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Brakeyshia Samms
Senior Policy AnalystJanuary 31, 2022
Build Back Better’s Tax Provisions Would Help Advance Racial Equity
Build Back Better can help ensure that all people are provided with the chance to lead healthy lives, have access to quality education, are treated fairly and justly, and thrive in today’s economy. -
Governors and legislators are beginning to settle on and advance tax bills that could drastically shape the future of their states and several trends and themes are beginning to emerge... -
Amy Hanauer
Executive DirectorJanuary 25, 2022
Why Tax Reform Should Remain on the Table
In this country, wealthier than any other and wealthier than we’ve ever been, we can create a smarter, more equitable tax code that better taxes those most able to pay. -
January 20, 2022
State Rundown 1/20: Governors Eyeing Tax Cuts in Yearly Addresses
A common theme is emerging out of states, as governors around the U.S. begin the year with their annual state speeches, and the news does not bode well for long-term growth and sustainable budgets... -
Kamolika Das
Local Policy DirectorNot only is Mississippi's latest tax proposal deeply inequitable, the state simply cannot afford it. -
In just six short months, the enhanced Child Tax Credit (CTC), enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), decreased the number of children living in poverty by 40 percent. ITEP estimated that the lowest-income 20 percent of households with children would receive a 35 percent income boost from this policy alone in 2021. This is a meaningful, life-changing sum. -
January 13, 2022
State Rundown 1/13: The Tax Cuts Cometh, But There Is a Better Way
As expected, with the start of many new legislative sessions around the country, lawmakers have introduced a slew of tax cut plans following better-than-expected budget outlooks that have, so far, weathered the impact of the pandemic... -
Joe Hughes
Senior Policy AnalystPrior to last year, more than one in three children lived in households with incomes too low to receive the full $2,000 credit because it is not fully refundable. This means earnings requirements and other limits reduce the amount tax filers can receive as a refund. In fact, the maximum refundable portion is reduced to $1,400 (less than half of the maximum refundable credit available in 2021). -
Brakeyshia Samms
Senior Policy AnalystJanuary 11, 2022
School’s In: Tackling College Affordability Through State Tax Codes
Given that a sweeping federal solution to the college affordability crisis does not appear to be on the immediate horizon, it is even more important that states take whatever steps they can to expand college access and affordability. While most of that effort will need to occur on the spending side of the ledger—such as through lowering tuition costs, expanding financial aid, or perhaps even funding free college outright—tax policy also has a role to play. -
Neva Butkus
Senior Policy AnalystThe same legislators who touted tax cuts for the rich as solution to our problems before the pandemic are also saying tax cuts for the rich are a solution during the pandemic. Tax cuts cannot be a solution to everything, especially at a time when the richest Americans are amassing more wealth than ever. -
Aidan Davis
State Policy DirectorJanuary 10, 2022
Investing in a Joint Future: Harnessing State Tax Codes
Rather than resorting to tax cuts, which can eventually create revenue shortfalls, lawmakers should determine whether they have adequately invested in people and communities. There are better ways to leverage tax systems to help those who need it most. -
January 5, 2022
The Pendulum Is Swinging Toward Tax Justice
Tax justice is deeply connected to the movements for equality and racial justice. Progressive tax policy can ensure more of us share in the prosperous economy that our collective tax dollars make possible. It can mitigate economic disparities by class and race. And it can make sure the government has the resources it needs to function for all of us. -
January 5, 2022
State Rundown 1/5: New Year, Same Old Playbook
The new year often brings with it a reinvigorated commitment to new goals and a fresh perspective on how to accomplish them, but it seems like lawmakers in states around the country are giving up already... -
Emma Sifre
Senior Data AnalystOne important data inadequacy is the lack of demographic information in tax data. While the IRS data offers rich data on taxpayer income, it does not collect information on important demographic characteristics like race and ethnicity. This presents a challenge for researchers interested in the racialized impacts of the U.S. tax system and has prompted many researchers and organizations to advocate for public-use tax data that is disaggregated by race and ethnicity. -
We are surrounded by evidence that economic inequality is spinning out of control, yet we also see straightforward examples of how government can stop the downward spiral should it choose to do so. The Build Back Better Act, which invests in communities and ensures the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share, is one such example. Congress should pass it. -
As the holiday season kicks into full gear, we’re putting the finishing touches on our State Tax Naughty or Nice list, and it looks like some late entrants are making a good case to be included...
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Steve Wamhoff
Federal Policy DirectorCongress expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP). The additional benefits that millions of families and workers received under that law will end this month if Congress does not act soon. The CTC expansion boosted the annual tax credit […] -
ITEP Staff
December 9, 2021
Tax Credits in Build Back Better Support Millions of Families
The EITC and CTC are proven poverty-fighting tools. The monthly CTC payments alone kept 3.6 million people out of poverty in October. This policy success is worth repeating. -
Steve Wamhoff
Federal Policy DirectorRichest taxpayers would receive $0 benefit under new compromise compared with 51 percent of the benefit of House-passed SALT provision DOWNLOAD NATIONAL AND STATE-BY-STATE ESTIMATES In the latest chapter of the saga over SALT, some Senate Democrats are discussing a new compromise that would amend the House-passed provision providing relief from the SALT cap to […] -
November 23, 2021
State Rundown 11/23: Thankful for Tax Advocates Like You!
Here at ITEP we want to give thanks and say we’re grateful for all of the hard work that advocates in states across the country are doing to secure progressive tax policy victories... -
Joe Hughes
Senior Policy AnalystThe proposal in the Democrats’ Build Back Better proposal applies the 3.8 percent Net Investment Income Tax to all profit distributions from partnerships and S-corporations so that this income of wealthy pass-through business owners no longer escapes. -
Aidan Davis
State Policy DirectorThe CTC and EITC provisions would have a particularly profound effect on the poorest 20 percent of Americans, who all will have incomes of less than $22,000 in 2022. Taken together, the EITC and CTC changes would lift the average income of these households by more than 10 percent. -
Matthew Gardner
Senior FellowAmazon, Bank of America, Facebook, FedEx, General Motors, Google, Netflix, PayPal, T-Mobile and Verizon are just a few of the 70 corporations that would have paid more taxes under the Democrats’ proposed Corporate Profits Minimum Tax (CPMT) if it had been in effect in 2020 according to a new report from Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office with estimates verified by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. -
November 10, 2021
State Rundown 11/10: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…Election Season?!
If the leaves are turning colors and you find yourself walking out of the office into pitch-black darkness, it only means that time of the year is upon us—and no, I'm not talking about the holiday season. Before that, it’s the equally important election season... -
Carl Davis
Research DirectorNovember 9, 2021
Paying The Estate Tax Shouldn’t Be Optional for the Super Rich
ProPublica this year released multiple exposés revealing how the nation’s wealthiest individuals and families avoid taxes on an unimaginable scale. Most recently, it uncovered Republican and Democratic elected officials and political appointees who used complex strategies to avoid taxes. Richard Painter, a White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush, said these revelations should be “troubling […]
Blog Categories
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