Select Media Mentions
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 […]
Forbes: Why Some of the Rich Want to Pay More in Taxes
February 11, 2019
Those with the very highest incomes have benefited disproportionately from tax cuts, and that lost revenue is driving the federal deficit ever higher. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that since 2001, “significant federal tax changes have reduced revenue by $5.1 trillion, with nearly two-thirds of that flowing to the richest fifth of […]
Morning Tax: The Latest in Wealth Taxes
February 11, 2019
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy noted recently that Netflix logged record profits in the U.S. in 2018, some $845 million, and ended up not owing any federal taxes. (Not only that: The video streamer got a $22 million rebate.) Over at The Guardian, Gene Marks uses an educated guess to predict that Netflix […]
KFDM (CBS Affiliate): Shrinking Tax Refunds Stir Controversy
February 11, 2019
With the benefits of the tax cut spread out across 52 weeks, the gain may have been hard to spot, especially if workers saw increases in health insurance premiums or other costs. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the middle 20 percent of income earners received an average of about $33 more […]
Newsweek: We Shouldn’t Wait for Washington to Tax the Rich: We Can Begin at the State Level
February 11, 2019
Following is an excerpt from an op-ed by ITEP deputy director Meg Wiehe published in Newsweek Magazine: The historic role tax and other policies have played in exacerbating the wealth divide and discussions about how to remedy this injustice is a national conversation that is long overdue. Examining the federal policy landscape is a logical […]
The Guardian: How Did Netflix Get Away with Not Paying Income Tax in 2018
February 9, 2019
According to a blogpost from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the company posted its largest ever profit in 2018 – $845m – but paid no federal (or state) income tax. “After a year of speculation and spin, the public is getting its first hard look at how corporate tax law changes under the […]
The Daily Mail: Netflix Paid NOTHING in Federal or State Taxes in 2018
February 7, 2019
Netflix didn’t pay a cent in state or federal income taxes last year, despite posting its largest-ever U.S. profit in 2018 of $845million, according to a new report. In addition, the streaming giant reported a $22 million federal tax rebate, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Senior fellow at ITEP Matthew Gardner […]
Montana Public Radio: Lawmakers Hear Massive Proposal For Statewide Sales Tax
February 6, 2019
Another D.C. based think tank, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, puts Montana’s current tax system among their top ten most equitable systems in the country, in part because there’s no statewide sales tax. However ITEP research also indicates the poorest 20 percent of families in Montana pay more of a share of their […]
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Arkansas Senate Panel Fives Fast Nod to Governor’s Tax-cut Plan
February 5, 2019
While the finance department projected the governor’s tax will eventually reduce tax revenue by $97 million a year after it’s fully implemented, Lisa Gee, a senior policy analyst for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington, D.C., said last week that she projected the governor’s income-tax cut would reduce state revenue by $157 […]
Bloomberg Tax: Economic Policy Group Proposes Slew of Progressive Tax Policies
February 5, 2019
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in a new report detailed several potential progressive tax policy proposals—including a revamp of capital gains taxation that would pull in nearly $2.5 trillion. The group previously released an outline of a wealth tax proposal just one day before Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a likely 2020 presidential contender, […]
Washington Post: Live Commentary on Trump’s SOTU
February 5, 2019
E.J. DIONNE JR., 9:27 p.m.: “A massive tax cut for working families.” Really? “If you look at the richest 1 percent, they’re getting more than the bottom 60 percent of Americans,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more
City Lab: The Airbnb Effect: It’s Not Just Rising Home Prices
February 4, 2019
And cities with less stringent Airbnb regulations might also be losing out on a lot of tax revenue. Traditional lodging entities (when combining city, state, and county taxes), are taxed at an average rate of 13 percent in the 150 largest cities. But Airbnb is treated differently in different jurisdictions, and is trusted to self-report […]
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].
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