Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Select Media Mentions

The Guardian: Millionaires who support taxing the rich protest in front of Jeff Bezos’s homes

May 17, 2021

Bezos has said he supports raising the corporate tax rate. But Amazon has long been the subject of protests about tax avoidance. According to calculations by the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in February, in 2020 Amazon only paid a 9.4% federal income tax rate, less than half the statutory 21%. Read more

AZ Central: Flat tax plan could decimate Arizona revenue, benefit a few. Don’t buy it

May 17, 2021

This is not a tax plan that will benefit most Arizonans. According to an analysis of the plan by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, 53% of the tax cuts would go to the wealthiest 1% of taxpayers, while the bottom 80% would receive only 8% of the tax cuts. Read more

Business Insider: Jeff Bezos’ support for Biden’s corporate tax hike means nothing if Amazon can still dodge paying their fair share in taxes

May 16, 2021

This number should not come as a shock; some of the most profitable companies – often those that represent the future of the economy – have long looked for ways to skirt their tax bill. A recent study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, for example, found that 55 of the largest corporations […]

Mississippi Today: Mississippi could help long-neglected poor with Rescue Plan payments

May 16, 2021

For instance, those earning less than $16,100 pay 10.2% of their income on state and local taxes, primarily because of Mississippi’s high sales tax rate, which includes the 7% tax on groceries. Those in the middle — earning between $43,000 and $77,500 pay — pay 9.2% of their income on state and local taxes, while […]

Associated Press: IRS to the rescue? Tax audits eyed for infrastructure cash

May 15, 2021

The Internal Revenue Service has estimated the tax gap is $440 billion per year. But IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig stunned his audience at a recent Senate hearing when he offered a new number: about $1 trillion annually. The old estimates don’t take into account the recent boom in income made by self-employed “gig” workers, which […]

Jacobin: In Washington State, the Left Won a Major Victory for Taxing the Rich

May 14, 2021

Last week, Washington State passed a capital gains tax aimed at the state’s ultra-wealthy. The tax is historic because Washington, despite its progressive reputation, until now had the worst tax code in the nation when it comes to fairness, behind Texas, Florida, and South Dakota. A landmark 2018 report by the Institute on Taxation and […]

The New York Times: How to collect a trillion dollars

May 11, 2021

It’s difficult to quantify just how much money goes uncollected each year, officials say. Corporate tax collections in the U.S. are “at historic lows and well below what other countries collect,” according to a recent Treasury report. U.S. multinational companies can be taxed at a 50 percent discount compared with their domestic peers, an incentive […]

Commonwealth Magazine: Mass. delegation not jumping on SALT bandwagon

May 11, 2021

The politics of SALT are tricky. While the SALT deduction benefits a wide swath of taxpayers across many states, the biggest beneficiaries tend to be wealthy people with big homes who pay a lot of state income and property tax. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates the richest 5 percent would receive 85 […]

Toledo Blade: Ohio urged to spend surplus on children, pregnant women

May 11, 2021

A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy for Policy Matters estimates that those making between $40,000 and $61,000 a year would on average see a $7 reduction in their annual tax bills from the latest proposal. Those earning at least $490,000 would average a $612 break. Through April, with just two months […]

NBC Chicago: Child Tax Credit: Parents Must File Tax Returns by May 17 Deadline to Qualify

May 7, 2021

About 83 million children live in households that would benefit from the expansion of the child tax credit, according to a study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. In addition, the poorest 20% of families would see income increase by more than 37% during the year that the policy is in place. Read more

WFAE: Duke Energy Among 55 Companies That Paid No U.S. Taxes Last Year

May 5, 2021

An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive think tank, finds that Duke and other large companies used lower tax rates and tax incentives to eliminate their federal liability. In Duke’s case, those measures turned what could have been a $176 million income tax bill into a tax credit. When companies […]

The Motley Fool: Stimulus Check Update: Direct Payments Worth $3,600 May be Headed Your Way Soon

May 5, 2021

There are also restrictions to who you can claim under the expanded child tax credit. In order to claim your child or children, you must: Have a valid Social Security number for your child Be related to the child Have had your child live with you for at least half the year Provide more than […]

Forbes: President Biden’s Capital Gains Tax Plan

May 5, 2021

So, what’s the problem? What could be the downside of raising the taxes on a small portion of Americans to help needy children and kids go to college? Just 0.7% of households would face a tax hike, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, with almost the entire burden being felt by the richest […]

OPB: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signs capital gains tax into law even as legal challenges loom

May 4, 2021

While Democrats and Republicans came together around the tax credit, the capital gains tax fiercely divided the two parties. Throughout the legislative session, Democrats insisted a tax on capital gains is an excise tax that will make Washington’s tax code less regressive. They often point to a report by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and […]

New York Times: Amazon Had a Big Year, but Paid No Tax to Luxembourg

May 4, 2021

Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning research group in Washington, said Amazon’s Luxembourg filing showed why there was such urgency, not only in the European Union but also in the United States, to require a global minimum tax. “This is a stark reminder of the high […]

Daily Kos: Study: Non-wealthy to benefit most from Biden’s tax and spending plans, especially in red states

May 4, 2021

For those who aren’t policy wonks—and who somehow can’t decide whether Joe Biden is a compassionate family man or a rapacious baby’s blood aficionado—it can be difficult to suss out the real benefits of Biden’s recent economic proposals. Luckily, new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) spells out the pluses (for […]

Yahoo! Finance: Only the ‘lucky few’ will pay higher taxes under Biden’s plan, analysis finds

May 4, 2021

President Joe Biden is planning to raise revenue to fund his infrastructure plans through numerous tax hikes that would mostly hit the top 0.7% of Americans, a new analysis found. “The vast, vast majority of the population will not see any tax increases,” Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation […]

MarketWatch: The fight over SALT is heating up. What’s next?

May 3, 2021

“I’m surprised that it just continues to come up,” said Tracy Gordon, acting director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “In Washington there seems to be this broad consensus that repealing it would be a bad idea and yet people in affected areas feel it in a visceral way.” A “bad idea,” analysts say, not […]

New York Times: Why a $10,000 Tax Deduction Could Hold Up Trillions in Stimulus Funds

May 1, 2021

There’s no debate that the SALT deduction goes mostly to wealthier taxpayers. About 85% of its benefits accrue to the richest 5% of households, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington. Were the cap to be repealed, about two-thirds of the benefits — about $67 billion — would […]

Business Insider: America’s wealthiest added $195 billion to their fortunes in Biden’s first 100 days

May 1, 2021

While the richest Americans saw gains under Biden, he’s making moves to tax them more heavily to offset the cost of his next big expenditure: an infrastructure package that encompasses everything from universal pre-K to affordable childcare and education. … While that may not impact the stock market much, Biden’s proposals do have some wealthier Americans scrambling and calling […]

The Sacramento Bee: California parents would get big tax breaks under Biden proposal. Here’s how much to expect

May 1, 2021

Low and middle income families struggling to pay for child care and other expenses would see big new tax breaks through 2025 under the White House’s new child tax credit plan, according to a new analysis. Most of the breaks would go to households with incomes less than $51,700, but even those with lower six […]

Coinspeaker: Joe Biden to Fund Education and Childcare by Implementing American Families Plan

April 30, 2021

According to a report by ITEP (institute On Taxation And Economic Policy), the top part of the scheme will restore the top personal income tax rate to 39.6%. The plan intends to eliminate tax breaks associated with capital gains for millionaires and make the tax process more equitable. The report shows that the proposal would […]

NBC News: The soul of the post-Trump GOP isn’t in D.C., it’s in the nation’s statehouses

April 30, 2021

All in all, the proposed capital gains and income tax hikes would affect less than 1 percent of taxpayers, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Some relatively high-earning professionals might even get a tax cut. Democrats think the politics favor them as a result — so much so that […]

Associated Press: A Look At How US Corporations Manage the Tax System

April 30, 2021

Last year, more than 50 of the largest U.S. companies actually paid nothing in federal income taxes, even though they reported $40 billion in pretax profits as a group, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Companies can deploy many tools to avoid taxes — from deducting costs related to stock options they […]

NBC News: Venture capitalists spar over Biden plan to raise their taxes

April 30, 2021

President Barack Obama’s White House put out a proposal similar to the one Biden’s White House is now offering, according to Steve Wamhoff, the director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, who formerly worked on tax policy for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “Biden proposes to eliminate that break for […]

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].