Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Select Media Mentions

Remapping Debate: With IRS Enforcement Down, State and Local Tax Revenues Could Suffer, Too

March 23, 2026

“There is no substitute for a robust federal tax enforcement program,” Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said. “But even so, states should still do their best to fill the gaps that have been created by drastic cuts to IRS enforcement.” Read more.

Newsweek: Plan To Scrap Property Tax Could See Other Taxes Rise

March 23, 2026

School property taxes raise between $15 to $17 billion in Pennsylvania, according to Kamolika Das, local policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. This massive revenue source for Pennsylvania would be hard to replace, even if residents were willing to face higher sales and income taxes. Read more.

Barron’s: Tax the Rich or Kill Income Taxes? States Are Divided on What To Do.

March 23, 2026

“The Trump administration’s actions over the last year are a big part of what’s making these revenue raising plans necessary at the state level”, said Matt Gardner, senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The 2025 federal tax law cuts state funds for Medicaid and gives the wealthiest 1% in the U.S. tax […]

Yahoo Finance: Property Taxes Are Skyrocketing. But States Are Learning That Cutting Them Has Major Consequences.

March 23, 2026

Lowering property taxes can have unintended long-term consequences for local housing markets. Higher property taxes act like a future mortgage payment. This long-term investment would lower prices and make it easier for first-time homebuyers to gain a foothold in the market. Read more.

Los Angeles Times: Ted Cruz and His GOP Colleagues Are Pushing Yet Another Tax Break for the 1%

March 19, 2026

The Capital Gains Inflation Relief Act of 2025 is just as unpopular as similar bills Sen. Cruz introduced in 2018 and 2021, neither of which passed. Steve Wamhoff of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in 2019, “sounds logical until you think about it.” The legal and economic considerations haven’t changed since then. Read […]

Stateline: Republican Push To Increase Sales Taxes Would Fall Hardest on Lower-Income Residents

March 19, 2026

Lawmakers consider increasing sales taxes to offset budget cuts to property or income taxes. This will force lower- and middle-income residents, who spend a larger share of their earnings than the wealthy, to foot more of the bill for state services. Read more.

Los Angeles Times: Eliminating a Corporate Tax Break Is Pitched as a Way To Make Up for Federal Healthcare Cuts

March 17, 2026

Carl Davis, a research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, stated that there is growing support nationwide to repeal the water’s edge tax break as public awareness of profit shifting spreads. “Folks are outraged when they hear that these companies are pretending that they are earning their profits in the Caymans or […]

The Independent: Inside the Widening Income Tax Rate Gap for Residents in Blue States Compared to Red States

March 17, 2026

Eliminating income tax means lower and middle-income families will have to pay more. “Public services would be cut, other taxes and levies that fall more heavily on low- and middle-income families (including sales taxes, excise taxes, fees and fines) would be increased, or — most likely — both those things would happen,” Aidan Davis from […]

Newsweek: Poorest Americans in 9 States Pay More Because of Trump Tax Breaks—Study

March 17, 2026

InvestorsObserves’ report, based on analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, found that the impact of the Trump administration’s OBBB is heavily tilted in favor of those already at the top. Read more.  

Yahoo Finance: Elizabeth Warren Asks Meta, Amazon, and Others Why They’re Laying Workers off Despite Tax Perks

March 17, 2026

Sen. Warren asks the companies to detail their 2025 tax cuts, tariff refunds, any contributions to Trump’s projects, and why they laid off workers. Meta “paid an effective federal income tax rate of just over 3.5 percent in 2025,” Matt Gardner at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy wrote in an analysis last month, […]

NBC10: Pennsylvania Among States Trying To Balance Rise in Revenue With Gambling Issues

March 17, 2026

“The sports gambling sector is growing fast,” said Nick Johnson, an analyst with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “In a few states, it’s really starting to produce a pretty remarkable amount of revenue.” Read more.

The 74: States Want To Help Families. The Child Tax Credit Might Be Their Answer

March 12, 2026

The CTC is “both an affordability and anti-poverty mechanism,” said Neva Butkus, a senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. States and localities seeking to add or expand a child tax credit work with her team. As of late, Butkus notes that “lawmakers and advocacy groups come to us with poverty alleviation […]

Springfield News-Leader: Property Tax Caps on April Ballot in Several Counties Worry Districts

March 5, 2026

Rita Jefferson, local analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said this approach fails to get at the root problem. She said generally, property tax growth caps are done on a state-wide level, rather than county by county, and she called the 0% tax cap “extremely unusual.” Read more.  

MarketPlace: Trump’s Tax Breaks for Big Corporations

March 4, 2026

Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said, “No one’s been able to find any econometric evidence showing conclusively that these rules actually encourage economic growth at all. If anything, the most obvious takeaway is that these tax breaks are simply rewarding companies for doing what they were going […]

Barron’s: Trump Says His Tariffs Could Replace Income Taxes. Here’s What Tax Experts Say.

February 26, 2026

“This idea that we can use tariffs to pay for everything is just nonsense. It’s a fantasy,” Steve Wamhoff, federal policy director for the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told Barron’s. “Replacing any substantial portion of the federal personal income tax with tariffs is not a proposal to be taken seriously.” Read more. 

NPR: Tariffs Cost American Shoppers. They’re Unlikely To Get That Money Back

February 26, 2026

Shoppers will have to wait for companies to get their refunds before any potential reimbursements might trickle down to them. And that could take a while. Read more.    

St. Louis Magazine: How St. Louis County’s Senior Tax Freeze Takes from the Young to Give to the Old

February 24, 2026

The year-old senior tax freeze in St. Louis County, which allows seniors to lock in a portion of their property tax bills as property values appreciate, has already poked holes in school district budgets in its first year. Districts in the county expect losses to mount as property values rise, with the highest impact likely […]

Christian Science Monitor: More Red States Eye the No-Income-Tax Model. Will It Work?

February 24, 2026

So far, Republicans in the House and Senate have vowed to work together to lower tax burdens for Georgians. But questions about how and where to shift the burden of funding the commonweal without an income tax remain unanswered. Read more.

New York Times: Opinion | The Donald Trump 1 Percent Fan Club

February 24, 2026

President Trump is distributing executive patronage — from pardons to favorable regulatory decisions — to privileged groups, including those willing to contribute to his preferred committees and causes and those who invest in the Trump family’s crypto businesses. Read more.

New York Times: In Washington State, Democrats Consider Breaking a Taboo: Taxing the Rich

February 23, 2026

Washington is one of just nine states that does not tax income. Last week, the State Senate approved what supporters and opponents alike call the “millionaires tax,” a proposed 9.9 percent annual tax on personal earnings over $1 million, enough to bring in $3.7 billion a year. Members of the state House must now decide […]

Audio: ITEP’s Kamolika Das on the Need for States to Raise Revenue in the Wake of 2025 Trump Tax Law

February 19, 2026

Kamolika Das talks about a current nationwide effort to raise revenue in states to replace billions of dollars in vital local and state funding for social safety net programs that were lost in last year’s Trump-GOP budget mega-bill that dramatically cut social programs while giving away huge tax cuts for profitable corporations and the rich. […]

Business Insider: Mamdani Says if the State Won’t Tax the Wealthiest New Yorkers, He’d Have To Tax the Middle Class as a ‘Last Resort’

February 19, 2026

Without Albany’s willingness to hike income or corporate taxes, Mamdani is signaling he will need to turn to other measures to fund his budget. He’s floating increasing property taxes for the city’s residents.  Read more.

KCUR: Eliminating Missouri’s Income Tax Could Actually Cost You More — Unless You’re Rich

February 19, 2026

If the state’s income tax is eliminated, experts anticipate that Missouri’s already regressive tax system would become more so. Households with a yearly income of $65,000 would see a $500 tax increase each year, while households in the top 1% would see an average tax cut of nearly $40,000. Read more.

Thomson Reuters: OBBB Put Pressure on States to Raise Revenues, Analysts Say

February 19, 2026

Policy experts warned that the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) is creating a fiscal crisis for states, forcing them to choose between cutting essential services or raising their own taxes. Aidan Davis, state policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said lawmakers have an opportunity to reverse course and align public policy […]

The Hill: Want ‘Affordability?’ Start by Retooling Your State’s Regressive Tax System.

February 19, 2026

The White House plan “would represent the single largest legislated transfer of wealth from the working class to the rich in the nation’s history,” according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “Working-class families would face dramatic tax increases while the nation’s wealthiest families would see their state tax bills plummet.” Read more. 

Members of the media rely on ITEP for analysis and insight about how tax policies affect people. If you’re a reporter looking to talk to one of our experts, contact Jon Whiten at [email protected].