News Releases
How State Income Tax Reforms Can Narrow the Racial Income and Wealth Gaps
October 4, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
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…
New ITEP Report Reveals a Trove of Data that Support the Case for a Higher Corporate Tax Rate
September 17, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
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 […]
ITEP: House Ways and Means Revenue Proposals Are a Promising Start, Leave Some Crucial Work Undone
September 13, 2021 • By Amy Hanauer
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.
New Report Outlines Less Costly Alternatives to SALT Repeal
August 26, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
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 […]
ITEP Statement on AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka’s Death
August 5, 2021 • By Amy Hanauer
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. […]
Zero-tax Corporations Are a Problem and So Are Corporations that Pay Less Than Half
July 29, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
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 […]
ITEP: Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Must Be Accompanied by Bolder Legislation
June 24, 2021 • By Amy Hanauer
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 […]
ITEP: ProPublica’s Expose on Billionaires’ Taxes Is Another Wake-up Call
June 8, 2021 • By Amy Hanauer
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."
Biden’s Budget Signals the End of Trickle-Down Economics Era
May 28, 2021 • By Amy Hanauer, ITEP Staff
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.
American Families Plan Proposes Transformational Investments and More Equitable Tax Reform
April 28, 2021 • By Amy Hanauer
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 […]
SALT Cap Repeal Would Exacerbate Racial Inequities
April 20, 2021 • By Carl Davis
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.
55 Corporations Exploit Old and New Loopholes to Pay $0 in Federal Taxes in 2020
April 2, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
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 […]
President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Moves Toward Ending “Zero-Tax” Profitable Corporations
March 31, 2021 • By Matthew Gardner
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 […]
New Research: Tax Policy Choices Can Narrow or Worsen the Racial Income Gap
March 31, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
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 […]
American Rescue Plan Uses Government Muscle to Tackle Big Economic Problems
March 10, 2021 • By Amy Hanauer
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 […]
ITEP: Senate Should Pass Rescue Plan without Delay
March 2, 2021 • By Amy Hanauer
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.
New Analysis: President Biden’s Proposed Child Tax Credit Expansion Would Reduce Poverty, Address Racial Disparities
January 26, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
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 […]
ITEP Statement on President Biden’s Inauguration: Ready for Change
January 20, 2021 • By Amy Hanauer
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 […]
ITEP: Biden’s American Rescue Plan Is the Start We Need to Right the Economy
January 14, 2021 • By Amy Hanauer
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. […]
Dems Promised $2,000 Payments. Here’s What that Would Mean for Taxpayers Across the Income Spectrum.
January 7, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
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.
COVID Relief Bill Will Help Families Now; Bigger, Bolder Package Needed in 2021
December 21, 2020 • By Amy Hanauer
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.
Lame-Duck Session No Time for Perfection, but a Bold Compromise on COVID Relief Is Needed
December 2, 2020 • By Amy Hanauer
Time for COVID relief is dwindling. A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a $908 billion COVID relief package on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is floating a relief proposal and Sen. Mitch McConnell is circulating a wholly inadequate package. The best chance for legislation may be to include it in an omnibus appropriations bill, which Congress must pass this month. Following is a statement from Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding congressional negotiations over another round of economic relief.
New 50-State Analysis of Biden Revenue-Raising Tax Proposals
October 7, 2020 • By ITEP Staff
A state-by-state analysis of President-elect Joe Biden’s proposal to raise taxes for filers with income of more than $400,000 finds that in 2022, just 1.9 percent of all taxpayers would face a direct tax increase. This would vary only slightly by state. For example, in West Virginia, 0.6 percent of taxpayers would see an increase, and in Connecticut, 3.7 percent of taxpayers’ taxes would increase.
People Need Relief. House Compromise COVID-19 Bill Addresses Urgent Needs
September 30, 2020 • By Amy Hanauer
Media contact Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the COVID-19 relief bill that the U.S. House is expected to vote on this week. “The revised House COVID-19 relief bill, a significant compromise from House Democrats’ initial HEROES act passed in May, is sorely […]
ITEP: New York Times’ Trump Tax Revelation Confirms What We Already Know
September 27, 2020 • By Steve Wamhoff
"The New York Times revelation of Trump’s years of dodging taxes confirms something we already know. There are two tax systems: one that most of us follow, and another far more generous one for the very rich."
Institute on Taxation
and Economic Policy
ITEP is a non-profit, non-partisan tax policy organization. We conduct rigorous analyses of tax and economic proposals and provide data-driven recommendations to shape equitable and sustainable tax systems.
Subscribe to ITEP Emails
Tax research and policy news in your inbox.
Promote Fair Tax Policy
Your gift to ITEP promotes tax justice. With your help, we do research that supports taxing millionaires and billionaires, taxing big corporations and raising revenue for the things our people, our communities and our planet need.
Together, we can create a country with more economic justice, more racial justice, more climate justice… and more tax justice.