Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

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Pacific Standard: Inside the Tax Law’s $25 Billion Oil Company Bonanza

March 27, 2018

More than 50 percent of the tax bill’s benefits will go to the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, and more than 25 percent to the wealthiest 1 percent, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. As Businessweek put it, “President Donald Trump and Republicans sold their $1.5 trillion tax cut as a boon […]

New York Times: As Amazon Steps Up Tax Collections, Some Cities Are Left Out

March 27, 2018

When Amazon agreed last year to begin collecting sales tax in New Mexico, state officials celebrated what they said could be tens of millions of dollars in annual tax revenue. But they aren’t cheering in Albuquerque City Hall. A year after that announcement, New Mexico’s largest city hasn’t seen a dime from Amazon. That’s because […]

Albuquerque Journal: NM cities miss out on Amazon tax payments

March 27, 2018

New Mexico is one of seven states in which Amazon is not collecting local sales taxes, even though the retail giant agreed last year to pay taxes to the state, according to a report released Monday. That’s because New Mexico has tax laws that prevent local collections, said the report by the Institute on Taxation […]

Seattle Times: As Amazon steps up tax collections, some cities are left out

March 27, 2018

Thanks in part to a series of deals with state governments in recent years, Amazon is collecting sales tax in every state that has one. But those deals do not always extend to taxes assessed by local governments. The company still is not collecting sales taxes in dozens of cities, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cedar […]

Bloomberg BNA: Tax Breaks Plentiful for Second Amazon HQ Even Without Bids

March 27, 2018

Amazon also benefits at the state and local level when it comes to sales tax, according to a report released March 26 by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy based in Washington, D.C. In seven states—Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania—Amazon is either not collecting local taxes or charging a lower […]

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly’s proposed property-tax increase to fund schools is actually bad for city kids

March 22, 2018

Already throughout Pennsylvania, those making less than $20,000 are paying a much greater share in taxes (at 12 percent) than those making more than $426,000 (at just 4.2 percent), according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. City officials’ proposing to drive up property taxes as a way to finance new city largesse — […]

Bloomberg Law: Arkansas Tax Reform Body Unveils List of Sales Taxes for Scrutiny

March 22, 2018

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) Feb. 12 told lawmakers that he would seek a cut to the state’s top marginal tax rate, which effectively jump started the task force’s search for revenue to pay for the cuts, estimated to cost $180 million in annual revenue, Boch said. Outside groups, including the Heritage Foundation’s Institute on […]

Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Considerations on House Bill 675

A proposal before the Legislature seeks to amend the child tax credit that was created through recent legislation passed by both chambers and signed by the Governor. This analysis presents the effect of the revised credit amount proposed in House Bill 675 together with the provisions of House Bill 463 on Idaho families, as enacted. […]

Colorado Fiscal Institute: Forecast Five: March 2018 Revenue Estimates

As a result of TCJA, Legislative Council estimates the state will see increased revenue of $196.5 million in FY 2018-2019, and $329.8 million in increases in FY 2019-2020. However, new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy suggests the revenue increase next year could be closer to $28 million.

Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Passing Through a Special Break for Wealthiest Filers

The tax bill that recently passed the Iowa Senate included a provision from the recent federal tax cut bill that provides preferential tax treatment for certain kinds of business income earned mostly by the highest income taxpayers. The “Qualified Business Income Deduction” (QBID) provides a 20 percent exemption of that income from the personal income tax.

Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Passing through a special break

The tax bill that recently passed the Iowa Senate included a provision from the recent federal tax cut bill that provides preferential tax treatment for certain kinds of business income earned mostly by the highest income taxpayers. The “Qualified Business Income Deduction” (QBID) provides a 20 percent exemption of that income from the personal income […]

Bangor Daily News: Wealth Hasn’t Trickled Down, It’s Surged Upward

March 17, 2018

Along the same lines, Republicans claim that reductions in the corporate tax rate will lead to higher wages for workers. Evidence suggests this isn’t true, either. After Reagan signed a tax overhaul in 1986 that reduced the country’s corporate tax rate from 46 percent to 34 percent, wages fell for four years. Despite this data, […]

Christian Science Monitor: In Blue States, ‘Tax the Rich’ Isn’t So Simple Anymore

March 16, 2018

The upset that governors like Cuomo and others are voicing is understandable, says Meg Wiehe, deputy director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning research group. These states see they’re getting the short end of the stick from the federal law, and they suspect that Republican motives were at least partly political. […]

Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Governor’s Plan Sets Stage For Service Cuts

Iowa’s General Assembly opened with promises from legislative leadership and the Governor for tax reform. We noted key opportunities to assure a fairer and sustainable system in a brief report last fall, “Introduction to 2018: What should be part of tax reform? And what should not?”[i] These options remain; some are gaining attention — such as the elimination of federal deductibility and the closing of sales tax loopholes — and some are not.

Fiscal Times: Liberals and Conservative Agree Sneaky Tax Breaks Have to Go

March 16, 2018

There was rare agreement across the political spectrum at the House Ways and Means Tax Policy subcommittee hearing this week, with policy experts from Heritage Foundation, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the Center for American Progress, Taxpayers for Common Sense and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget supporting the elimination of “tax […]

E.I.T.C. Spells LOVE for Kids and Families in Arkansas

March 16, 2018 • By ITEP Staff

E.I.T.C. Spells LOVE for Kids and Families in Arkansas

Many people in our state work at low-paying jobs. Arkansans who work hard for little money pay a much higher share of their income to state and local taxes compared to the wealthiest. That’s not the way it should be. Fortunately, there is a great option for Arkansas (just ask the 29 other states that are already using it!) that can help turn things around for working families. That option is a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit (or EITC). At Arkansas Advocates for Children and families, we are so in love with the Earned Income Tax Credit that we decided to sing about it.

Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Lawmakers Approve Major Tax Plan, Still Reviewing Several Tax Breaks

A range of tax bills are still in the pipeline at the General Assembly after lawmakers already approved a sweeping package of income tax cuts. Georgia’s 2018 General Assembly advanced 11 pieces of tax legislation by the Feb. 28 Crossover Day milestone that affect state revenues if approved by the House, Senate and the governor. […]

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Op-Ed: Tax Law Requires More Than ‘SALT Cap’ Workarounds

If you live in a high-wealth and high-tax state like New Jersey, the news gets worse. For the first time in 100 years, taxpayers may no longer deduct their full state and local taxes (“SALT” for short) from the income on which federal taxes are owed. The deductible ceiling is set at $10,000, so if you pay more than that with property and income taxes combined, your taxable income will increase by a bit.

Boston Globe: The Tax Act Will Make It Tougher for Cities to Pay Their Bills

March 11, 2018

Roughly 80 percent of Massachusetts residents will see their tax bills shrink next year, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

CNN.com: Washington, Save Partisan Fighting for Actual Partisan Issues

March 10, 2018

DACA-eligible immigrants pay $2 billion each year in state and local taxes, according to a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. One study indicates that 97% of DACA recipients are in school or employed. Read more

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: All Georgians Stand to Lose from Immigrant Crackdown Measure

And Georgia immigrants contribute significant state and local tax revenue, including $352 million a year by undocumented immigrants as a whole and $66 million by Dreamers in particular. Read more here

Maine Center for Economic Policy Policy Brief: The LePage Tax Bill

On March 1, Gov. Paul LePage’s Administration presented a tax bill to the Legislature designed to mirror at the state level some of the reforms enacted by passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act at the federal level. The proposal is framed as simple conformity with federal law but goes much further than routine […]

Iowa Fiscal Partnership: Governor’s Tax Cut Plan Sets Stage For Service Cuts

Governor Kim Reynolds’ tax proposal trades massive cuts in public services for small savings for lower-income taxpayers, larger savings for high-income taxpayers and few meaningful strides toward fairness in a system that already treats the poor poorly and raises too little revenue to avoid mid-year cuts.

Economic Progress Institute: Changes in Federal Tax Law Will Cut Taxes for Many Rhode Islanders; Wealthiest Families and Corporations Benefit the Most

To help explain what the Act will mean for Rhode Island, the Economic Progress Institute released a paper entitled "Changes in federal tax law will cut taxes for many Rhode Islanders; wealthiest families and corporations benefit the most."

The Fiscal Times: How States Are Responding to the GOP Tax Overhaul

March 6, 2018

Concerned about the effects of the Republican tax overhaul on their local economies, some state legislatures are considering revamping their own tax systems to address everything from lost tax deductions to growing income inequality. Here’s a rundown some of those efforts, based on an analysis by the liberal-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: Read […]