax haven subsidiaries,’ he added.”

Salon: Donald Trump’s tax returns show the American tax code favors the rich

October 5, 2016

“’The real estate [loophole] is a pretty clear and, I think, pretty potent example of a tax break where middle-income Americans look at it and just say, “Well, this doesn’t do anything, this is basically inapplicable to me,”’ said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. ‘It’s legal; it probably […]

NPR: Corporate Profits Take Permanent Vacation In Caymans And Bermuda

October 5, 2016

“Matt Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, is one of the study’s authors. He says: ‘In many tax havens, it’s easier to set up a subsidiary than it is to get a library card. Very often there is little asked of the company in terms of who owns it [and] […]

AppleInsider: Study claims Apple avoided paying $65.08B in US taxes through offshore arrangements

October 5, 2016

“The sums made Apple the biggest avoider of corporate taxes in the U.S., said Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, quoted by the U.K.’s Daily Mail. The organizations noted however that three quarters of Fortune 500 companies used offshore tax havens, cumulatively funneling $2.42 trillion and dodging $715.62 billion […]

IOL: Apple named biggest tax avoider in US

October 5, 2016

“It also revealed that in 2015 three quarters of the Fortune 500 firms – the largest corporations in America – hold £1.9 trillion of income in offshore tax havens. This amounted to £561.9 billion in American tax that they avoided paying. The study, by pressure group Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation […]

Tucson Weekly: What is ‘The Tax Foundation,’ and Why Does It Rank Arizona 21st in Tax Policies?

October 5, 2016

“A more liberal-leaning group, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, has a different take on Arizona’s tax structure. It comes close to agreeing with the Tax Foundation on the ranking of Arizona’s combined state and local taxes. ITEP has us the 35th highest, the same as being the 15th lowest—which is in the same […]

Rapid City Journal: SD tax policies model of unfairness

October 5, 2016

“The non-partisan, non-profit Institute On Taxation And Economic Policy says that in 2015, South Dakota had the fourth most regressive tax system in the United States. Poor and middle-income residents paid, respectively, 12 percent and 8 percent of their earnings to state and local authorities, while the wealthiest paid less than 2 percent.” Read more

Bloomberg: More Than 73% of Fortune 500 Cos. Used Tax Havens in 2015

October 4, 2016

“More than 73% of Fortune 500 cos. had subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, said the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.” Read more

San Francisco Chronicle: Trump, Clinton tax plans lack proposals for major reform

October 4, 2016

“‘They’re not changing the fundemental way we tax incom… it’s really a missed opportunity,’ said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.” Read more

Think Progress: Undocumented immigrants could teach Trump a few things about paying taxes

October 4, 2016

“Similarly, a 2016 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report found that undocumented workers are a net positive to the economy, contributing roughly $11.64 billion every year, or an average eight percent of their incomes in state and local taxes.” Read more

CBS Connecticut: Companies Store Trillions In Offshore Accounts

October 4, 2016

“The study by ConnPirg, the Connecticut Public Interest Research Group, along with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, shows $2.5-trillion squirreled away in offshore accounts.” Read more

WTNH: New report highlights Connecticut companies utilizing tax havens

October 4, 2016

“Matthew Gardner, a spokesperson for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, explained that the only way for the U.S. to get this tax money back would be to adjust the current tax codes.” Read more

Bloomberg BNA: Rubio Introduces Senate Bill to Block IRS Estate Tax Rules

October 3, 2016

“‘The interesting question is: When does writing regulations amount to enforcing existing laws effectively and when does it amount to codifying new laws?’ said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. In the case of the valuation discount regulations, members of Congress are arguing the latter.” Read more

Politifact: Tom DeLay says most illegal immigrants draw ‘welfare benefits,’ send children to public schools

October 3, 2016

“Tanya Broder, a staff attorney for the National Immigration Law Center, said by phone that ‘undocumented immigrants have the same tax obligations as any other resident.’ Broder emailed a 2015 report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think tank, which drew on its analysis of state tax laws to estimate that […]

Indy Week: The Durham City Council Gave a Biotech Company $77,000. Here’s Why That’s a Bad Idea.

October 3, 2016

“Indeed, the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy concluded in a 2013 report that ‘tax incentives are rarely the deciding factor in whether a business chooses to hire or invest within a state’s borders.’ And a 2015 analysis by the policy resource center Good Jobs First of the state’s One North Carolina Fund found […]

Malay Mail Online: Does Trump pay taxes? Debate triggers new scrutiny

October 3, 2016

“Matthew Gardner of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy told AFP that some analysts suspect real estate moguls regularly generate losses on real estate income to avoid paying taxes on other income — a tactic forbidden in many other industries.” Read more

Bloomberg: Ohio Income Tax Cuts

September 27, 2016

“The shifting composition of Ohio’s taxes has meant a shift, too, in who pays for state and local government. According to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy of the major tax changes between 2005 and 2014, the most affluent 1 percent of Ohioans saw an average annual cut in their tax […]

Think Progress: Use this guide to fact check Trump during the debate.

September 27, 2016

“In reality, undocumented immigrants are a net positive to the economy, contributing $11.64 billion into local and state taxes, according to a 2016 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report. What’s more, undocumented immigrants also contributed $35.1 billion to the Medicare Trust Fund between 2000 and 2011, according to a 2015 Journal of General Internal […]