Select Media Mentions
The American Prospect: The Day One Agenda for Corporate Taxes
December 16, 2020
Even without Congress, President-elect Biden’s regulatory agencies can fix a lot of problems with the corporate tax code. BY STEVE WAMHOFF, MATTHEW GARDNER The public has long told pollsters that corporate taxes should be increased, not decreased. President-elect Biden won his election after campaigning on a promise to raise taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations. […]
Bloomberg: Musk Flees California. He Now Faces a Battle to Escape Its Taxes
December 10, 2020
Fear of rich people moving for tax reasons is overblown, says Carl Davis, research director at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP. Studies show the wealthy actually move less often than other Americans. “A billionaire can obviously afford to live wherever they want,” Davis said. “There’s no reason on Earth that […]
Barrons: Elon Musk Shrugs at Tesla’s $5 Billion Stock Issuance. ‘It’s an Entry in a Database.’
December 9, 2020
Musk has another good reason for moving to Texas: taxes. His 170 million shares of Tesla are worth $110 billion. And he could pay billions of dollars if he were to be taxed at California rates instead of Texas, which doesn’t have a state income tax. Indeed, the top 1% of California taxpayers pay an […]
Newsweek: Will Republicans Show They Can Reach Across the Aisle on Tax Policy?
December 4, 2020
Following is an excerpt of an opinion piece by Steve Wamhoff published in Newsweek: During his campaign, President-elect Joe Biden talked about raising taxes on rich people more than any candidate in recent memory—and he won. Beating an incumbent president is rare, but Biden pulled it off and appears to be the first presidential incumbent-challenger […]
The New York Times: In Blue States and Red, Pandemic Upends Public Services and Jobs
December 4, 2020
Meg Wiehe, deputy executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said Wyoming at least was dealing with the painful reality. “The bigger kind of cuts that will resonate with people are all going to come to a head in the early part of next year,” Ms. Wiehe said. “We’re staring down some […]
The Conversation: A better way for billionaires who want to make massive donations to benefit society
December 4, 2020
Aside from concerns that Amazon is anti-competitive, the U.S. government is investigating Amazon for labor violations. Its workers around the world are staging protests, and the company has retaliated by reportedly paying contractors to spy on them. Amazon paid nothing at all in U.S. federal income tax in 2018 on the more than $11 billion […]
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: Tax chemicals industry to help curb pollution internationally, experts propose
December 2, 2020
Past research has shown how some of the largest chemical producers such as the German giant BASF or the American company DuPont have used sophisticated tax planning strategies to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in the countries where they operate. In the U.S. alone, the industry enjoyed one of the lowest effective federal […]
The Hill: Biden’s Treasury pick will have lengthy to-do list on taxes
November 27, 2020
Key to Yellen’s ability to help Biden implement his agenda on taxes will be the relationships she develops with lawmakers. Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, noted that many Senate Republicans are up for reelection in 2022, and some GOP positions on taxes do not […]
Motley Fool: One Big Change Kamala Harris Wants to Make to Increase Your Income by $500 a Month
November 24, 2020
According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, as many as half of all workers and two-thirds of children in the U.S. would benefit from the LIFT the Middle Class Act. The act was introduced two years ago but is more relevant than ever. The extra cash would benefit those who are struggling financially […]
The Hill: Progressive tax reform should top Biden’s list of priorities
November 19, 2020
“President-elect Joe Biden won over 78 million votes, more than any presidential candidate has ever received, while unabashedly vowing to raise taxes on the wealthiest individuals and on corporations. Progressive tax reform should be among his early and top priorities. Read the full opEd by ITEP ED Amy Hanauer in The Hill.
The Center Square: Louisiana Tax Holiday May Save Shoppers $4.5 Million, Though Some Question the Value
November 19, 2020
“The conservative Tax Foundation and the progressive-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy don’t agree on much when it comes to taxes,” the Louisiana Budget Project countered in comments posted Thursday. “But both groups understand that ‘sales tax holidays’ – a favorite trope of politicians – are bad economic policy.” Sales tax holidays do not promote economic […]
Marketplace: Could the success of ballot measures to legalize marijuana add pressure for federal legalization?
November 16, 2020
Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, studies states’ cannabis tax structures and he said one problem is that most states’ excise tax is based on price not weight. “In the states that have built their system around prices, if you see a big price cut happen, there’s going to […]
Yahoo! Finance: Most Americans are unlikely to see a tax hike under Biden’s presidency
November 12, 2020
If fully implemented, Biden’s tax plan would be a direct tax hike for just the top 1.9% of the U.S. population, according to research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). But it remains uncertain which of Biden’s proposals — if any — could become law. Read more
Stateline: Budget Holes Loom After Voters Reject Some Tax Hikes
November 12, 2020
But Meg Wiehe, deputy executive director of the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said that is an oversimplification. She said wild speculation in opposition ads about what Illinois might do with the extra money, as well as ads that used the “nose under the tent” metaphor to imply that the income tax hike […]
CNBC: Here’s What’s Ahead for President-elect Biden’s Tax Plan
November 10, 2020
Another idea that might stand a chance in a split Congress could be to properly fund the IRS so it can pursue larger targets, rather than going through the contentious process of drafting and passing new tax legislation. “Even in a divided Congress, it might be politically easier to do that, compared to a more […]
Business Insider: Here’s how President-elect Joe Biden’s Corporate Tax Plan Will Impact Big Businesses
November 7, 2020
But even with an increased tax rate, big companies could still manage to pay $0 in federal taxes due to tax code loopholes and tax breaks. Under President Donald Trump, an analysis by NBC News and the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity found twice as many big companies — including Amazon, Netflix and Chevron — paid $0 […]
New York Times: Arizona Passes a Ballot Measure to Raise Teacher Pay by Taxing the Wealthy
November 6, 2020
Prop. 208 passed with 52 percent of voters supporting the measure, The Associated Press reported late Thursday. Under Arizona’s rules for ballot measures, the tax increase needed a simple majority to pass. “It’s a significant win, not just for Arizona, but I think it sent signals all across the country,” said Meg Wiehe, deputy executive […]
Washington Post: Fact-checking the ‘final arguments’ of Biden and Trump
November 2, 2020
This statistic on 91 companies comes via the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). In a 2019 report, ITEP concluded that 91 profitable companies in the Fortune 500 did not pay any federal income tax, largely as a result of the 2017 tax law, such as through deductions for investment that Trump promoted […]
Axios: The Wealthy Rush to Shield Their Assets From Biden
November 2, 2020
Driving the news: Biden says he wants to raise taxes on people who earn more than $400,000 a year — which excludes most Americans — and lower the amounts people can give tax-free to their spouses and heirs. … “Just 1.9 percent of taxpayers would see a direct tax hike” if Biden’s tax proposals for individuals […]
Jacobin: Donald Trump Lied About Passing Pro-Worker Industrial Policy
November 2, 2020
The Trump tax plan also literally gives corporations more incentives to move production to other countries. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Trump’s plan “taxes the offshore profits of American corporations at a rate of zero percent or, sometimes, at half the rate imposed on domestic profits. […] This can also encourage […]
BBC: US Election 2020: Fact-checking Trump and Biden’s Final Week
October 31, 2020
In 2018, 91 of the top 500 companies in the US effectively paid no tax, according to a report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Despite making almost $80bn in pre-tax income, some companies paid no taxes, as the US corporate tax code “lowers the bar for the amount of tax avoidance it […]
Chicago Tribune: Commentary: How Illinois’ Small Businesses Will Benefit from a Graduated-rate Income Tax
October 30, 2020
Recent studies have shown that for decades, the current flat tax structure has only worsened income inequality throughout the state, stunting much-needed revenue and consumer spending. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that over the last 20 years, Black and Hispanic households in Illinois that make less than $250,000 per year paid $4 billion […]
Deadline: Joe Biden Slams Netflix & Amazon On Taxes, Again
October 30, 2020
The tax debate flared after President Donald Trump and the Republicans reworked the corporate tax code in 2016, slashing the corporate tax rate to 21%, from 35%. A widely cited analysis by Washington, D.C. think tank the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy last year analyzed 2018 financial filings of the country’s largest publicly held companies and […]
Yahoo! Finance: Here’s How the Biden Tax Plan Would Affect Each State
October 30, 2020
Biden’s plan would generate over $289 billion in tax revenue, according to research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). About 1.9% of the U.S. population would see an increase in taxes. The ITEP data broke down the impact by state. Population has a major impact on the overall total in tax increases. […]
New York Times: Say Yes to Progressive Taxation
October 29, 2020
California is at the top of that list, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. But there is room for improvement. For the last four decades, property taxation in California has been constrained by Proposition 13, the seminal anti-tax ballot initiative passed in 1978. The measure limits property taxation in California to 1 […]
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