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Governors have begun their annual trek to the podium in statehouses across the U.S. to lay out their visions for 2023, and so far, taxes look like they will play a major role in debates throughout state legislative sessions... -
Steve Wamhoff
Federal Policy DirectorThe "Fair Tax" bill would impose a 30 percent federal sales tax on everything we buy – groceries, cars, homes, health care - and lead to a giant tax shift from the well-off to everyone else. -
Joe Hughes
Federal Policy AnalystTwo new rules will hamper the new Congress’s ability to pass tax legislation in the next two years. One requires a supermajority for legislation that increases income tax rates, and the other requires cuts to mandatory spending programs—like Medicare, Social Security, veterans’ benefits or unemployment insurance—in exchange for changes to the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit that would mostly help low-income families. -
Jon Whiten
Communications DirectorJanuary 10, 2023
New House Majority Quickly Moves to Help Wealthy Evade Taxes
The “Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act” would rescind 90 percent of the new funding for the IRS included in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. This would eliminate the new law’s $45.6 billion to enforce the tax code for people making more than $400,000 and repeal an additional $26 billion in IRS funding that would include, among other things, a pilot for a free e-file program to make it easier for people with relatively simple tax returns to file. The slash-and-burn bill comes just weeks after Republicans forced a 2 percent cut in annual IRS funding as part of the omnibus spending plan. -
January 5, 2023
State Rundown 1/5: State Taxes Coming in Hot in New Year
The new year often brings with it new goals and a desire to take on complex problems with a fresh perspective. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always apply to state lawmakers when considering tax policy... -
Amy Hanauer
Executive DirectorJanuary 4, 2023
Trump’s Tax Shenanigans Show Need for Real Reforms
Congress should unite around a basic principle that Republican, Democratic, and independent voters support: the wealthiest, whether they are presidents, CEOs, or just rich heirs, should pay their fair share. Using Trump's tax maneuvering as a guidebook could make the tax code much fairer for all of us. -
Joe Hughes
Federal Policy AnalystThe European Union has reached unanimous agreement to implement a global minimum tax beginning in 2024. With the EU and UK fully on board, it's time for Congress to follow suit and implement the plan negotiated by the Biden administration. Doing so would improve the corporate tax system here and around the world while making the United States economy stronger and more competitive. -
Joe Hughes
Federal Policy AnalystCongressional leaders announced their long-awaited omnibus spending package which will fund the government through September 2023. The good news: the bill does not include needless corporate tax giveaways. The bad news: it also leaves out any expansion of the child tax credit. -
Jon Whiten
Communications DirectorDecember 19, 2022
ITEP’s Top 5 Charts of 2022
Covering federal, state, and corporate tax work, here are our top 5 charts of 2022. It’s worth noting that the biggest tax news of 2022 – the adoption of a federal 15 percent corporate minimum tax in the Inflation Reduction Act – should make some of these charts look much better after the new law is implemented. -
December 15, 2022
State Rundown 12/15: State Priorities for 2023 Begin to Take Shape
State leaders have begun to release budget projections for 2023 and a familiar theme has emerged once again: big revenue surpluses, which have many state lawmakers pushing for another round of tax cuts despite the monumental challenges that we as a country face that call for sustainable revenues... -
Steve Wamhoff
Federal Policy DirectorDecember 14, 2022
Guide to a Potential Year-End Tax Bill in Congress
Any tax legislation enacted before this Congress ends should prioritize policies that have a proven track record of helping workers and children rather than policies that cut taxes for corporations or for individuals who are already well-off. It's not clear right now whether lawmakers will do that - or whether they will enact any tax legislation at all before the year ends, but here we take a look at the key tax issues that lawmakers are discussing. -
Steve Wamhoff
Federal Policy DirectorIf Congress creates a tax break to encourage businesses to conduct research that benefits society, should Netflix be eligible for it? There is no shame in binge-watching Stranger Things or Bridgerton or The Crown, but how many of us really think Netflix deserves a tax break for whatever “research” the company did to provide this […] -
Steve Wamhoff
Federal Policy DirectorPrivate equity is doing fine on its own and does not need another tax break. Congress should keep the stricter limit on deductions for interest payments —one of the few provisions in the 2017 tax law that asked large businesses to pay a little bit more. -
Steve Wamhoff
Federal Policy DirectorThe EARN Act and SECURE Act 2.0, two bipartisan retirement bills working their way through Congress, are major disappointments. They would mainly provide more tax breaks for the well-off who will most likely retire comfortably regardless of what policies Congress enacts. The bills would provide modest assistance for those who really need help to save. -
As federal lawmakers begin their lame duck deliberations, the revival of the expanded child tax credit remains a strong possibility...
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ITEP Staff
November 21, 2022
Child Tax Credit Expansion Would Shrink the Racial Wealth Gap
Extending the expanded Child Tax Credit would benefit nearly every child in low- and middle-income families. Under current rules, 24% of white children, 45% of Black children, and 42% of Hispanic children will not receive the full credit in 2023 because their families make too little. These figures would drop to zero if the provisions were extended, helping families of all races and disproportionately helping families of color. -
Aidan Davis
State Policy DirectorNovember 16, 2022
States Can Halve Child Poverty with Child Tax Credits
State policymakers have the tools they need to drastically reduce child poverty within their borders. A new ITEP report, coauthored with Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy, explores state Child Tax Credit (CTC) options that would reduce child poverty by up to 50 percent. Temporary expansion of the federal CTC in 2021 reduced […] -
November 10, 2022
State Rundown 11/10: Midterm Madness
As states continue to tally the remaining votes and the news stories roll out at a breakneck pace, the unofficial results of the 2022 midterm elections have brought with it significant changes across the state tax policy landscape... -
Jon Whiten
Communications DirectorVoters in Massachusetts and Colorado raised taxes on their wealthiest residents to fund schools, public transportation and school lunches for kids while making their tax codes more equitable. And voters in West Virginia defeated a proposal to deeply cut taxes, mostly for businesses, and drain the coffers of county and local governments. -
Marco Guzman
Senior Policy AnalystIn a significant victory for tax fairness, Massachusetts voters approved Question 1—commonly known as the Fair Share Amendment—Tuesday night with 52 percent of the vote. The new constitutional amendment creates a 4 percent surcharge on income over $1 million, and the revenue will specifically fund education and transportation projects in the Bay State. -
Joe Hughes
Federal Policy AnalystThe expanded Child Tax Credit reduced child poverty dramatically and immediately. There is no debate or murkiness on this. Some lawmakers have decided that cutting child poverty in half is not worth the cost if it means an ambiguous and negligible decline in GDP growth. This view is not just cruel, it is bad economics. -
November 2, 2022
State Rundown 11/2: Midterms on the Mind
Next Tuesday, voters will head to the polls to not only elect local and national leaders, but also let their voices be heard on a range of tax policy issues that could improve or worsen their state tax codes... -
Carl Davis
Research DirectorThe big problem with the Index is that it peddles a solution that not only falls short of the goal of generating business investment, but one that actively harms state lawmakers’ ability to provide the kinds of public goods – like good schools and modern, efficient transportation networks – that businesses need and want. -
Jon Whiten
Communications DirectorIn a couple of weeks, voters in a handful of states will weigh in on several tax-related ballot measures that could make state tax codes more equitable and raise money for public services, or take states in the opposite direction, making tax systems less fair and draining state coffers of dollars needed to maintain critical […] -
October 5, 2022
State Rundown 10/5: Forecasting Ain’t Easy
Although the weather is beginning to cool down in parts of the country, the same cannot be said for many state economies, which are still running hot. That, however, doesn’t mean that the good times are guaranteed to last...
Blog Categories
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