Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

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6,208 posts

Philadelphia Inquirer: Why It’s an Unhappy Labor Day for Some Workers

September 3, 2018

Meanwhile, President Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut — like previous massive tax cuts — has failed to trickle down to average workers in a meaningful way, and many of his policies are hurting American workers. Just 4 percent of workers at Fortune 500 companies received a bonus or wage increase as a result of the […]

Keystone Research: The State of Working Pennsylvania 2018

August 30, 2018 • By ITEP Staff

Keystone Research: The State of Working Pennsylvania 2018

“The State of Working Pennsylvania 2018,” Keystone Research Center’s 23rd annual review of the Pennsylvania economy and labor market finds that, nearly a decade into the current national economic expansion, many Pennsylvania workers are still waiting for a raise. The report points to three factors that help explain this.

Atlanta Journal Constitution: IRS Proposal Could Hurt Georgia Rural Hospital, School Tax Credits

August 25, 2018

The change will have no impact on many Georgians because they don’t itemize their deductions when they file their tax returns. “For about 90 percent of people who are just claiming the standard deduction, this (rule) isn’t going to have any impact at all,” said Carl Davis, the research director with the Institute on Taxation […]

The Montgomery Advertiser: IRS Proposes Regulations that Could Impact Alabama Accountability Act Donors

August 24, 2018

Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization, said the regulations “make a lot of sense as far as what is charity and what isn’t.” The graphic shows how the donations to the Alabama Accountability Act benefit donors. The fundamental problem, he added, was that deductions exceeded the […]

CNBC: Cutting SALT–It Could Be the Last Day for This Tax Saving Strategy

August 24, 2018

There are 18 states with private school voucher tax credits, including programs in Arizona, Alabama and South Carolina. A number of them offer credits to contributing taxpayers on a dollar-for-dollar basis. “In a perverse situation, you donate $100 and you get back $137 in the form of state tax credits and deductions,” said Carl Davis, […]

Bloomberg: New Yorkers Have Four Days to Try to Beat SALT Cap

August 24, 2018

Residents of states that have had charitable tax break programs in effect for some time, such as Georgia and South Carolina, that benefit hospitals or schools, will probably have an easier time writing checks before the new rules go into effect, said Steve Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “The reality […]

The Hill: IRS Was Correct to Include Private School Credits in New Tax Regulations

August 24, 2018

Following is an excerpt of an op-ed by Carl Davis, ITEP researcher director, regarding the new regulations issued by the Treasury Department: Last year’s federal tax overhaul has cast a bright light on a corner of the tax code that long has needed scrutiny. With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) […]

Reuters: U.S. Treasury, IRS move to block states dodging tax deduction cap

August 23, 2018

Under the proposed rule, however, a New York taxpayer could not receive a federal charitable deduction for the portion of their donation to the fund for which they received a state tax credit, unless the credit was for 15 percent or less. “If you make a donation of $100 and you get a big chunk […]

New Jersey Online: Trump Administration Rejects Efforts to Save Your Property Tax Break

August 23, 2018

And in New Jersey, more than four in 10 taxpayers claimed that tax break and deducted an average deduction of $17,850 in 2015, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. Only residents of New York, Connecticut and California deduct more from federal taxes than New Jerseyans, according the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

The Oregonian: Trump Administration Moves to Stop Oregon, Other States from Circumventing New Tax Law

August 23, 2018

Treasury said it expects that only about 1 percent of all U.S. taxpayers would see a reduction of their tax credits for donations to a private-school voucher fund. Several states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Montana and South Carolina — allow taxpayers who donate to private-school funds to get a 100 percent credit against their state […]

Politico Morning Tax: Still More SALT Intake

August 23, 2018

Carl Davis of the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy also pointed out that Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) — who have had staff meet with Treasury and White House officials on the issue — hail from states with generous credits for donations to fund school vouchers. Read more

New Hampshire Business: Winners and Losers Under the New Tax Plan

August 23, 2018

The new law also doubles the standard deduction, making it likely that fewer business owners will itemize on their returns, and that could have a negative impact on things like charitable donations, Burke adds. It also caps the deduction for mortgage interest at $750,000 of home loan value, compared to the current $1 million, leading […]

The Hill: Treasury Issues Rules Taking Aim at Blue-State Workarounds to GOP Tax Law

August 23, 2018

Carl Davis, director of research at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, praised Treasury for taking the same approach to the SALT cap workarounds implemented by blue states and the private school tax credit programs more likely to exist in red states. “All types of charitable credits should be on the same footing […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Clean Up the Tax Code to Invest in Our Commonwealth

To move our tax code in the right direction, Kentucky should rejoin 32 other states with a graduated income tax based on ability to pay. Income below $37,500 single/$75,000 married should still be taxed at 5 percent, between that point and $75,000 single/$150,000 married at 6 percent and above those incomes at 7 percent, phasing […]

CNBC: Upcoming IRS Rules Could Chill These Red-State Tax Credit Programs

August 22, 2018

How the IRS will ultimately proceed remains to be seen, yet experts agree that the agency may take a closer look at programs with generous tax credits. “It’s when you get up and above a 70 percent tax credit — that’s when taxpayers start to view these as not being charitable programs at all but […]

Chicago Tribune: Better Answers, Please

August 22, 2018

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington, D.C., attempted to calculate all the net effects and concluded that only the top 5 percent of earners would benefit from the elimination of the graduated rate structure. Read more

KPFA: US Treasury Sec Mnuchin Is Planning a $100 Billion Tax Cut for the Wealthy

August 22, 2018

This would very likely be the largest regulatory tax cut in history. While there’s an important place for Treasury regulations in clarifying Congressional intent, that’s not what this is… It’s an unprecedented departure from the traditional roles that regulations have played…. This is a tax cut that would go almost entirely to the best-off Americans. […]

Press Herald: Will Maine Referendum On Home Care Result In ‘Marriage Penalty’ Tax?

August 17, 2018

Aidan Davis, senior policy analyst at the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, wrote a letter to the Secretary of State’s Office on June 15 stating that the income threshold would be double for married couples filing jointly. “We found the language of the initiative to be clear in describing that individual (not household) […]

Sacramento News&Review: U-Turn on Taxes

August 16, 2018

In 2015, a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that heavy reliance on sales taxes is a characteristic of the most regressive tax systems. The half-cent sales tax increase would bring Sacramento’s sales tax rate to 8.75 percent, on par with the city of Isleton for the highest in the region. […]

Gannette: NJ Suit Over SALT Deduction Would Help the State’s Richest 1.5 Percent the Most

August 15, 2018

That reality has led some who joined Democrats in complaining about way tax cuts were distributed to criticize efforts to overturn the SALT cap. “The Trump tax law gives away the store to the rich. Why pile on and make the situation worse?” said Steve Wamhoff of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. This may be a moot […]

CNBC: Tax Holidays May Not Be the Bargain You Think They Are

August 9, 2018

Everyone loves a bargain. Except when the bargain doesn’t really save you money. It may feel great not to pay tax for back-to-school clothes and backpacks, but the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says sales-tax holidays do little to help students, teachers and public schools. The lift on taxes can last an entire week […]

Itchy Tax Trigger Finger: Tax Foundation Says Aim Toward Foot

Accounting for all the possible curveballs the future economy might throw at our state is impossible. That’s why legislators bother coming together every year to assess our budget and make choices based on the best available, most current information. One dubious new style of tax change, “tax triggers”, attempts to base major future tax and revenue changes only on the information we have today. Tax triggers are dangerous and generally work by automatically kicking in a tax cut when revenue or some other metric reaches a certain level.

Kiplinger: Online Shopping Could Get Pricier

August 1, 2018

Generally, shoppers who buy from midsize online retailers will be the hardest hit, says Carl Davis, research director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. South Dakota’s rule requires remote sellers to collect tax if they have at least $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in South Dakota. Other states are imposing similar thresholds. […]

Indiana Institute for Working Families: The Status of Working Families in Indiana: 2018 Report

Indiana faces a choice of whether to continue down a southward-leading path of low-road policies, or to rebuild its economy for Hoosier families. By adopting a policy agenda for working families that improves Indiana’s jobs with higher wage and labor standards; strengthens protections for Hoosier families including repairing the safety net and crafting consumer and job safeguards; and increases economic mobility through improved access to education, rebalancing the state’s regressive tax and budget structure, and focusing economic development on strengthening Hoosier families and communities, Indiana can reclaim its place as a leader in the Midwest and in the nation.