Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Select Media Mentions

The Wall Street Journal: In Low Gasoline Prices, an Opening Emerges for Higher Taxes

January 9, 2015

“There aren’t many products where every time you go for a drive you see the price thrown at you a dozen times before you get to your destination,” said Carl Davis, a senior policy analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit research group in Washington. “Gasoline is something people buy frequently. […]

Illinois Times: Illinois Broken Tax System

January 9, 2015

It adds up to the fourth-most regressive tax code in the nation, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. In thundering against the status quo, Rauner has raised expectations in a state that has traditionally seen tax hikes and overhauls when Republicans occupy the governor’s […]

USA Today: New Year Brings Hundreds of New Laws

January 5, 2015

Drivers in five states could see gasoline prices rise with gas tax increases, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a tax watchdog group. The biggest increase is in Pennsylvania, 9.8 cents, followed by Virginia, 5.1 cents; Maryland, 2.9 cents; North Carolina, 1 cent; and Florida, 0.3 cents. New York, Nebraska, Vermont, West […]

Los Angeles Times: Is the Oil Crash About to Snuff out the Texas Miracle?

January 5, 2015

Questions about who has really benefited from Texas fiscal policies will be heard more often, and the answers will be ugly. As the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy observes, Texas has one of the most regressive tax systems in the land: its poorest 20% pay about four times as much of their average income […]

Grand Forks Herald: Higher Gas Tax Needed for Safe, Efficient Highways

January 5, 2015

he Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has proposed the most logical and realistic analysis of and recommendation on this tax issue. The full report should be reviewed by everyone, but especially by our legislators. Here are the first few paragraphs from this very comprehensive report: “The gas tax is the single most important source […]

Politico Pro: Alaska’s Bill Walker under Pressure Amid Oil Price Crash

January 5, 2015

Meg Wiehe, state tax policy director at the liberal-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said it’s also necessary for Alaska to consider some sort of new tax revenue as a long-term solution. The state is “really kicking the can down the road,” she said. “I just think [Alaska’s plan] is fiscally very short-sighted because […]

NBC–WHAG: Maryland Gas Tax Jumps 3 Cents

January 5, 2015

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, drivers in four other states could potentially see a similar motor-fuel tax increase to benefit state transportation. However, in light of the recent drop in gas prices, local motorists are not as concerned about the uptick. Read more

KFOR: State Leaders Approve Tax Breaks for Wealthiest Oklahomans

December 22, 2014

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the tax breaks would equal out to $9 for those who make between $19,500 and $36,400. It would also give $30 back to individuals making between $36,400 and $58,100. An additional $81 would go in the pockets of those who make between $58,100 and $97,700. Read […]

Marketplace: Is Cheaper Gas an Opening for Higher Taxes?

December 22, 2014

Federal money is drying up, as the national gas tax has remained at 18.4 cents per gallon. And more fuel-sipping cars on the road mean Americans are buying less gas to tax. Thus the urgency. “When we see pretty fiscally conservative governors in states like New Jersey and Wisconsin either openly talking about gas tax […]

Urban Milwaukee: Wisconsin Taxes and Inequality

December 22, 2014

Generally speaking, regressive taxes make income inequality greater, progressive taxes reduce it, and neutral taxes have no effect. The organization that has done the most extensive analysis of how state taxes redistribute income upward or downward is the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

Wall Street Journal: How Google, GE and U.S. Firms Play the Tax Audit Lottery

December 19, 2014

“It gives a broad indication of which companies are engaging in risky tax behavior,” says Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that produces widely used federal and state tax models and supports progressive tax policies. Read more

The Star-Herald: Lawmakers Should Pursue Fairness, Not Partisan Hype, in Plans for Tax Reform

December 16, 2014

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said the bottom 20 percent of Kansas taxpayers saw their tax burden increase while the wealthiest Kansans saw their taxes decrease. With special-interest PAC money pouring into Kansas state government races, the Legislature doubled down, proposing another round of tax cuts that would eliminate income taxes and maintain […]

CBS Moneywatch: States Aren’t Hitting the Jackpot with Lotteries

December 16, 2014

Some lotteries have limits on the amount of money they spend on advertising their games as a way of discouraging compulsive gambling. Lawmakers in North Carolina, though, recently tried and failed to double the amount of money the state could spend on marketing its game, said Meg Wiehe of the Institution on Taxation and Economic […]

inquisitor: The Financial Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana

December 15, 2014

Carl Davis, senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy told The Huffington Post that legalizing marijuana would bring a positive effect for the U.S. in terms of revenue.  Read more

The Register-Mail: Progressive Income Tax Better for Illinois

December 15, 2014

The flat in Illinois tax seems fair, but when grouped with all the other taxes people pay it is out of balance. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Illinois’ tax system (all taxes) is regressive toward low and middle income families with the third highest tax burden of all states. Read more […]

Quartz: American Lawmakers Will Put Their Rubber Stamp on American Profit Shifting

December 15, 2014

“If there was not that exception, every time Apple paid royalties to its Bermuda subsidiary or Cayman Island subsidiary for using the Apple logo, and every time the Irish subsidiary paid those same royalties for using the Apple logo, it would immediately be taxable in the US,” says Rebecca Wilkins, the senior tax counsel at the Institute on Taxation […]

Nashville Scene:The State GOP Takes Aim at the Hall Tax

December 12, 2014

According to a study by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, nearly two-thirds of this tax cut would flow to the wealthiest 5 percent of the state’s taxpayers. Taxpayers over age 65 who earn less than $59,000 a year in total income already are exempt from the tax. The vast majority of Tennesseans […]

Forbes: Mississippi’s Good Idea to Help the Poor

December 12, 2014

The Bryant proposal isn’t perfect. A refundable credit would be better. As the folks at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy have noted, Bryant’s plan would provide relief to about 9 percent of low-income taxpayers. But a refundable credit would reach 45%. Moreover, the credit would kick in only if state tax revenues increase […]

NPR: Gas Tax Hike to Fuel Fixes to Roads and Bridges

December 9, 2014

“There’s kind of been a switch that’s been flipped,” says Carl Davis, a senior analyst with the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Davis says gas tax increases are now on the table in states across the country, from New Jersey to Utah to South Carolina to South Dakota. Democratic governors in Delaware, Vermont […]

The Jackson Clarion Ledger: Immigration Dance Requires a Partner

December 8, 2014

Not only have immigrants workers filled the void on low wage, low skill jobs that Americans in other demographics have not pursued, they have done so with a sterling work ethic and a performance that has given them upward mobility in the workplace. That’s reflected in a 2013 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy study […]

Bloomberg BNA: Extras on Excise

December 8, 2014

The price of gas is dropping, so get ready for holiday visitors as more people hit the road and take advantage of the lower prices. But when prices decrease, does that mean gas taxes decrease, too? It depends.  Some states impose a flat excise tax on gas, while others use calculations based on considerations like […]

The Fiscal Times: Burdens and Benefits of Obama’s Immigration Amnesty

December 8, 2014

Actually, reports by pro-immigration groups tend to undermine Biden’s claims, by noting that people in the country illegally already pay significant taxes. A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) reported that in 2010, undocumented immigrants paid $10.2 billion in state and local taxes. About 77 percent of that total came from […]

ABC (Michigan Affiliate WZZM): Gas Tax 101

December 3, 2014

Carl Davis, a senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington, D.C., said Michigan is one of only four states, with Indiana, Illinois and Hawaii, that fully apply their general sales tax to fuel sales. Of the 41.4 cents in state taxes Michigan motorists pay on a gallon of fuel, only […]

Michigan Chronicle: Will Lame Duck Session Fix Broken Roads?

December 3, 2014

“The state’s flat gas tax of 19 cents per gallon is at an all-time low, when adjusted for inflation, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The tax hasn’t been raised since 1997. Increasing the excise tax on gas and diesel fuel and placing it on the wholesale cost of fuel will generate […]

Washington Post: The Gas Tax Has Been Fixed at 18 Cents for Two Decades

December 3, 2014

Meanwhile, the federal gas tax is less and less able to cover the cost of all this. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the gas tax has lost “28 percent of its value since 1997” as costs of highway construction and repair have grown, and as vehicle fuel efficiency has increased. Read more

Members of the media rely on ITEP for analysis and insight about how tax policies affect people. If you’re a reporter looking to talk to one of our experts, contact Jon Whiten at [email protected].