Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Blog

1,405 posts
blog  

H&R Block Uses Corporate Lobbying Might to Make Sure Poor People Use Its Services

• By Jenice R. Robinson

Public outrage over the financial crisis may have subsided in recent years, but the lasting legacy is a nation that remains acutely aware of exploitative business practices that line the pockets of corporate executives and shareholders at the expense of ordinary working people. Perhaps this is why H&R Block and Intuit quietly lobbied for a […]

blog  

Who Pays? Report Brings out the Red Herring Brigade

• By Jenice R. Robinson

Last week, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released Who Pays?, a report that examines the state and local tax system in all 50 states. The analysis concludes that every state’s tax system is regressive, meaning the lower one’s income, the higher one’s tax rate. Not surprisingly, the report ruffled a few feathers. It’s […]

blog  

What’s the Matter with Kansas Is What Ails All 50 States

• By Jenice R. Robinson

It’s easy to hold up Kansas as the poster child for regressive tax policies gone awry. By now it’s apparent Gov. Sam Brownback and his allies in the state legislature were wrong when they predicted lopsided tax cuts would boost the state’s economy.  The state will have trouble funding priorities such as education and services […]

blog  

Poverty Data Not Surprising, No Matter How You Spin It

• By Jenice R. Robinson

The top 20 percent of households captured more of the nation’s collective income (51 percent) than the rest of population, according to the Census report Income and Poverty in the United States: 2013 released today. This is consistent with what we know about worsening income inequality in this nation. Median household income remained relatively stagnant […]

blog  

Kansas Supreme Court Case Shows Public Services Suffer When Tax Breaks for Wealthy Take Priority

• By Jenice R. Robinson

Far too often, lawmakers use tax cuts to score political points and throw around phrases such as “more effective government” to gloss over the lasting, negative effects of starving public investments. In the case of Kansas, public schools are paying the price. The state Supreme Court ruled last Friday that the state Legislature hasn’t allocated […]