Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

ITEP Work in Action

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: While Kentucky’s Budget Faces More Cuts, Profitable Fortune 500 Companies Avoid Paying State Corporate Income Taxes

March 20, 2014

As Kentucky and other states struggle with tough budget decisions about essential public services, profitable Fortune 500 companies including Kentucky-based Yum Brands and Humana pay little to nothing in state corporate income taxes around the country, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Citizens for Tax Justice. Read […]

Voices for Illinois Children: Profitable Companies in Illinois Not Paying Their Fair Share of State Income Taxes

March 20, 2014

Over the past five years, many profitable Fortune 500 corporations, including several based in Illinois, paid little or no state income taxes to any of the states in which they do business thanks to copious loopholes, lavish giveaways, and crafty accounting. That’s the conclusion of a new report, released by Citizens for Tax Justice and […]

Wisconsin Budget Project: New Report Shows Major Corporations Based in Wisconsin Pay Little in State Income Tax

March 20, 2014

  A number of large, profitable corporations in Wisconsin pay little or nothing in state corporate income tax, according to a new report. Loopholes, tax credits, and creating accounting keep the amount these corporations pay in income tax to a minimum. A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Citizens for Tax […]

North Carolina Justice Center: Tax change for multistate corporations would harm state investments

March 20, 2014

State lawmakers are considering a change that would provide a tax cut to a handful of corporations and no guarantee of job creation, says a report released this morning by the Budget & Tax Center, a project of the NC Justice Center. It would also reduce available revenue for public investments by $90 million over […]

Indiana Institute for Working Families: What Corporate Tax Burden

March 18, 2014

On the immediate heels of significantly cutting taxes for corporations and high income individuals, lawmakers are close to making a deal to deliver additional tax breaks to some businesses including very profitable multi-national corporations. Read the Full Report

Policy Matters Ohio: Kasich Tax Plan- Advantage, Top 1 Percent

March 18, 2014

Gov. John Kasich’s new tax proposal would deliver annual tax cuts averaging more than $2,800 to the top 1 percent of Ohio taxpayers while those in the bottom two-fifths would pay more on average than they do now. Read the Full Report

Economic Policy Institute: The ‘Better Off Budget’

March 18, 2014

The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has unveiled its fiscal year 2015 (FY2015) budget, titled the “Better Off Budget.” It builds on recent CPC budget alternatives in prioritizing near-term job creation, financing public investments, strengthening the middle and working classes, raising adequate revenue to meet budgetary needs while restoring fairness to the tax code, protecting social […]

Voices for Illinois Children: New FPC report — tax cuts won’t improve the economy or create jobs

March 12, 2014

Allowing current state income tax rates to expire will cause a revenue collapse that would threaten Illinois’ economic recovery, curtail the ability to support vital investments, and create more uncertainty over how the state will meet its many obligations, a new FPC report released today finds. Read the Full Report

Massachusetts Tax Fairness Commission: Report

March 7, 2014

The Tax Fairness Commission was established by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2013 as part of the Act Relative to Transportation Finance. The Commission was charged with analyzing a broad array of the Commonwealth’s tax laws and focused on the equity of current tax policies. The fifteen member bipartisan Commission met publicly eight times from September […]

Wisconsin Budget Project: New Study Finds Large Number of the Major, Profitable Corporations Pay Little in Corporate Taxes

February 28, 2014

Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 6:16 PM by Jon Peacock This week, on the same day that GOP legislators in Congress were unveiling a plan to sharply reduce federal income taxes for corporations, a DC-based think tank released a comprehensive study showing that many highly profitable Fortune 500 companies pay little or no federal corporate […]

Washington State Budget & Policy Center: Corporate Tax Dodge Findings Show Need for Reforms in Washington State

February 27, 2014

Now that we know nine major corporations with operations in Washington state paid zero or less in federal corporate income taxes in recent years despite reaping huge profits, serious questions arise as to whether these corporations or others are dodging Washington state taxes too. Read the Full Report

Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: Many Profitable Corporations Pay Little or No U.S. Income Taxes

February 27, 2014

A comprehensive five-year study of 288 highly profitable Fortune 500 companies finds that 111 of them, including six based in Pennsylvania, paid no federal corporate income tax in at least one of the last five years. Overall, one-third of the corporations studied paid a U.S. tax rate of less than 10 percent over the five-year […]

Fiscal Policy Center: Profitable companies get free pass on federal income tax

February 27, 2014

There’s new evidence that many of the country’s biggest companies are getting a free pass on taxes, including several businesses headquartered here in Illinois. In fact, many of these profitable companies actually received money from the federal government. Read the Full Report

North Carolina Justice Center: Duke Energy the subject of another scathing report

February 27, 2014

One of North Carolina’s largest, most profitable (and most controversial) corporations is the subject of renewed criticism today. A new report co-released last night by the Washington, DC-based groups Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy along with the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center reveals that Duke Energy has […]

Oregon Center for Public Policy: Trucking Along, Avoiding Corporate Income Taxes

February 26, 2014

The same company whose lawsuit made it possible for corporations to side-step Oregon’s corporate minimum tax turns out to be a federal corporate income tax avoider, as well. The trucking company Con-way had a negative effective federal income tax rate over the 2008 to 2012 period, despite making $587 million in profits over those five […]

North Carolina Justice Center: Many of America’s Most Profitable Corporations Pay Little or No Federal Income Taxes; Headquartered Companies in N.C. Top the List

February 26, 2014

Washington, D.C. (February 26, 2014) – A comprehensive five-year study of 288 highly profitable Fortune 500 companies finds that 111 of them paid no federal corporate income tax in at least one of the last five years while one-third paid a U.S. tax rate less than 10 percent over the same period, including 26 that […]

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Many of America’s Most Profitable Corporations Pay Little or No Federal Income Taxes

February 26, 2014

New Jersey-based Honeywell, which in 2012 was awarded a state tax break of $40 million not to leave New Jersey, paid no federal corporate income taxes in 2009 and 2010, despite posting $3 billion in profits in those two years. Because of various tax breaks and loopholes, Honeywell’s effective federal corporate income tax rate in […]

Policy Matters Ohio: The Sorry State of Corporate Taxes

February 26, 2014

Two Ohio companies — American Electric Power and FirstEnergy — were among the 26 major companies that in the aggregate paid no federal income tax over the five-year period between 2008 and 2012. Most companies included in this new study aren’t paying anywhere near the statutory 35 percent tax rate. Read the Full Report

Maryland Center on Economic Policy: Major US Corporations Not Paying their Fair Share in Federal Taxes

February 26, 2014

Maryland residents filling out their tax forms and paying their monthly utility bills might be surprised to find out that one of the companies that 526,000 of them write checks to has been dodging its fair share. Read the Full Report

Open Sky Policy Institute: Data show middle class benefit of LB 1097 paltry compared to higher earners

February 18, 2014

While some proponents of LB 1097 – a bill to cut Nebraska’s income taxes – talk about the bill’s benefit to the state’s middle class, a look at the data shows by far the biggest beneficiaries of the cut would be the state’s highest earners. Read the Full Report

Oklahoma Policy Institute: Tax cut will provide little benefit to most Oklahomans

February 18, 2014

The average Oklahoman would get just $29 from Governor Mary Fallin’s proposed income tax cut, while one-quarter of the total benefit would go to the wealthiest 1 percent of households, according to a new analysis prepared by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Read the Full Report

Missouri Budget Project: Nixon-Kraus Tax “Deal” Would Undercut MO Services, Including Education

February 18, 2014

According to recent analysis, the tax “deal” between Governor Nixon and Senator Kraus is skewed to benefit Missouri’s wealthiest families, and leaves all services vulnerable to cuts as a result of its $364-$500 million cost. Read the Full Report

Policy Matters Ohio: Income-tax cut would favor well-to-do

February 14, 2014

An across-the-board cut in rates favored by Gov. Kasich may allow low-income Ohioans to buy a slice of pizza a year, on average. Those in the middle could purchase a cheap pizza maker, while the state’s most affluent taxpayers could use their cut to go on a round-trip for two to Italy, with money left […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Measuring the Tax Plan Against Key Principles

February 10, 2014

Governor Beshear has released his tax reform proposal, and analysis and debate over the plan has begun. It’s important that this discussion keep in mind three principles that are needed in a tax reform plan in order to move Kentucky forward: First, tax reform should generate significant new revenue now to allow Kentucky to begin […]

Open Sky Policy Institute: Looking for Clarity: An Overview of Nebraska Budget and Tax Policy

February 7, 2014

To help Huskers decode how Nebraska makes budget decisions and creates tax policy, we have created Looking for Clarity: An Overview of Nebraska Budget and Tax Policy. This easy-to-read primer takes the confusion out of Nebraska’s laws and tax codes and distills it into a concise, manageable summary of how Nebraska collects and spends funds. […]

Advocates and policymakers at the state and federal levels rely on ITEP’s analytic capabilities to inform their debates on proposed tax policy changes. In any given year, ITEP fields requests for analyses of policies in 25 or more states. ITEP also works with national partners to provide analyses of federal tax policy proposals. This section highlights reports that use ITEP analyses to make a compelling case for progressive tax reforms.