Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Select Media Mentions

The Hill: Pollster Says Most Americans Feel It’s Not Fair That Corporations Pay Lower Taxes

February 15, 2019

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Amazon, which reported $11.2 billion in profits in 2018, did not pay income taxes due to unidentified “tax credits” in their disclosure. The report also found that the company will get a $129 million federal income tax rebate, making their tax rate -1 percent. A Politico/Morning Consult poll released earlier […]

CNN: Despite Record Profits, Amazon Didn’t Pay Any Federal Income Tax in 2017 or 2018. Here’s Why

February 15, 2019

"This is tax avoidance, not tax evasion. There's no indication of any wrongdoing, except on the part of Congress," said Matthew Gardner, senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal think tank. US tax code allows money-losing companies to reduce their future taxable income.

Columbia Journalism Review: Jeff Bezos’s Bad Week

February 15, 2019

Hero to 0: On Wednesday, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy suggested, in a report, that Amazon will pay $0 in federal taxes this year, despite doubling its US profits to $11.2 billion in 2018. Read more

Salon.com: Activist Defeat of Amazon is a Win for Democracy Over Technology

February 15, 2019

However, Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told Salon it is impossible to know truly if New York missed out on an economic loss or not, and to think of it as a “good” or “bad” deal is a “one-dimensional” way to look at it. “From an opportunity-cost […]

CNBC: Amazon Will Pay $0 in Federal Taxes This Year — and It’s Partially Thanks to Trump

February 15, 2019

A report this week from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP, a nonpartisan and nonprofit tax policy think tank, pointed out the fact that Amazon will not pay federal taxes for the second year in a row. In fact, last year, Amazon received an even larger refund, getting $137 million from the federal government.

The American Prospect: Amazon Is Giving Up on New York, and Activists in Nashville and Northern Virginia Are Energized

February 15, 2019

Amazon’s announcement to abandon their New York plans comes on the heels of a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showing that Amazon made a profit of $11.2 billion in 2018, and, through its navigation of tax loopholes, did not pay any federal income taxes, instead gaining a tax rebate of $129 […]

The Guardian: Amazon Made an $11.2bn Profit in 2018 – And Its Federal Tax Bill is $0

February 15, 2019

One central idea of Trump’s tax cuts was to cut corporate tax rates from 35% to 21% but as the tax filings come in it is becoming increasingly clear that many companies are not even paying the lower rate, Matthew Gardner said. “You can’t lay the blame too much on Congress,” said Gardner. “It wasn’t Congress that came up with these ideas. They are the product of a lobbying blitz from these companies. These companies wrote the law in many cases.”

Fortune: Amazon Will Pay a Whopping $0 in Federal Taxes on $11.2 Billion Profits

February 15, 2019

Those wondering how many zeros Amazon, which is valued at nearly $800 billion, has to pay in federal taxes might be surprised to learn that its check to the IRS will read exactly $0.00. According to a report published by the Institute on Taxation and Economic (ITEP) policy Wednesday, the e-tail/retail/tech/entertainment/everything giant won’t have to […]

MarketWatch: Amazon Riled Up the Left for Not Paying Taxes — and It’s in a Position to Offset Future Profits, Too

February 15, 2019

Amazon benefitted greatly from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and recorded a provisional tax benefit at the end of 2017 for the impact of Trump’s tax reform of approximately $789 million. Amazon had a significant amount of federal deferred tax liabilities at the time. As a result, the permanent reduction in the […]

USA Today: Amazon Pays No Federal Income Tax for 2018, Despite Soaring Profits, Report Says

February 15, 2019

Profits for online retail behemoth Amazon soared in 2018, but it paid no federal income tax for the second consecutive year, according to a report published Wednesday. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says the company is subject to a 21 percent tax rate on its U.S. income. However, through various tax breaks and credits, the company will receive a tax rebate […]

Huffington Post: Amazon Has Doubled Profit To $11 Billion But Will Pay $0 In Taxes In 2019: Report

February 14, 2019

The Institute on Taxation and Economic policy released its findings Wednesday after examining the company’s corporate filings. Amazon reported a $129 million federal income tax rebate for 2018, equaling a tax rate of negative 1 percent. (The federal corporate income tax rate is 21 percent.) “The fine print of Amazon’s income tax disclosure shows that this achievement is partly due to various unspecified ‘tax credits’ as well as a tax break for executive stock options,” the report stated.

The New Yorker: New York City Activists Drive Out Amazon

February 14, 2019

Two rhyming bits of Amazon news. The first is that Amazon, according to a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, was taxed at an effective rate of negative-one percent in 2018, having paid a federal income tax of zero dollars and having received a rebate from the federal government of a hundred and twenty-nine million dollars. During that year, the company nearly doubled its profits, from $5.6 billion to $11.2 billion.

The Hill: Hillicon Valley: New York says goodbye to Amazon’s HQ2 …

February 14, 2019

Amazon will not pay any federal income taxes for the second year in a row, according to a report released Wednesday. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the online retailer, which reported $11.2 billion in profits in 2018, did not pay income tax because of unnamed “tax credits” in their disclosure.

Governing: With Amazon Out of New York, Some Lawmakers Seek Multistate Ban on Corporate Tax Breaks

February 14, 2019

Opponents of such deals cite data that suggest that tax incentives often aren’t worth what they cost governments. An Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy study noted that most giveaways simply move pieces on a chessboard, rather than create actual growth.

The Hill: Amazon to Pay $0 in Federal Income Taxes: Report

February 14, 2019

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the online retailer, which reported $11.2 billion in profits in 2018, did not pay income tax because of unnamed “tax credits” in their disclosure. The company will reportedly receive a $129 million federal income tax rebate, effectively making their tax rate -1 percent.

New York Post: Amazon Paid No Federal Taxes Again

February 14, 2019

Instead, as first reported by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Amazon received a federal income tax rebate of $129 million, essentially amounting to a tax rate of negative 1 percent. 

Urban Milwaukee: Republicans Discover the Middle Class

February 14, 2019

An analysis of all the tax breaks in Wisconsin from 2011 through 2016 by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found the average tax reduction was $10,015 for the top 1 percent of taxpayers, and $1,806 for the next 4 percent of taxpayers versus $379 for the middle 20 percent of taxpayers and just $175 for the bottom 20 percent of taxpayers.

The Financial: $0 in Federal Income Taxes Will Be Payed by Amazon for the 2nd Year in a Row

February 14, 2019

Amazon, which doubled its profits and made more than $11 billion in 2018, won't pay any federal income taxes for the second year in a row, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has reported.

San Francisco Chronicle: Amazon Will Pay $0 in Federal Taxes This Year — Here’s How the $793 Billion Company Gets Away With It

February 14, 2019

Amazon will not pay federal income tax for the second year in a row, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, despite being a company currently worth $793 billion. President Trump has criticized the company for this, yet he reduced the corporate tax rate, making it even easier for large companies to pay less.

Maine Free Press: Mills Budget Provides More School Funding, Fails to Fully Fund Revenue Sharing & Keeps LePage’s Tax Cuts

February 14, 2019

The liberal-leaning Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) praised Mills for her support for Medicaid expansion, but criticized the proposal for failing to reverse LePage’s income tax cuts for the wealthy. Last year, MECEP and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released a report that found that tax cuts passed during the LePage administration will cost the state $864 million in revenue this biennium. About half of the tax breaks went to the top 20 percent of earners while the bottom 20 percent received less than 5 percent of the benefit, the analysis found.

Daily Mail: REVEALED: Amazon pays NOTHING in federal corporate taxes for the second year running despite doubling its profits to more than $11billion

February 14, 2019

In last year's filing Amazon similarly paid no corporate income taxes on its $5.6billion earnings. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy revealed the negative tax rate was the result of unspecified 'tax credits' and other benefits.

CBS News: After Amazon’s HQ2 Hunt, Some States Target Corporate Tax Breaks

February 13, 2019

While it’s common for corporations to seek tax breaks in exchange for moving to a particular location, Amazon’s solicitation was unusual in how public it was. Corporate location experts say tax considerations are rarely a deciding factor in where a company chooses to locate. And it’s not certain this type of interstate warfare creates genuinely […]

ORT: 2017 Tax Reform Helps Corporations The Most. Who Knew?

February 13, 2019

The Tax Reform bill of 2017 was supposed to close loopholes which had allowed corporations to avoid paying taxes, but a study by Matt Gardner, Senior Fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), of Netflix has shown that it reduced corporate taxes without closing the loopholes. He talks to Jan Miyasaki about the issues and how the trend to shift tax burden to the poor continues.

Cheddar: Netflix’s Tax Hack

February 11, 2019

Following is link to a video featuring Matt Gardner, ITEP senior fellow, discussing Netflix’s zero-tax bill.    

NJTV: Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Fully Restore SALT Deduction

February 11, 2019

But analysts with the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy say it’s inaccurate to isolate the SALT deduction. In reality, the average taxpayer in New Jersey will pay less. On balance, New Jersey will pay $8.1 billion less in federal taxes due to the GOP reform. Their figures show 82 percent of taxpayers will […]

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].