Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

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6,208 posts

Daily World: Sales Tax Holiday Offers Chance to Save

August 1, 2014

By Mike Hasten “The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has called Louisiana’s tax holiday “more hype than help.””

St. Augustine Record: Tax Holiday, It’s How You Handle It

August 1, 2014

By the Editorial Board Florida touts these holidays — in which the 6 percent tax is temporarily lifted — as breaks for the average family, and says that Floridians will save $40 million this weekend alone. That may not be the whole story. We don’t argue the state numbers, but the truth is that the […]

Fiscal Policy Institute: NYS Can Help Low-income Working Families with Children by Increasing its Earned Income Tax Credit

It comes as no surprise to working families that New York State’s tax system is fundamentally unfair. Low- and middle-income workers pay, on average, a much higher share of their income in state and local taxes than the highest income earners. According to analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the […]

Missouri Budget Project: Earned Income Tax Credit: A Targeted Tax Change with Significant Impact

The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a federal tax credit for low- and moderate-income working people. It encourages and rewards work as well as offsets federal payroll and income taxes. Read the Full Report (PDF)

New Mexico Voices for Children: New Mexico’s Capital Gains Deduction: A Capital Loss for New Mexicans

Legislation enacted in 2003 that allows New Mexicans with capital gains income to deduct half of that income from their state taxes has failed as an economic development tool. Further, it makes the state’s overall tax system lean more heavily on low-income families and exemplifies the need for a more robust accounting of tax giveaways. […]

New Mexico Voices for Children: Citizen’s Guide to New Mexico’s Tax System

Citizen’s Guide to the New Mexico State BudgetThis guide focuses on the operating budget—the annual spending for ongoing programs and services that affect the lives of every New Mexico resident. Read the Full Report (PDF)

Maryland Center on Economic Policy: Recent EITC Expansion in MD will Make Taxes More Fair, Reduce Inequality

Working Marylanders with the lowest earnings will pay slightly less of their income in taxes — 9.9 percent compared to 10.1 percent now – once the expansion of the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit is fully phased in, according to a new study. That’s a small change, and the top 1 percent of income earners […]

Voice for Illinois for Children: Congress Must Act to Stop Corporate Inversions

A number of high-profile U.S. corporations have, or are reportedly considering, corporate “inversions,” where they move their “headquarters” overseas to avoid paying U.S. corporate income taxes. Unless Congress acts, federal and state governments are set to lose, at minimum, tens of billions in revenue to support urgent priorities such as schools, roads and bridges, and […]

South Carolina Morning News: Refusal to budge on low gas tax a big mistake

July 24, 2014

“South Carolina’s gas tax has been at 16.8 cents since 1989, one of the lowest rates in the nation. Haley has said she would veto any bill raising the gas tax, but the state has actually been lowering the tax for years. What the DOT could buy with 16.8 cents in 1989 is far less […]

Politifact: Nan Rich says Florida has 3rd most-regressive tax structure

July 23, 2014

“Rich told PolitiFact Florida in an interview, “don’t hold me to ‘third regressive.’ …. I did not say ‘third’ definitively. … We are one of the most regressive.” Rich cited a 2013 report by The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which partners with Citizens for Tax Justice, a group that advocates for fair taxation of […]

CNBC: Where and when to snag sales tax breaks across the US

July 22, 2014

“But while sale tax holidays are popular with consumers, critics argue that they do nothing to stir economic growth, and they simply shift spending on already planned purchases. One of these organizations is the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan group that said sales tax holidays will cost states at least $300 million […]

Fond du Lac Reporter: We must get serious about highway funding

July 21, 2014

Let’s look at the numbers. According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, from 2011 (the latest available), the average driver travels 11,318 miles each year and the average vehicle gets 21.4 miles-per-gallon, consuming 530 gallons of fuel per year. That means the average consumer pays $97.52 per car per year in federal fuel […]

Toledo Blade: Comfort the comfortable

July 21, 2014

“According to an analysis done for the progressive advocacy group Policy Matters Ohio by the nonpartisan Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, fully half of this year’s $400 million tax cut will go to the top 5 percent of Ohio taxpayers. Ohio’s 1 percent — those with average annual incomes of more than $1 million […]

Bangor Daily News: Again, Congress Has Short Fix for Roads

July 18, 2014

“While Congress seemingly has found consensus on a short-term fix, the House and Senate once again have put off the real work of governing — finding a solution that keeps the highway fund solvent long-term…. “Even if revenue from the gas tax remained constant, its buying power to pay for asphalt, labor and other construction […]

Pioneer Press: Fridley-based Medtronic refutes allegations of tax avoidance

July 17, 2014

“Medtronic officials are pushing back against widely published suggestions that the company’s proposed acquisition of Ireland-based Covidien is motivated primarily by a desire to avoid U.S. taxes… “Tax experts and financial analysts have speculated that the inversion deal would let Medtronic invest its overseas cash in the U.S. while potentially avoiding billions in taxes. The […]

Washington Times: Democratic superdonor Tom Steyer’s use of tax shelters draws Romney comparisons

July 16, 2014

“While at Farallon, however, Mr. Steyer used loopholes in U.S. tax regulations to produce maximum returns for his elite clientele. That included using tax havens in the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Mauritius, ‘where there are no regulations at all, no call for transparency, and have little to no income tax rates,’ said […]

Providence Journal: Immigrant says now is the time for advocacy

July 16, 2014

“The new definition of America, [journalist Jose Antonio Vargas] said, must acknowledge the reality that today’s immigrants, like those before, are here to stay. They contribute to the economy. Vargas said undocumented workers in the United States paid $11.2 billion in state and local taxes in 2010.“‘Here in Rhode Island,’ he said, ‘they pay $28 million in […]

Bloomberg: Governors Warn That Road Repairs Stalled by Congress

July 14, 2014

“U.S. governors say they won’t be able to plan or build all the major highway and bridge projects the country needs as long as Congress delays action on a long-term funding plan…. “As Congress delays a long-term solution, states are acting. Seven, including New Hampshire and Wyoming, have raised or adjusted fuel levies since February […]

Public News Service: Ohio’s Affluent Benefit Most From New Tax Cuts

July 10, 2014

“Cutting the income tax does little for the poorest Ohioans because they don’t have much income-tax liability to begin with, Schiller said. As they review current tax breaks, Schiller said, state leaders should restore and expand funding to local governments, schools, and health and human services, all of which he said would improve communities and […]

WZTV: Facebook Gets Refund Without Paying Taxes

July 9, 2014

“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reports these large companies like Facebook pay their executives in stock options instead of cash which doesn’t cost the company a dime yet they can write it off as an expense. So Facebook profited more than a billion dollars in 2012 and since they’re not paying, it could […]

Asheville Citizen-Times: There’s no free lunch – and no free highways

July 9, 2014

“As usual, Congress does not want to face up to its responsibilities. The Senate has passed a four-year, $265 billion plan — $37 billion less than the White House proposed — but has no way to pay the bill aside from the fuel tax. The House, meanwhile, has come with a one-year fix by ending […]

Policy Matters Ohio: Cuts and Breaks

July 7, 2014 • By ITEP Staff

Policy Matters Ohio: Cuts and Breaks

Most of the $400 million-plus in tax cuts for Fiscal Year 2015 will go the affluent. The Mid-Biennium Review also continues with an unfortunate Ohio tradition of permitting or enlarging tax benefits to special, narrow groups of taxpayers. Read the Full Report

The Plain Dealer: Ohio’s tax cuts favor the affluent, do not create jobs

July 7, 2014

Like other income-tax cuts, the latest batch favors the wealthiest Ohioans.  An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit research group with a model of the tax system, found that the top 1 percent of Ohioans, who had incomes of at least $360,000 last year, will receive an average tax cut […]

Iowa Policy Project: Immigrants in Iowa

July 7, 2014 • By ITEP Staff

Iowa Policy Project: Immigrants in Iowa

Undocumented immigrants pay an estimated $64 million in state and local taxes, according to a new Iowa Policy Project report. The authors suggest immigration reform that expands work authorization or access to citizenship would increase the already significant contribution to Iowa by all immigrants — documented or not. Read the Full Report  

Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics: Ten Dollars or Thirteen Dollars?

In this report we compare the effects of $10 (AB10) and $13 (SB935) minimum wage levels in California. We show that AB10 restores some of the ground lost by low-paid workers in recent years, but it maintains the inflation-adjusted minimum wage at about the same level as in 1988. The Leno bill, SB935, goes much […]