Reports
Supreme Corporate Tax Giveaway: Who Would Benefit from the Roberts Court Striking Down the Mandatory Repatriation Tax?
September 27, 2023 • By Matthew Gardner, Spandan Marasini
The Supreme Court is set to hear what could become one of the most important tax cases in a century. If decided broadly—with a ruling that strikes down the Mandatory Repatriation Tax for corporations, effectively making it unconstitutional to tax unrealized income—the Roberts Court’s decision in Moore v. US could stretch far beyond the plaintiffs themselves and would put in legal jeopardy many laws that prevent corporations and individuals from avoiding taxes and level the economic playing field.
Expanding the Child Tax Credit Would Advance Racial Equity in the Tax Code
August 29, 2023 • By Emma Sifre, Joe Hughes
Expanding the federal Child Tax Credit to 2021 levels would help nearly 60 million children next year. It would help the lowest-income children the most and would particularly help children and families of color.
‘Fair Share Act’ Would Strengthen Medicare and Social Security Taxes
July 11, 2023 • By Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff
The Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act would reform the taxes that Americans pay to finance these two important programs so that the richest 2 percent of Americans pay these taxes on most of their income the way that middle-class taxpayers already do.
Corporations Reap Billions in Tax Breaks Under ‘Bonus Depreciation’
June 29, 2023 • By Matthew Gardner, Steve Wamhoff
Since TCJA expanded tax breaks for “accelerated depreciation” starting in 2018, it has reduced taxes by nearly $67 billion for the 25 profitable corporations that benefited the most. Congress is now looking at extending this policy.
Preventing an Overload: How Property Tax Circuit Breakers Promote Housing Affordability
May 11, 2023 • By Brakeyshia Samms, Carl Davis
Circuit breaker credits are the most effective tool available to promote property tax affordability. These policies prevent a property tax “overload” by crediting back property taxes that go beyond a certain share of income. Circuit breakers intervene to ensure that property taxes do not swallow up an unreasonable portion of qualifying households’ budgets.
Extending Temporary Provisions of the 2017 Trump Tax Law: National and State-by-State Estimates
May 4, 2023 • By Joe Hughes, Matthew Gardner, Steve Wamhoff
The push by Congressional Republicans to make the provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent would cost nearly $300 billion in the first year and deliver the bulk of the tax benefits to the wealthiest Americans.
State Income Tax Subsidies for Seniors
March 23, 2023 • By Carl Davis, Eli Byerly-Duke
State governments provide a wide array of tax subsidies to their older residents. But too many of these carveouts focus on predominately wealthy and white seniors, all while the cost climbs.
Effects of President Biden’s Proposal to Expand the Child Tax Credit
March 16, 2023 • By Joe Hughes
In his latest budget proposal, President Biden proposes enhancing the Child Tax Credit (CTC) based on the temporary credit that was in effect for 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. In this report we analyze how that proposal would help children and families.
Revenue-Raising Proposals in President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Plan
March 10, 2023 • By Steve Wamhoff
President Biden’s latest budget proposal includes trillions of dollars of new revenue that would be paid by the richest Americans, both directly through increases in personal income, Medicare and estate taxes, and indirectly through increases in corporate income taxes.
State Child Tax Credits and Child Poverty: A 50-State Analysis
November 16, 2022 • By Aidan Davis
Regardless of future Child Tax Credit developments at the federal level, state policies can supplement the federal credit to deliver additional benefits to children and families. State credits can be specifically tailored to meet the needs of local populations while also producing long-term benefits for society as a whole
The Geographic Distribution of Extreme Wealth in the U.S.
October 13, 2022 • By Carl Davis
More than one in four dollars of wealth in the U.S. is held by a tiny fraction of households with net worth over $30 million. Nationally, we estimate that wealth over $30 million per household will reach $26 trillion in 2022 with roughly one-fifth of that amount ($4.5 trillion) held by billionaires.
Unfinished Tax Reform: Corporate Minimum Taxes
October 4, 2022 • By Steve Wamhoff
While the Inflation Reduction Act's corporate minimum tax is a huge improvement in our tax system, implementing the global corporate minimum tax would improve it much more. And if other governments implement the global minimum tax, the United States will have an even stronger interest in joining them to ensure that new revenue collected from American corporations flows to the U.S. rather than to other countries.
National and State-by-State Estimates of Two Approaches to Expanding the Child Tax Credit
September 7, 2022 • By Emma Sifre, Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff
The Romney Child Tax Credit plan would leave a quarter of children worse off compared to current law and help half as many low-income children as the 2021 expansion of the credit.
Creating Racially and Economically Equitable Tax Policy in the South
June 21, 2022 • By Kamolika Das
The South's negative outcomes on measures of wellbeing are the result of a century and a half of policy choices. Lawmakers have many options available to make concrete improvements to tax policy that would raise more revenue, do so equitably, and generate resources that could improve schools, healthcare, social services, infrastructure, and other public resources.
Revenue-Raising Proposals in President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Plan
April 26, 2022 • By Steve Wamhoff
President Biden's latest budget plan includes proposals that would raise $2.5 trillion in new revenue. While many of these reforms appeared in his previous budget, some of them are brand new, such as his proposal to prevent basis-shifting in partnerships and his Billionaires Minimum Income Tax.
What the Biden Administration Can Do on Its Own, Without Congress, to Fix the Tax Code
March 25, 2022 • By Steve Wamhoff
The Biden administration has several options to address tax reform even when Congress is unable or unwilling to help.
State-by-State Estimates of Sen. Rick Scott’s “Skin in the Game” Proposal
March 7, 2022 • By Steve Wamhoff
A proposal from Sen. Rick Scott would increase taxes for more than 35% of Americans, with the poorest fifth of Americans paying 34% of the tax increase.
Federal EITC Enhancements Help More Than One in Three Young Workers
February 8, 2022 • By Aidan Davis
More than one in three young adults would benefit from workers without children being eligible to receive the federal EITC. This policy change would bolster young adults’ economic security.
Revenue-Raising Proposals in the Evolving Build Back Better Debate
January 25, 2022 • By Steve Wamhoff
The United States needs to raise more tax revenue to fund investments in the American people. This revenue can be obtained with reforms that would require the richest and wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share to support the society that makes their fortunes possible.
Analysis of the House of Representatives’ Build Back Better Legislation
November 18, 2021 • By Carl Davis, Steve Wamhoff
If the bill becomes law, in 2022 federal taxes would go up for the average taxpayer among the richest one percent and down for the average taxpayer in other income groups.
The Impact of Work From Home on Commercial Property Values and the Property Tax in U.S. Cities
November 4, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
The fiscal implications of a decline in commercial property values are important because the property tax is the dominant local source of taxes, and commercial property makes up a significant portion of the property base in cities.
State Income Taxes and Racial Equity: Narrowing Racial Income and Wealth Gaps with State Personal Income Taxes
October 4, 2021 • By Carl Davis, Jessica Schieder, Marco Guzman
10 state personal income tax reforms that offer the most promising routes toward narrowing racial income and wealth gaps through the tax code.
Repealing the SALT Cap Would Wipe Out Revenue Raised by the House Ways and Means Bill’s Income Tax Provisions
September 23, 2021 • By Steve Wamhoff
There are several ways that the House leadership could avoid this problem. One approach is for lawmakers to replace the SALT cap with a different kind of limit on tax breaks for the rich that actually raises revenue and avoids disfavoring some states compared to others as the SALT cap does. ITEP has suggested a way to do this.
Tax Changes in the House Ways and Means Committee Build Back Better Bill
September 21, 2021 • By ITEP Staff, Matthew Gardner, Steve Wamhoff
This report finds that the vast majority of these tax increases would be paid by the richest 1 percent of Americans and foreign investors. The bill’s most significant tax cuts -- expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) -- would more than offset the tax increases for the average taxpayer in all income groups except for the richest 5 percent.
Why Congress Should Reform the Federal Corporate Income Tax
September 17, 2021 • By Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff
It is reasonable for corporations (and, indirectly, their shareholders) to pay taxes to support the government investments that make their profits possible, such as the highways that facilitate the movement of goods and people, the education and health care systems that provide a productive workforce, the legal system and the protection of property, all of which are vital to commerce. Corporate tax avoidance allows wealthy and powerful individuals to reap enormous benefits from these investments without contributing their fair share to support them.
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