Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Citations

ITEP's Citations Research Priorities

GOP Authors of Tax Law Double Down in Campaigns

April 13, 2018

Roskam’s campaign estimates that his district will get $1 billion in tax relief in 2019 for individuals and pass-through businesses, citing data from the IRS and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. While Democrats seeking to unseat the GOP tax-writers say voters have concerns about the new tax law, they expect that other issues […]

Vox: Immigrants Pay Taxes

April 13, 2018

The best estimates come from research by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington, DC, think tank, which suggests that about half of undocumented workers in the United States file income tax returns. The most recent IRS data, from 2015, shows that the agency received 4.4 million income tax returns from workers who […]

Republicans in Kentucky's state legislature overturned Gov. Matt Bevin's (R) vetoes of their tax overhaul and budget plan Friday, capping a dramatic confrontation between members of the same party that has also seen thousands of teachers descend on the state Capitol in protests for better pay.

Washington Post: Behind Oklahoma’s Teacher Strike: Years of Tax Cuts and an Energy Slump

April 12, 2018

Some states that have also recently pushed through big income tax cuts, including North Carolina and Ohio, did so while also broadening their tax base, according to Meg Wiehe of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. But until this year, Oklahoma did very little to balance rate reductions with increases in the tax base. Oklahoma raised […]

Reuters: U.S. Companies Found Ways to Avoid Taxes Before Tax Bill: Report

April 12, 2018

A report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP, said data showed how profitable Fortune 500 companies have routinely lowered their tax bills long before the Republican tax overhaul signed into law by President Donald Trump in December.  The 15 corporations had profits of $24.5 billion in 2017 but managed to obtain […]

Unfortunately, many myths permeate the public discourse about our state tax code. At the Washington State Budget & Policy Center, we are committed to making sure you know the truth about that tax code – and the real solutions that must be enacted in Olympia to make it work for everyone. Because it is a tax code that doesn’t live up to our values. It isn’t set up to invest in our communities in the short and long term. And it is set up to favor corporations, special interests, and the ultra-wealthy over everyday Washingtonians. As a result, the tax…

CNN: Kentucky Governor Signs Pension Reform Bill

April 11, 2018

House Bill 366 has come under criticism from Democrats and analysts who say that it favors the wealthy and corporations, reported CNN affiliate WKYT. An analysis of that bill by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found it would bring a huge tax cut for the richest 1% of residents, while the biggest tax […]

CNN: Kentucky Governor Signs Controversial Pension Bill as Teachers Call for Rally

April 11, 2018

An analysis of that bill by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found it would bring a huge tax cut for the richest 1% of residents, while the biggest tax increase would affect those making less than $21,000 a year.

Tribune News Service: Amid Teacher Protests, Kentucky Governor Vetoes Budget and Tax Plan

April 10, 2018

Democratic lawmakers expressed support for Bevin’s decision to veto the tax changes. In a joint statement from Senate Minority Leader Ray Jones and House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins, the two Democratic leaders said the bills were not “transparently vetted” and referenced a study performed by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that found that […]

Fiscal Times: Who Wins if Temporary Tax Cuts Are Made Permanent

April 10, 2018

Virtually all of the individual tax cuts are temporary, and making them permanent is being pitched politically as a win for middle-class taxpayers. But according to a new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the extension the temporary tax cuts after 2025 will do little to change the overall distribution of benefits […]

Lexington Herald-Leader: Bevin Vetoes Entire State Budget and Tax Overhaul Plan

April 9, 2018

Democratic lawmakers expressed support for Bevin’s decision to veto the tax changes. In a joint statement from Senate Minority Leader Ray Jones and House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins, the two Democratic leaders said the bills were not “transparently vetted” and referenced a study performed by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that found that […]

CNBC: Trump Organization’s Online Store Adds Virginia to Short List of States Collecting Tax on Its Sales, Bringing Total to 3

April 9, 2018

“You have Trump Tower New York and the Trump Store in Trump Tower pointing people to the site, essentially being salespeople,” Carl Davis, research director of the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told CNBC. A spokesman for the New York Department of Taxation and Finance said secrecy laws prevent it from commenting on […]

Before the strike last week, the state legislature tried to avert the work stoppage by passing a $447 million tax increase that effectively gives teachers an average annual pay bump of $6,000. That concession from the state legislature didn’t meet the teachers’ full demands, but it was a huge win considering the state legislature hadn’t approved a tax increase since 1990.

Associated Press: Amazon Ignores Trump’s Attacks as It Molds a Business Empire

April 6, 2018

Trump’s charge that Amazon pays “little or no taxes” may have merit. Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said in February that Amazon “has built its business model on tax avoidance.” Amazon reported $5.6 billion of U.S. profits in 2017 “and didn’t pay a dime of federal […]

The Motley Fool: Amazon Is a Master of Tax Avoidance

April 6, 2018

Until the stock’s recent dive, Amazon was the second-most valuable company in the country, worth nearly $800 billion and behind only Apple. However, the company paid no U.S. income taxes on a $5.6 billion in domestic profits last year thanks to a $789 million windfall from the new tax law, according to the Institute on Taxation […]

Courier Journal: Kentucky Tax Reform Bill is a Break for the Rich but a Hike for Everybody Else, Study Says

April 6, 2018

The tax bill that zipped through the General Assembly on Monday will amount to a tax break for millionaires but a tax increase for 95 percent of Kentuckians, according to an analysis by the Washington-based Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy.

WUKY: A Tale Of Two Tax Studies

April 6, 2018

"This is a complicated tax plan with a lot of moving pieces, but the net result is clear: that it is middle-class tax hike. Kentucky's poorest families and the middle class will end up paying more while the state wealthiest taxpayers are going to end up paying less," ITEP analyst Aidan Davis says.

A new study of the tax bill rushed through the Kentucky General Assembly Monday shows the changes it makes to the tax code are likely to lower taxes for the wealthy while raising taxes for 95 percent of Kentuckians. The analysis, performed by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington D.C., a liberal-leaning think tank, studied the impact of the tax cuts and increases on Kentuckians.

The Kentucky legislature passed a sweeping tax overhaul this week, and now lawmakers are asking Gov. Matt Bevin to sign a bill that would slash taxes for some corporations and wealthy individuals while raising them on 95 percent of state residents, according to a new analysis.

MarketWatch: Trump Is Jealous Amazon Is Better at Avoiding Taxes

April 4, 2018

In 2017, Amazon paid no federal tax on $5.6 billion in U.S. profits, according to an analysis by Matthew Gardner at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. During the previous five years, Amazon paid an effective rate of 11.4% on its profits of $8.2 billion, about a third the statutory rate, Gardner said. “More […]

Washington Post: If Trump Wants to Go After Amazon, He Has Options

April 4, 2018

Despite Trump’s complaints, Amazon started paying sales taxes in 2017 in most states after setting up warehouses across the country to expedite its delivery times. But Amazon does not collect sales taxes on goods sold by third-party vendors, and several big cities in seven states still are not collecting sales taxes at the same level as from local […]

A new analysis of HB 366 by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows the dramatically skewed impact of the tax changes on Kentuckians by income group. As can be seen in the graph below, Kentuckians whose income puts them in the top 5 percent will see a tax cut, with those in the top 1 percent, whose average income is $1,042,000, receiving an average tax cut of $7,086.

The General Assembly introduced a tax bill today that is a shift in taxes away from corporations and high-income people and over to low- and middle-income Kentuckians. Although the official estimate is that it would bring $248 million more in net revenue by the second year, the plan relies heavily on a fading source in […]

New York Times: Silicon Valley Warms to Trump After a Chilly Start

March 30, 2018

But Silicon Valley’s favorite thing about Mr. Trump is almost certainly his new tax code. Many tech companies lobbied for corporate tax reform for years before Mr. Trump signed the new tax bill. Tech giants immediately reaped the benefits. Under the new rules, Apple saved $43.7 billion in taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation […]

New York Times: The Facts Behind Trump’s Tweet on Amazon, Taxes and the Postal Service

March 30, 2018

Mr. Trump has made similar claims before about Amazon’s tax payments, both as president and a private citizen. After he mentioned it in August 2017, The New York Times reported: If Mr. Trump’s point was that Amazon did not collect sales taxes — which are owed by the purchaser and collected by the retailer — […]