Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Citations

ITEP's Citations Research Priorities

New York Times: Trump Orders End to Federal Benefits for Undocumented Migrants

February 20, 2025

President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at eliminating federal benefits for undocumented migrants in the United States, describing the benefits as an improper use of taxpayer resources.

U.S. News and World Report: How Trump’s Mass Deportations Could Lower the Social Security Trust Funds

February 19, 2025

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders, including one aimed at “the efficient and expedited removal of aliens from the United States.” It calls for the Department of Homeland Security to expand its reach and deport “removable aliens” in every state. Those efforts have run into obstacles – most notably a lack of detention space and funding – but if successful, mass deportations could have unintended consequences. For one, they could mean less money for already meager Social Security trust funds.

Newsweek: Donald Trump’s Immigration Plans Could Push Up Retirement Costs

February 13, 2025

While there is widespread support for Trump's policies, it could have a negative impact on retirees across the U.S. by reducing the pool of funding available to pay benefits, increasing costs and contributing to an increase in inflation.

New York Times: Opinion | Democrats Need to Learn How to Throw a Punch

February 12, 2025

For most of the past decade, progressives presented the battle over immigration as simply a fight against Republican cruelty, racism and xenophobia. Such messaging does not amount to a political strategy. By 2024, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris seemed to stop trying to win the debate. As border-state governments grappled with newcomers, Republican leaders saw a crisis they could seize and weaponize — while Democratic leaders offered no compelling case of their own.

Gov. Moore’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 (July 2025–June 2026) makes a significant dent in the state’s looming shortfalls, with similar-sized contributions from tax reforms and budget cuts. The plan takes several positive steps to crack down on corporate tax avoidance and ask wealthy individuals to pay their fair share. These reforms are an important measure to protect Marylanders from much more drastic cuts to public services. At the same time, a more ambitious revenue package would do more to support the foundations of thriving communities across our state.

This year will be a pivotal year for tax policy and will have far-reaching consequences for our economy and democracy. It is important that the people understand what is at stake. This Tax Justice and Racial Equity Explainer Series will cover key elements of the tax code that Congress will be debating this year and their real-world significance for communities of color. The following four pieces will cover corporate taxation, the difference between wealth and income taxes, and an overview of tax credits and deductions.

Slate: This Is Not About Cost Cutting

February 11, 2025

As terrifying and probably illegal as Elon Musk’s tech-bro holy war against the federal government has been, it’s only Phase 1. Really, the spectacle of the past few weeks sets Donald Trump and Musk up for what they almost certainly want much more: massive tax cuts for the wealthy.

Video: ITEP’s Miles Trinidad Talks Maryland Tax Reform on WUSA9 TV

February 11, 2025

ITEP State Analyst Miles Trinidad spoke to WUSA9 TV about Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed tax reform package. Video is embedded below, and link to the story is here.

Kentucky lawmakers are expected to vote early in the legislative session on another half-point cut to the individual income tax rate, a drop from 4% to 3.5%. This cut is expected to pass despite a projected decline in tax revenues due to the income tax reductions of the last couple of years. With this next drop, the state will get closer to the level of tax cuts Kansas put in place in 2013 and was forced to reverse just five years later because the state wasn’t bringing in enough money to meet its obligations.

The Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott Wants to Set a High Bar for Local Tax Increases

February 10, 2025

Gov. Greg Abbott, in his bid to curb Texas’ high property taxes, wants Texas voters to have the final say on any property tax hike. Local governments that collect property taxes — including cities, counties and school districts — should have to win approval from a two-thirds majority of voters if they want to raise their tax rates, Abbott said.

ITEP Local Policy Director Kamolika Das discussed revenue and the reform of fines and fees at this webinar hosted by the Fines & Fees Justice Center.

Fair tax policy depends on prioritizing the well-being of all households, not just the wealthiest. New Jersey, and the nation as a whole, cannot afford to hand special tax breaks to the most affluent residents by slashing essential services such as health insurance for working families. New analysis of the Trump administration’s plan to make tax breaks from the 2017 tax law permanent shows that the proposal would do just that. It would make the wealthiest New Jerseyans even richer while cutting programs and support for families who need help affording basic necessities like food and health care.

Miami Herald: Commentary: Undocumented Immigrants Are Well Documented. Just Ask the IRS.

February 3, 2025

The phrase "undocumented immigrant" is deeply misleading, if not outright inaccurate. It implies that there is a mass of people in the U.S. that essentially live off the grid, apart from society, existing only in informal economies and off-the-book transactions. In fact, immigrants who lack permission to be in the U.S. are enmeshed in society with plenty of formal and official documents to their name, from tax returns to mortgages.

This brief—originally presented as a discussion guide to the October 2024 convening “Promoting Equity and Efficiency: Rethinking Corporate Taxation to Address Market Power,” hosted by the Institute for Macroeconomic & Policy Analysis and the Roosevelt Institute—establishes a groundwork for developing a truly pro-competition corporate income tax system, focusing in particular on the economic case for […]

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a federal tax credit for workers with low and moderate incomes. The EITC helps to bolster their incomes and offset taxes owed; it is effective at reducing poverty and has traditionally received bipartisan support. But the EITC available to workers without dependent children in the household is small […]

Emerging proposals from the Trump Administration and key congressional Republicans could wreak havoc on essential public services, leaving millions of people worse off through lost health coverage, less money for groceries, weakened access to a quality public education, and other harms.[1]

Legislation[1] was introduced during the January 2025 special legislative session that would repeal Florida’s tuition fairness law.[2] This law, which passed with bipartisan support in 2014, requires that colleges, universities, and postsecondary institutions waive out-of-state tuition for certain undocumented students who graduated high school in the state.

Every year, Idaho spends millions of tax dollars to make sure families receive a good education, live in safe homes and communities, and enjoy good health. However, over the last several years, the state has passed deep and costly tax rate cuts that make our tax system more regressive- disproportionately burdening Idahoans with the lowest incomes. House Bill 40 continues to perpetuate this trend by providing relief disproportionately to wealthy households.

New York Times: What Mass Deportations Would Do to New York City’s Economy

January 31, 2025

That number comes not from a left-leaning human rights group intent on fostering sympathy for people who crossed the border illegally, but rather from the wonky Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan Washington think tank. The organization’s research also tells us that nationally, more than a third of the tax dollars paid by undocumented immigrants go toward payroll taxes, which are aimed at backing entitlement programs that these workers are not entitled to access.

There is little return to show on past border militarization investments. Beginning in 2021, the Governor launched a multi-year campaign called Operation Lone Star that, in part, allowed his Trusteed Programs office to distribute billions of dollars in grants to once resource-starved border communities. SB 1 prepares to double down on this failed investment with […]

Congress should oppose efforts to increase tax breaks for wealthy Americans and highly profitable corporations this year, 56 organizations across Alabama wrote in a letter sent to Alabama’s congressional delegation Wednesday. Lawmakers instead should seek to boost tax credits that expand opportunities for working people and families, the letter said.

A dozen Oregon organizations sent a letter to the state’s congressional delegation today calling on them to oppose tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals and corporations as part of the upcoming federal tax debate in 2025.

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has estimated how much these proposed tax cuts would impact Oklahomans, by income level: 

The New Statesman: Donald Trump’s Florida Project

January 30, 2025

But Mar-a-Lago is just the crown jewel in the Floridisation of US politics. A born and bred New Yorker, Trump switched his primary residence from Manhattan to Palm Beach during his first term, stating that he had “been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state [of New York]. Few have been treated worse.” There was also a more practical rationale for becoming a Florida resident: lower taxes. Florida is one of just nine states that do not levy state income taxes on residents. According to a recent report by the Institute on Taxation and…

Yahoo News: Simu Liu Speaks Out on Trump’s New Tax Plan

January 29, 2025

Simu Liu has spoken out against President Donald Trump’s newly proposed U.S. tax plan, which seeks to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and introduce new measures that primarily benefit high-income earners and corporations.