News Releases

“Billionaires are getting richer, and some of them are altogether avoiding taxes or paying a tiny percentage relative to their income and wealth. The 2017 tax law further worsened inequality by giving huge tax breaks to the rich. It’s inconceivable that a lawmaker would propose to single out the most vulnerable households for higher taxes.” --Steve Wamhoff

The Build Back Better plan that the House passed today will transform the country and make our tax code more progressive, more equitable and better able to pay for crucial priorities.

America does better when we invest in our people, our places and our planet. The infrastructure bill that President Biden signed today will restore and strengthen our physical infrastructure, making repairs and improvements that are long overdue. Now Congress needs to take the next step and pass legislation that taxes wealthy people and corporations to pay for our care and climate infrastructure.

Covid-19 dramatically altered how and where many employees work, a shift that could have a long-term negative effect on commercial real estate occupancy rates and, ultimately, on local governments’ tax revenue base, a new study reveals.  The Impact of Work from Home on Commercial Property Values and the Property Tax in U.S. Cities concludes that even as the recovery strengthens, if […]

This report is second in a series that will examine how state tax codes impact the racial income and wealth gaps and offer policy recommendations for addressing those inequities. Currently, all but five state tax systems are upside down, meaning they tax the top 1 percent at a lower rate than the poorest 20 percent. Longstanding economic and social injustices, including unequal access to education and job discrimination among other things, have created an economy in which white families are more likely to thrive and build wealth and be in the highest-income brackets. So, state tax systems that rely more on regressive…

Media contact A new report from ITEP highlights multiple data sets that reveal how U.S.-based multinational corporations are avoiding taxes and debunks claims that a higher tax rate would make firms less globally competitive.  The report, Why Congress Should Reform the Federal Corporate Income Tax, comes as Congress is weighing a budget plan that would increase the statutory corporate […]

Earlier this year, the Biden administration put forth a transformative tax proposal that would raise significant revenue, reduce corporate tax avoidance, and substantially increase taxes paid by the wealthiest individuals. The Ways and Means Committee has kept some of these important reforms but has diluted others in ways that would leave some of the work of tax reform undone. 

Media contact Ever since former President Trump and the GOP-led Congress enacted a $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions in December 2017, federal and state lawmakers in the mostly “blue”, higher-income states that have more residents affected by the provision have been weighing measures to repeal the cap or provide state-level workarounds.   Repealing the cap has made […]

Following is a statement from Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the death of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: “The board and staff of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Citizens for Tax Justice mourn the sad news of the loss of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Mr. […]

Media Contact Corporate tax avoidance is a perennial problem that is annually depriving the U.S. Treasury of tens of billions in needed revenue, a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) reveals.  The report, Corporate Tax Avoidance Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), finds that 39 corporations paid no federal taxes over the first three years of […]

Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of ITEP, regarding the bipartisan deal announced today by senators and the White House.   “While the bipartisan infrastructure deal announced today may do some good, on its own, it is not enough, as President Biden said today during a press briefing. Congress must also enact additional […]

The explosive ProPublica report released today confirmed what we have known for quite some time: the wealthy and powerful play by a different set of rules than the rest of us. Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the report: “ProPublica’s reporting today on the details of how 25 billionaires pay little to nothing in federal tax relative to their incomes is a wakeup call: the nation needs tax reform that will impart some balance to our tax system."

President Joe Biden’s 2022 budget proposal released today signals a commitment to transformational policy solutions that not only invest in people and communities but also ensure corporations and rich people contribute more in taxes to support the economy that makes their wealth and profits possible, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) said today.

Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding President Biden’s remarks on the American Families Plan. “Longstanding inequities, deepened by the pandemic, mean that too many American families and communities are struggling. The American Families Plan makes long-overdue investments that will dramatically broaden access to […]

A new ITEP analysis provides critical data for the debate over whether to repeal the $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions. The report finds that repeal of the SALT cap without other reforms would worsen economic disparities and exacerbate racial inequities baked into the federal tax system.

Media contact Twenty-six of the 55 companies paid nothing over three years In 2020, a year marked by a pandemic, small business closures and widespread job loss for ordinary people, many major U.S. corporations remained profitable and 55 of them paid $0 in federal corporate income taxes on a combined $40 billion in profits, the […]

Following is a statement by Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the corporate tax provisions in the “American Jobs Plan,” released by the White House on March 31. “For years, our corporate tax has been broken, allowing profitable corporations to altogether avoid taxes or pay far below […]

Media contact A new report released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy spotlights a stark challenge confronting state and local lawmakers. Tax policy has the potential to narrow the racial income and wealth gaps, but an overreliance on inequitable revenue sources in some states indefensibly makes those gaps worse. The research builds […]

Media contact Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the American Rescue Plan, which has cleared both houses of Congress and President Biden is expected to sign. “The American Rescue Plan is a monumental first step toward President Joe Biden’s pledge to build back […]

Senators and representatives can look to recent history—the 2007-2009 recession—for lessons on how to best address the current economic crisis. If we do too little, the economy will stay weak much longer, hurting all of us.

Media contact The credit would boost after-tax income for the poorest 20 percent by $4,570 or an average 37% of their incomes  President Biden’s proposed expansion to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) as part of his American Rescue Plan would provide a financial boost to most of the nation’s families with children, but it would […]

Media contact Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding President Biden’s inauguration. “Today, we pause to recognize President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s historic victory. Tomorrow, we get to work. “President Biden has consistently vowed to lead by putting the needs of […]

Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding President-elect Biden’s economic package released today.  “President-elect Biden’s plan offers sound solutions to the health and economic fallout of COVID-19 and promises to address structural challenges that made so many families economically vulnerable in the first place.   […]

New estimates from ITEP show how taxpayers across the income spectrum would fare should Democrats enact the $2,000 payments they promised would happen if they gained control of the Senate.

Following is a statement from Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the COVID-19 relief deal reached Sunday night.