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Reviving U.S. Manufacturing, One Cheesecake Factory at a Time
• By Matthew Gardner
In the latest example of how the tax code has been abused and distorted, the Cheesecake Factory is claiming the manufacturing tax deduction, apparently for manufacturing cheesecakes, burgers, and other treats.
Trump Touts Tax Cuts for the Wealthy as a Plan for Working People
• By Steve Wamhoff
Unless the administration takes a radically different direction on tax reform from what it has already proposed, its tax plan would be a monumental giveaway to the top 1 percent. The wealthiest one percent of households would receive 61 percent of all the Trump tax breaks, and would receive an average of $145,400 in 2018 alone.
Sound Tax Policy Made a Comeback in 2017
• By ITEP Staff
2017 marked a sea change in state tax policy and a stark departure from the current federal tax debate as dubious supply-side economic theories began to lose their grip on statehouses. Compared to the predominant trend in recent years of emphasizing top-heavy income tax cuts and shifting to more regressive consumption taxes in the hopes […]
Tax Avoidance: Nike “Just Did It” Again, Moving $1.5 Billion Offshore Last Year
• By Matthew Gardner
The Nike Corporation’s annual financial disclosure of income tax payments is always notable for two recurring trends: the Oregon-based company’s steady shifting of profits into offshore tax havens, and Nike’s apparent effort to conceal how it’s achieving this tax avoidance. This year’s report, released earlier this week, is no exception.
States May Be Finally Learning Their Lesson on Back-To-School Sales Tax Holidays
• By Dylan Grundman O'Neill
State lawmakers face a dilemma when it comes to sales tax holidays, an attractive and popular policy that nonetheless proves to be a poor choice compared to developing thoughtful, targeted tax policies or investing in well-executed public services. Luckily, word seems to be getting out that the costs associated with these holidays far outweigh their purported benefits.
State Rundown 7/19: Handful of States Still Have Their Hands Full with Tax and Budget Debates
• By ITEP Staff
Tax and budget debates drag on in several states this week, as lawmakers continue to work in Alaska, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. And a showdown is brewing in Kentucky between a regressive tax shift effort and a progressive tax reform plan. Be sure to also check out our "What We're Reading" section for a historical perspective on federal tax reform, a podcast on lessons learned from Kansas and California, and more!
FedEx Pays Just 7.5% of Its Profits in Taxes While Pushing for a Lower Corporate Tax Rate
• By Matthew Gardner
The latest annual financial report released by shipping giant FedEx is yet another reminder that where you stand often depends on where you sit. The report shows that last year FedEx paid a 7.5 percent federal income tax rate on nearly $3.6 billion of U.S. pretax income and this low rate is due in part to accelerated depreciation, a provision in the tax code that allows the company to write off capital investments faster than…
State Rundown 7/11: Some Legislatures Get Long Holiday Weekends, Others Work Overtime
• By ITEP Staff
Illinois and New Jersey made national news earlier this month after resolving their contentious budget stalemates. But they weren’t the only states working through (and in some cases after) the holiday weekend to resolve budget issues.
Why We Need to End the Era of Anonymous Shell Corporations
• By Richard Phillips
What do terrorists, opioid and human traffickers, corrupt government officials and tax evaders have in common? They all depend on the secrecy provided by anonymous shell corporations to allow them to finance and profit from their crimes. Momentum is building in the House and Senate to pass legislation that would strike against illicit finance in the United States and around the world by bringing an end to the anonymity provided by U.S. incorporation.
CBO Just Shot Down Trump’s Economic Forecast
• By Carl Davis
Last month, the Trump Administration released a budget proposal that relies on unrealistic projections of economic growth to create the illusion that it will balance the budget by 2027. By making the federal budget outlook appear more favorable than it actually is, the administration is seeking to bolster its case for enacting a multi-trillion-dollar tax cut. Fortunately, Congress has its own independent forecaster that just chimed in with a more rational assessment of the economy.
State Rundown 6/28: States Scramble to Finish Budgets Before July Deadlines
• By ITEP Staff
This week, several states attempt to wrap up their budget debates before new fiscal years (and holiday vacations) begin in July. Lawmakers reached at least short-term agreement on budgets in Alaska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, but such resolution remains elusive in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Gas Taxes Will Rise in 7 States to Fund Transportation Improvements
• By Carl Davis
Summer gas prices are at their lowest level in twelve years, which makes right now a sensible time to ask drivers to pay a little more toward improving the transportation infrastructure they use every day. Seven states will be doing this on Saturday, July 1 when they raise their gasoline tax rates. At the same time, two states will be implementing small gas tax rate cuts.
Senate Health Care Reform Bill Just as “Mean” as the House Version
• By Alan Essig
The Congressional Budget Office today released its score of the Senate Health Care proposal and the news is not good. It’s no wonder a narrow group of 13 lawmakers cobbled together the bill behind closed doors. Now that the measure has seen the light of day, we know that it epitomizes Robin Hood in reverse policies by snatching health coverage from 22 million people by 2026 (15 million in 2018) while showering tax cuts on…
Inverter Mylan Finds Yet Another Way to Avoid Taxes
• By Richard Phillips
Rather than being known for its pioneering pharmaceuticals, Mylan is increasingly becoming infamous for its pioneering tax avoidance strategies. In 2015, Mylan used an inversion to claim that it is now based in the Netherlands for tax purposes. It is a Dutch company only on paper because ownership of the company was mostly unchanged and it continues to operate largely out of the United States. This maneuver has allowed the company to avoid millions in…
Explaining our Analysis of Washington State’s Highly Regressive Tax Code
• By Carl Davis
Supporters of creating a local personal income tax in Seattle are rightly concerned about the lopsided nature of their state’s tax code. In a 50-state study titled Who Pays?, produced using our microsimulation tax model, we found that Washington State’s tax system is the most regressive in the nation.
West Virginia Lawmakers Settle on Imperfect Budget, Delay Tax Debate for Next Session
• By Aidan Davis
West Virginia’s roller coaster ride of a session is nearing its tumultuous end. In a press conference this morning, Gov. Jim Justice announced that he will let the legislature’s most recent budget bill become law without his signature.
State Rundown 6/21: Crunch Time for Many States with New Fiscal Year on Horizon
• By Meg Wiehe
This week several states rush to finalize their budget and tax debates before the start of most state fiscal years on July 1. West Virginia lawmakers considered tax increases as part of a balanced approach to closing the state’s budget gap but took a funding-cuts-only approach in the end. Delaware legislators face a similar choice, […]
The GOP Health Plan Cuts Medicaid to Lower Taxes for the Richest 3 Percent
• By Alan Essig
The bill passed by the House of Representatives last month to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the most unpopular legislation in decades. Lawmakers should reverse course and take the necessary time to put together legislation that would preserve or, better yet, improve access to health care. But this isn’t likely to happen because at its core, the American Health Care Act isn’t truly health care reform. It is tax cuts that disproportionately benefit…
Which States Benefit from the Tax Cuts in the GOP Health Plan?
• By Steve Wamhoff
Congressional Republicans’ plans to repeal the two largest tax increases on individuals that were enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would disproportionately benefit residents of Connecticut, New York, the District of Columbia and 10 other states. The remaining states would receive a share of the tax cuts that is less than their share of the total U.S. population.
State Rundown 6/14: Some States Wrapping Up Tax Debates, Others Looking Ahead to Next Round
• By ITEP Staff
This week lawmakers in California and Nevada resolved significant tax debates, while budget and tax wrangling continued in West Virginia, and structural revenue shortfalls were revealed in Iowa and Pennsylvania. Airbnb increased the number of states in which it collects state-level taxes to 21. We also share interesting reads on state fiscal uncertainty, the tax experiences of Alaska and Wyoming, the future of taxing robots, and more!
How to Recover from A Failed Tax Experiment: Part 1
• By Lisa Christensen Gee
Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax experiment in Kansas was a failure. His radical tax cuts for the rich eventually had to be partly paid for through tax hikes on low- and middle-income families and also failed to deliver on promises of economic growth. Meanwhile, the tax cuts decimated the state’s budget, diminished its credit rating, and compromised its ability to meet the state’s constitutional standard of adequacy for public education.
The Best Way to Radically Simplify Tax Filing
• By Richard Phillips
One of the supposed selling points of the House GOP’s “Better Way” tax plan is that it will make the tax system so simple that you could do your taxes on a postcard. The reality, however, is that their promised postcard is a deception that would require numerous additional pages of worksheets to fill out. A better solution to making tax preparation simpler is called “return-free filing.” It does not just reduce your work to…
Kansas May Have Saved Us All
• By Steve Wamhoff
Sitting in the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, hidden in the jumble of Americana like Thomas Jefferson’s desk, Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown and the ruby slippers worn in the Wizard of Oz, is a napkin with a drawing on it. Probably one of the least known exhibits in the museum, this napkin, quietly hiding behind glass lest some child wandering from a school group wipe his nose on it, has on several…
State Rundown 6/7: Kansas Success Story and Other State News
• By ITEP Staff
This week, we celebrate a victory in Kansas where lawmakers rolled back Brownback's tax cuts for the richest taxpayers. Governors in West Virginia and Alaska promote compromise tax plans. Texas heads into special session and Vermont faces another budget veto, while Louisiana and New Mexico are on the verge of wrapping up. Voters in Massachusetts may soon be able to weigh in on a millionaire's tax, the California Senate passed single-payer health care, and more!
Oklahoma’s Budget Signed by Governor, but Long-Run Challenges Remain
• By Aidan Davis
On the last day of their legislative session, Oklahoma lawmakers finalized a $6.8 billion budget bill that was later signed by Gov. Mary Fallin. In the governor's statement on the bill, she noted that state agencies will be hard hit by the agreement--"it leaves many agencies facing cuts for the sixth year in a row"--and that while it does include some recurring revenue, it does not address the state's long-run structural budget challenges.
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