Select Media Mentions
WVTF Radio: A gas tax holiday may not lead to savings for Virginia drivers
March 30, 2022
About a third of the savings will go to the oil industry, according to research into how this worked when Indiana and Illinois had a gas tax holiday. But that doesn’t mean Virginians will see the rest of the savings. Carl Davis at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says a quarter of the […]
Associated Press: How Would a Billionaire Tax Work?
March 29, 2022
Steve Wamhoff, director of tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, says the Democrats “have got this reconciliation vehicle that they can use that to pass legislation.” “This is a step toward a much fairer tax code.” Read more
MarketWatch: Can Biden turn his ‘billionaire minimum income tax’ into law?
March 29, 2022
The minimum tax payments would count as a “prepayment,” credited against future capital-gains taxes, the Treasury Department said. That way, when the asset was finally sold off, it would not be taxed twice, it noted. Such a system would be a “huge” step towards a fairer tax code, said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax […]
Fortune: President Biden says his ‘Billionaire Minimum Income Tax’ would raise $360 billion. How does it work?
March 29, 2022
The highest likelihood is through “reconciliation” — a budget process for passing fiscal legislation with a simple majority of Senate votes. That will require buy-in from West Virginia Sen. Joe Machin and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who have each objected to proposals to tax the ultra-wealthy in the past. Steve Wamhoff, director of tax policy […]
New York Times: What Retirement Means for Your Taxes
March 28, 2022
Many states exempt retirement income, although the specifics vary widely. Eight states have no personal income tax, but among those that do, about three-quarters fully exempt Social Security benefits from taxation, and most others have partial exemptions for lower-income retirees, according to research by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan nonprofit group. […]
CBS News: These states may soon slash their residents’ income taxes
March 15, 2022
Georgia’s House recently approved a bill that would create a flat state income tax with a 5.25% rate, raise the amount of income exempt from taxation and eliminate many deductions. Georgia’s top income tax rate is now 5.75%, which applies to income over $7,000 earned by a single person or income over $10,000 earned by […]
CNBC: Eligible Taxpayers Can Claim Earned Income Tax Credit in These States
March 15, 2022
President Joe Biden called for making these changes permanent in the American Families Plan, which could provide $12.4 billion to families in 2022, affecting 19.5 million workers, according to research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. However, the status of this proposal is unclear. Read more
Washington Post: Congress urges DOJ, Treasury to examine drug companies aiming to turn opioid settlements into tax breaks
March 14, 2022
There is uncertainty in the law about these types of tax breaks, said Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Though recent changes to the tax code have attempted to close loopholes that permit companies to deduct legal settlements or governmental fines from taxes when they have committed […]
MSNBC: Putting a price tag on Rick Scott’s proposed GOP tax hike
March 14, 2022
About a week later, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy produced a related report that found, under the GOP senator’s vision, most of the tax increases “would be paid by the poorest 40 percent of Americans.” Read more
Washington Post: Yes, voters ‘deserve to know’ this GOP plan would raise taxes by $1 trillion
March 12, 2022
The bean counters at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy ran the numbers on what ITEP called the “only possible interpretation of Sen. Scott’s proposal” (making sure every household pays at least $1 in federal income tax) and found that the Republican plan would raise taxes by $100 […]
McClatchy: Would a gas tax break help drivers save that much money? Here’s what experts say
March 11, 2022
According to the American Petroleum Institute, the federal tax on gas is about 18 cents per gallon. National gas prices average about $4 per gallon as of March 11, according to AAA. “Even if Americans trust companies like Exxon and BP to pass on the full savings of the gas tax holiday to consumers, the […]
Bridge Michigan: Michigan GOP tax cut plan helps wealthy at expense of equity
March 11, 2022
Following is an excerpt from an opEd co-authored by ITEP policy analyst Neva Butkus in Bridge Michigan: At the beginning of 2022, the national Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) forecasted the “tax cut fever” that has been sweeping through state legislatures across the nation — including here in Michigan, with the Legislature’s passage […]
Truthout: GOP’s Tax Plan Would Raise Taxes by Over $1,000 Annually for Poorest Americans
March 9, 2022
In a report released on Monday, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimated that the poorest Americans would be the most affected by Scott’s plan — meaning that the GOP’s tax plan would essentially be to tax the poor. The poorest 20 percent of Americans, who make $12,300 a year on average, would […]
Pennsylvania Capital Star: GOP plan would be a tax hike for 35% of Pa. residents
March 9, 2022
The share of households facing tax hikes would vary across states, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, ranging from a low of about 24 percent in Washington State to high of roughly 50 percent in Mississippi, which is among the poorest states in the country. Read more
Associated Press-Georgia: Tax cut sails through House; findings show big boost to rich
March 9, 2022
But an analysis by the liberal-leaning Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, using modeling by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, shows that 62% of the benefits would go to the top 20% of Georgia tax filers. While the top 1% of Georgia taxpayers, earning more than $575,000 a year, would get 18% of all […]
CNN: Fact-checking Biden’s 2022 State of the Union address
March 2, 2022
Facts First: This needs context. Biden left out a significant word from the prepared text of his speech. The prepared text, which the White House emailed to journalists just before Biden spoke, said that the 55 Fortune 500 companies paid zero dollars last year in federal income taxes. That was indeed the conclusion of a […]
CBS News: Fact check: Joe Biden’s State of the Union address
March 1, 2022
President Biden: “Last year, 55 of the Fortune 500 companies earned $40 billion in profit and paid zero in federal taxes.” Fact check: True. This statistic comes from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a liberal think tank. Across several different industries, the ITEP states there are at least 55 of the “largest corporations in […]
Politifact: States’ Pursuit of Top-Heavy Tax Cuts Is Disconnected from Reality
February 25, 2022
Steve Wamhoff, the director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said that group includes many retirees or people with disabilities who are collecting Social Security benefits, low-income working families, and people who qualify for tax credits or make less than the standard deduction ($12,550 for single filers in 2021, and $25,100 […]
The Guardian: ‘A really bad deal’: Michigan awards GM $1bn in incentives for new electric cars
February 25, 2022
Meanwhile, GM has recorded $70bn in profits since 2010 while taking $8bn in subsidies in recent decades – more than all but one company nationwide. The idea that it needed incentives to invest in Michigan “is absurd”, said Matt Gardner, a senior fellow at the progressive-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Businesses report that tax subsidies infrequently […]
Yahoo! Finance: Young workers may see $800 more in their tax refunds this year
February 18, 2022
Many young workers may get an extra $820 in their tax refund this year because of the expansion of a key poverty-fighting credit, a new analysis found. The expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) will reach more than 1 in 3 young adults this year, according to the report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic […]
American Prospect: The Year of the Tax Cut
February 17, 2022
State lawmakers are also pointing to substantial, but temporary, budget surpluses to justify tax cuts, but these surpluses are “deceptive and fleeting,” says Neva Butkus of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a Washington think tank. Twenty-three states lowered their revenue estimates compared to pre-pandemic levels, and 19 states counted delayed fiscal year […]
USA Today: New rules for 2021 taxes may mean bigger refund for young workers, retirees with side jobs
February 16, 2022
More than 1 in 3 young adults – or more than 5 million people – would benefit from this change in the earned income tax credit, seeing an average of benefit $820, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive think tank, which is advocating for a permanent change in the age restrictions. […]
Democracy Now!: Alabama Amazon Workers Vote in 2nd Union Election as Amazon Dodges $5 Billion in Taxes
February 10, 2022
Meanwhile, a new report found Amazon was able to dodge over $5 billion in federal income taxes in 2021. Amazon reported record revenue of $35 billion last year but benefited from a federal income tax rate of just 6%, thanks to corporate tax breaks. The report was issued by the Institute on Taxation and Economic […]
CNBC: 1 in 3 young adults will see an average $800 tax credit boost this year
February 10, 2022
For the 37% of workers 19 to 24 who are now eligible to receive the credit, the expansion will mean an average boost of $820, according to a study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. If an individual has no other tax liability, that money will be sent to them in their refund […]
Newsweek: States’ Pursuit of Top-Heavy Tax Cuts Is Disconnected from Reality
February 4, 2022
The following is an excerpt of an opEd by Aidan Davis, ITEP senior policy analyst, and Neva Butkus, policy analyst, published on Feb. 4 in Newsweek: One report after another in recent months revealed that the nation’s richest individuals gained wealth during the pandemic while ordinary families financially stood still or faced impossible decisions—such as […]
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