ITEP Work in Action
Senate Committee on the Budget: Extending Trump Tax Cuts Would Add $4.6 Trillion to the Deficit, CBO Finds
May 21, 2024
According to the latest report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), extending the Trump tax cuts for the next 10 years—as Republicans have proposed—would add $4.6 trillion to the deficit.
Bipartisan Policy Center: Credit Where Credit’s Due: Engaging State and Local Governments in Refundable Tax Credit Design and Administration
May 16, 2024
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) are two of the most effective anti-poverty tools in the United States, helping to boost household economic security while incentivizing work for millions of Americans each year. Over the past three years in particular, attention increased on the interactions between state and federal tax policy as states grappled with the EITC’s and the CTC’s rapid temporary expansion, as well as changes to complementary federal policies and programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes at the federal level to these two credits highlighted critical challenges facing policymakers and the public…
Economic Policy Institute: The Evolution of the Southern Economic Development Strategy
May 6, 2024
The Southern economic development model has failed to create shared prosperity in the region. In fact, this model was deliberately designed to do the opposite—to extract the labor of Black and brown Southerners as cheaply as possible. This report examines the racist roots of the model and provides the necessary context to challenge the enduring […]
Center for American Progress: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Failed To Deliver Promised Benefits
May 1, 2024
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made sweeping changes to America’s tax laws. Signed into law by then-President Donald Trump and approved with only Republican support in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the TCJA permanently slashed corporate tax rates and changed the way the nation taxes the profits of U.S. multinational corporations.1 It also temporarily cut personal income and estate taxes, changes that largely benefited the wealth.
ThinkTennessee: Tennessee’s Working Families Are Paying More Than Their Fair Share of Taxes
April 29, 2024
A new fact sheet released today by nonpartisan think tank ThinkTennessee finds that while Tennessee has one of the lowest overall tax burdens in the nation, its low-income families face a higher effective tax rate than both wealthier families and businesses. The analysis comes on the heels of Tax Day when millions of individual income tax returns are due to be submitted to the federal government.
Liberation in a Generation: Separate & Unequal: Transforming Our Tax Code to Deliver a Liberation Economy
April 22, 2024
The tax exclusions, exemptions, deductions, and credits in the U.S. tax code aimed at helping all individuals and families build economic security instead provided $1.2 trillion in support to mostly wealthy white households. The U.S. tax code was intended to more evenly collect and distribute the aggregate resources of our nation to care for all, over the course of its 111-year existence, this system has been molded by wealthy, largely white, elites and our policymakers into a wealth-hoarding mechanism for the nation’s most privileged people seeking to amass obscene levels of wealth.
Illinois Fund Our Futures Coalition: Funding Our Futures: The Equitable Revenue Policies Illinois Families Need to Thrive
April 18, 2024
Read the report here.
OpenSky Policy Institute: Modeling Details How Amended Tax Package Would Impact Nebraskans
April 18, 2024
Most Nebraskans who claim the state income tax credit on property taxes paid to public schools will see little change in what they pay resulting from the tax package to be debated today, the final day of the Legislative session. But for Nebraska’s lowest-income earners – households making less than $30,000 annually – the impact of […]
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Black Women Best Framework Points the Way to Equitable and Just State Tax Reform
April 18, 2024
States and localities can realize more equitable, thriving economies by proactively addressing the historical marginalization and persistent exploitation of Black women through their revenue policies. State tax policy is not race-neutral but rather functions as a support system that upholds whiteness in politics and prosperity. Applying the Black Women Best framework — an economic principle that argues […]
Scholars Strategy Network: Tax Policy as a Potential Tool for Reducing Infant Mortality
April 17, 2024
Increased tax revenues and increased tax progressivity need to be further explored as policy solutions in Illinois. More specifically, the adoption of worldwide combined reporting and a state-level child tax credit, could help prevent infant deaths in our state.
New Jersey Policy Perspective: New Immigrants Drive Economic Growth in New Jersey
April 15, 2024
New Jersey’s fundamental strength lies in the rich tapestry of people who call the Garden State home, reflecting a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds. Nearly one in four residents (2.2 million) are immigrants,[i] who play a pivotal role in shaping the state’s identity. Immigrants bring a wealth of skills and talents that enrich New Jersey’s arts, cuisine, and entertainment, add to the intellectual achievements across various fields, and play essential roles in the private and public sectors. Across the state, immigrants make significant contributions to their local communities and the broader economy through their labor, entrepreneurial endeavors, and tax contributions.
Maine Center for Economic Policy: Tax Fairness — an Explainer
April 15, 2024
Taxes help pay for things that benefit everyone, like good schools, clean air and water, and safe roads. Businesses also need these things to succeed, along with a healthy, housed, and educated workforce, modern infrastructure, and affordable energy. Fair taxes mean everyone pitches in according to their means, so those who have less pay less, and those who have more pay more. Unfortunately, the vast majority of states still have upside-down tax structures, meaning that families with wealth pay a smaller portion of their income in taxes than families with low income. That’s not fair.
Audio: ITEP’s Joe Hughes on the Need for a Well-Funded IRS
April 12, 2024
ITEP Federal Policy Analyst Joe Hughes appeared on the Oregon Center for Public Policy’s “Policy for the People” podcast, discussing IRS funding and Direct File.
Oregon Center for Public Policy: Complete Reporting Would Make It Hard for Corporations to Hide Profits Overseas
April 10, 2024
Oregon can clamp down on multinational corporations shifting profits overseas, create a more level playing field for Oregon businesses, and raise millions in revenue by enacting “Complete Reporting” by large corporations. That law would make it difficult for multinational corporations to avoid Oregon corporate income taxes by artificially shifting profits earned in Oregon to subsidiaries […]
ITEP’s Miles Trinidad Testifies Against Weakening Hawai’i’s Estate Tax
April 9, 2024
HB 2653 would only exacerbate the regressive nature of Hawai’i’s state and local tax system and compound the preferential treatment of income derived from wealth.
Occidental College Urban & Environmental Policy Institute: Measuring LA’s Mansion Tax
April 8, 2024
In November 2022, 58% of Los Angeles City voters approved Measure ULA to increase the City’s existing real estate transfer tax on property sales over $5 million. The law went into effect on April 1, 2023. In its first year, Measure ULA is on track to raise hundreds of millions of dollars and spend the funds to build more affordable housing, provide emergency rental assistance, protect tenants from eviction, and prevent homelessness. This is all despite efforts by the real estate industry to undermine the new law and a significant shortage of Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) staff to carry…
Video: President Biden Cites ITEP’s Data on Corporate Tax Avoidance at the State of the Union
April 1, 2024
From the State of the Union on March 7, 2024
Video: Rep. David Trone Discusses Corporate Tax Avoidance at House Budget Committee Hearing
April 1, 2024
His remarks were at a March 21, 2024 House Budget Committee hearing on President Biden’s proposed budget.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: States Can Fight Corporate Tax Avoidance by Requiring Worldwide Combined Reporting
April 1, 2024
To reduce their federal corporate income taxes, every year large multinational corporations shift hundreds of billions of dollars in profits earned in the United States onto the books of subsidiaries formed in foreign tax havens like Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Ireland. Because nearly all state corporate taxes are based on the taxable profits a corporation reports on its federal return, each year states lose at least $10 billion — and perhaps as much as $15 billion — of revenue due to this profit-shifting, estimates suggest. This is substantial revenue states could be using to provide K-12 teachers with better…
Open Sky Policy Institute: Why Proposed Tax Shift is Wrong for Nebraska
April 1, 2024
The tax package designed to lower property taxes paid to local political subdivisions would increase the tax burden on low- and middle-income working families and make it increasingly difficult for cities, counties and schools to provide the services that Nebraskans expect.
Open Sky Policy Institute: How the Tax Package Impacts Nebraskans
April 1, 2024
The proposal to lower property taxes paid to fund local government services will reduce property taxes paid by property owners, but it’s important to understand how the package that raises the state sales tax rate impacts all consumers and the effect of plans to “front load” the existing tax credit for taxes paid to public schools.
Montana Budget & Policy Center: The Great Tax Shift
March 20, 2024
The taxes paid by Montana residents and businesses have created and continue to fund an equitable educational system, roads and bridges, and services that keep our communities safe. Unfortunately, over time, responsibility for our tax system has shifted to everyday Montanans, like our teachers, plumbers, and construction workers, and away from the wealthy. Over the […]
The Volcker Alliance: State Tax Cuts After the Pandemic
March 18, 2024
The Issue Paper by Can Chen and Alex Hathaway, State Tax Cuts After the Pandemic: Strategies to Sustain Fiscal Health, is the latest in a series of Alliance issue papers on state and local budgeting in the COVID Era. Following the unprecedented federal aid issued to offset the impact of COVID-19, state revenues and cash reserves reached […]
Vermont Lt. Gov David Zuckerman: Fair Share
March 14, 2024
Today, I have an exceptionally important topic to talk about: taxes! Taxes have become a dirty word, and in many ways for good reason. Since the 1980’s there has been a significant shift in how much everyday people pay in taxes. Wealthy and high-income individuals have seen their marginal tax rates drop precipitously, while working […]
Video: Sen. Warren Slams Republicans Pushing Corporate Handouts While Fighting Child Tax Credit Expansion
March 13, 2024
Senator Warren’s exchange at a March 12, 2024 Senate Finance Committee hearing entitled: American Made: Growing U.S. Manufacturing Through the Tax Code
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.
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