States
Rapid City Journal: SD tax policies model of unfairness
October 5, 2016
“The non-partisan, non-profit Institute On Taxation And Economic Policy says that in 2015, South Dakota had the fourth most regressive tax system in the United States. Poor and middle-income residents paid, respectively, 12 percent and 8 percent of their earnings to state and local authorities, while the wealthiest paid less than 2 percent.” Read more
Bloomberg: More Than 73% of Fortune 500 Cos. Used Tax Havens in 2015
October 4, 2016
“More than 73% of Fortune 500 cos. had subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, said the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.” Read more
San Francisco Chronicle: Trump, Clinton tax plans lack proposals for major reform
October 4, 2016
“‘They’re not changing the fundemental way we tax incom… it’s really a missed opportunity,’ said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.” Read more
Think Progress: Undocumented immigrants could teach Trump a few things about paying taxes
October 4, 2016
“Similarly, a 2016 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report found that undocumented workers are a net positive to the economy, contributing roughly $11.64 billion every year, or an average eight percent of their incomes in state and local taxes.” Read more
CBS Connecticut: Companies Store Trillions In Offshore Accounts
October 4, 2016
“The study by ConnPirg, the Connecticut Public Interest Research Group, along with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, shows $2.5-trillion squirreled away in offshore accounts.” Read more
WTNH: New report highlights Connecticut companies utilizing tax havens
October 4, 2016
“Matthew Gardner, a spokesperson for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, explained that the only way for the U.S. to get this tax money back would be to adjust the current tax codes.” Read more
Offshore Shell Games 2016
October 4, 2016 • By Matthew Gardner, Richard Phillips
This study explores how in 2015 Fortune 500 companies used tax haven subsidiaries to avoid paying taxes on much of their income. It reveals that tax haven use is now standard practice among the Fortune 500 and that a handful of the country's wealthiest corporations benefit the most from this tax avoidance scheme.
Bloomberg BNA: Rubio Introduces Senate Bill to Block IRS Estate Tax Rules
October 3, 2016
“‘The interesting question is: When does writing regulations amount to enforcing existing laws effectively and when does it amount to codifying new laws?’ said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. In the case of the valuation discount regulations, members of Congress are arguing the latter.” Read more
Politifact: Tom DeLay says most illegal immigrants draw ‘welfare benefits,’ send children to public schools
October 3, 2016
“Tanya Broder, a staff attorney for the National Immigration Law Center, said by phone that ‘undocumented immigrants have the same tax obligations as any other resident.’ Broder emailed a 2015 report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think tank, which drew on its analysis of state tax laws to estimate that […]
Malay Mail Online: Does Trump pay taxes? Debate triggers new scrutiny
October 3, 2016
“Matthew Gardner of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy told AFP that some analysts suspect real estate moguls regularly generate losses on real estate income to avoid paying taxes on other income — a tactic forbidden in many other industries.” Read more
Comment Letter to FASB on Income Tax Disclosure
September 30, 2016 • By Richard Phillips
We appreciate the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) ongoing review of its accounting standards to ensure that financial statements are "facilitating clear communication of information that is important to financial statement users." Overall, the changes to disclosure requirements proposed by FASB in the exposure draft would represent a significant step forward toward providing users of financial statements the clarity that they need. We believe, however, that the exposure draft does not go far enough in providing the clarity needed and sought by investors and the public alike.
Bloomberg: Ohio Income Tax Cuts
September 27, 2016
“The shifting composition of Ohio’s taxes has meant a shift, too, in who pays for state and local government. According to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy of the major tax changes between 2005 and 2014, the most affluent 1 percent of Ohioans saw an average annual cut in their tax […]
Think Progress: Use this guide to fact check Trump during the debate.
September 27, 2016
“In reality, undocumented immigrants are a net positive to the economy, contributing $11.64 billion into local and state taxes, according to a 2016 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report. What’s more, undocumented immigrants also contributed $35.1 billion to the Medicare Trust Fund between 2000 and 2011, according to a 2015 Journal of General Internal […]
Forbes: “Brown People” Are “Genetically Inferior” Trump Supporter Claims, With No Facts To Prove It
September 15, 2016
“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank, reported that in 2012, undocumented immigrants paid more than $11.6 billion in state and local taxes.” Read more
Bloomberg Government: Trump to Tout Tax Plan’s Growth Benefits Amid Questions of Cost
September 15, 2016
“Matt Gardner, executive director of the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, called dynamic scoring a ‘myopic analysis that’s done with a thumb on the scale. The premise is that tax cuts always help, and spending cuts never hurt.’” Read more
The Oklahoman: Flawed alternatives offered by criticis of Oklahoma criminal fees
September 15, 2016
“This is why, when the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analyzed tax systems in all 50 states in 2015, the group found Oklahoma families with annual income of less than $18,000 still paid about 10.5 percent of earnings in state and local taxes.” Read more
State Tax Codes as Poverty Fighting Tools
September 15, 2016 • By Aidan Davis, Meg Wiehe
Despite this unlevel playing field states create for their poorest residents through existing policies, many state policymakers have proposed (and in some cases enacted) tax increases on the poor under the guise of "tax reform," often to finance tax cuts for their wealthiest residents and profitable corporations.
Property Tax Circuit Breakers
September 14, 2016 • By Aidan Davis, Meg Wiehe
State lawmakers seeking to make residential property taxes more affordable have two broad options: across-the-board tax cuts for taxpayers at all income levels, such as a homestead exemption or a tax cap, and targeted tax breaks that are given only to particular groups of low- and middle-income taxpayers. One such targeted program to reduce property taxes is called a "circuit breaker" because it protects taxpayers from a property tax "overload" just like an electric circuit breaker: when a property tax bill exceeds a certain percentage of a taxpayer's income, the circuit breaker reduces property taxes in excess of this "overload"…
Reducing the Cost of Child Care Through State Tax Codes
September 14, 2016 • By Aidan Davis, Meg Wiehe
Low- and middle-income working parents spend a significant portion of their income on child care. As the number of parents working outside of the home continues to rise, child care expenses have become an unavoidable and increasingly unaffordable expense. This policy brief examines state tax policy tools that can be used to make child care more affordable: a dependent care tax credit modeled after the federal program and a deduction for child care expenses.
Rewarding Work Through State Earned Income Tax Credits
September 14, 2016 • By Aidan Davis, Lisa Christensen Gee, Meg Wiehe
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a policy designed to bolster the earnings of low-wage workers and offset some of the taxes they pay, providing the opportunity for struggling families to step up and out of poverty toward meaningful economic security. The federal EITC has kept millions of Americans out of poverty since its enactment in the mid-1970s. Over the past several decades, the effectiveness of the EITC has been magnified as many states have enacted and later expanded their own credits.
Options for a Less Regressive Sales Tax
September 14, 2016 • By Carl Davis
Sales taxes are one of the most important revenue sources for state and local governments; however, they are also among the most unfair taxes, falling more heavily on low- and middle-income households. Therefore, it is important that policymakers nationwide find ways to make sales taxes more equitable while preserving this important source of funding for public services. This policy brief discusses two approaches to a less regressive sales tax: broad-based exemptions and targeted sales tax credits.
Investopedia: How Does Amazon Charge Taxes on Its Products?
September 13, 2016
Technically speaking, Amazon does not charge sales tax because only governments can levy taxes. What Amazon can do is set up processes and systems through which taxes are applied to online transactions. Since there is no federal sales tax in the United States, this means Amazon has to comply with hundreds of different tax […]
AJC.com: Navigate the ins and outs of Social Security and taxes
September 13, 2016
“State policy on taxation of benefits varies. Twenty-nine states (including the District of Columbia) that have a broad-based income tax exempt all Social Security from tax, according to a tally by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Seven states tax some Social Security benefits but provide an exemption that is more generous than what […]
Washington Post:
September 13, 2016
“‘We should be, shareholders should be, angry that Medtronic has access to as much of the benefits of U.S. citizenship as they do,’ said Matt Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think tank.” Read more
The Daily Cardinal: Scott Walker to push for new sales tax holiday
September 13, 2016
“These temporary reprieves from sales taxes don’t do much to help relieve financial burdens, according to a New York Times article. In the article, Meg Wiehe, state tax policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, claims these holidays are ‘really mostly just a political gimmick.’ Wiehe also said in the article that […]
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