Select Media Mentions
Austin American Statesman: GOP creates ‘socialism for rich’ and bupkis for the rest of us
January 7, 2021
A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reported on the first year following the passage of the GOP tax cuts and found that 91 of the Fortune 500 companies effectively paid no federal taxes in 2018, and some even got refunds. Here are two examples from that list. In 2018, Amazon (whose founder […]
Bloomberg: The Wealth Tax Is Going Global
January 6, 2021
There’s no income tax in Washington state, home to some of the world’s richest people: Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos; his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott; and Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer. That’s led to a system that is the most regressive in the U.S., according to the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: […]
Bloomberg Tax: Taxing Tech Giants on Cash-Strapped States’ Agendas in New Year
December 28, 2020
The spate of proposals could mean higher tax bills for tech titans Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Netflix, in addition to the millions of consumers using their services. Agencies will next year push more to tax tech companies “in ways that achieve parity with the traditional goods and services economy,” said Carl Davis, director […]
Feet to the Fire: Taxes in the Time of COVID
December 28, 2020
ITEP Executive Director Amy Hanauer joined Jim Lardner’s Feet to the Fire podcast to speak about how we can seize this moment to promote higher taxes on corporations and the wealthiest to pay for the America we need. Feet to the Fire is a podcast dedicated to helping the Biden Administration and the Democratic Party […]
Delaware Business Times: Congress Approves $900 Billion Stimulus
December 22, 2020
The stimulus, approved as part of a large end-of-year catchall package including traditional spending measures, also allocates $82 billion in support to school systems and higher education institutions, $10 billion for childcare assistance, $13 billion to assist people facing hunger, and $13 billion to support farmers who have suffered losses during the pandemic. According to […]
Newsweek: Millions of Americans Who Missed Out on Stimulus Checks Will Qualify Under New Deal
December 21, 2020
Democrats, along with immigration groups, would have preferred to also include millions of ITIN immigrant taxpayers, who makeup a large portion of essential workers. The left-leaning Institute On Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that 4.3 million adults and 3.5 million children—7.8 million people—were excluded from the direct payments in the CARES Act because ITIN filers were ineligible. Read more
The American Prospect: Can Corporate Tax Incentives Revive a Pandemic Economy? New Jersey Thinks They Can.
December 18, 2020
“New Jersey has really been an exemplar this year in positive progressive tax policies, with their millionaire’s tax and extension of the Earned Income Tax Credit—which are really the best ways of raising money from the people who are making money right now and delivering aid to the people who need aid right now,” said […]
The American Prospect: The Day One Agenda for Corporate Taxes
December 16, 2020
Even without Congress, President-elect Biden’s regulatory agencies can fix a lot of problems with the corporate tax code. BY STEVE WAMHOFF, MATTHEW GARDNER The public has long told pollsters that corporate taxes should be increased, not decreased. President-elect Biden won his election after campaigning on a promise to raise taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations. […]
Bloomberg: Musk Flees California. He Now Faces a Battle to Escape Its Taxes
December 10, 2020
Fear of rich people moving for tax reasons is overblown, says Carl Davis, research director at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP. Studies show the wealthy actually move less often than other Americans. “A billionaire can obviously afford to live wherever they want,” Davis said. “There’s no reason on Earth that […]
Barrons: Elon Musk Shrugs at Tesla’s $5 Billion Stock Issuance. ‘It’s an Entry in a Database.’
December 9, 2020
Musk has another good reason for moving to Texas: taxes. His 170 million shares of Tesla are worth $110 billion. And he could pay billions of dollars if he were to be taxed at California rates instead of Texas, which doesn’t have a state income tax. Indeed, the top 1% of California taxpayers pay an […]
Newsweek: Will Republicans Show They Can Reach Across the Aisle on Tax Policy?
December 4, 2020
Following is an excerpt of an opinion piece by Steve Wamhoff published in Newsweek: During his campaign, President-elect Joe Biden talked about raising taxes on rich people more than any candidate in recent memory—and he won. Beating an incumbent president is rare, but Biden pulled it off and appears to be the first presidential incumbent-challenger […]
The New York Times: In Blue States and Red, Pandemic Upends Public Services and Jobs
December 4, 2020
Meg Wiehe, deputy executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said Wyoming at least was dealing with the painful reality. “The bigger kind of cuts that will resonate with people are all going to come to a head in the early part of next year,” Ms. Wiehe said. “We’re staring down some […]
The Conversation: A better way for billionaires who want to make massive donations to benefit society
December 4, 2020
Aside from concerns that Amazon is anti-competitive, the U.S. government is investigating Amazon for labor violations. Its workers around the world are staging protests, and the company has retaliated by reportedly paying contractors to spy on them. Amazon paid nothing at all in U.S. federal income tax in 2018 on the more than $11 billion […]
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: Tax chemicals industry to help curb pollution internationally, experts propose
December 2, 2020
Past research has shown how some of the largest chemical producers such as the German giant BASF or the American company DuPont have used sophisticated tax planning strategies to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in the countries where they operate. In the U.S. alone, the industry enjoyed one of the lowest effective federal […]
The Hill: Biden’s Treasury pick will have lengthy to-do list on taxes
November 27, 2020
Key to Yellen’s ability to help Biden implement his agenda on taxes will be the relationships she develops with lawmakers. Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, noted that many Senate Republicans are up for reelection in 2022, and some GOP positions on taxes do not […]
Motley Fool: One Big Change Kamala Harris Wants to Make to Increase Your Income by $500 a Month
November 24, 2020
According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, as many as half of all workers and two-thirds of children in the U.S. would benefit from the LIFT the Middle Class Act. The act was introduced two years ago but is more relevant than ever. The extra cash would benefit those who are struggling financially […]
The Hill: Progressive tax reform should top Biden’s list of priorities
November 19, 2020
“President-elect Joe Biden won over 78 million votes, more than any presidential candidate has ever received, while unabashedly vowing to raise taxes on the wealthiest individuals and on corporations. Progressive tax reform should be among his early and top priorities. Read the full opEd by ITEP ED Amy Hanauer in The Hill.
The Center Square: Louisiana Tax Holiday May Save Shoppers $4.5 Million, Though Some Question the Value
November 19, 2020
“The conservative Tax Foundation and the progressive-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy don’t agree on much when it comes to taxes,” the Louisiana Budget Project countered in comments posted Thursday. “But both groups understand that ‘sales tax holidays’ – a favorite trope of politicians – are bad economic policy.” Sales tax holidays do not promote economic […]
Marketplace: Could the success of ballot measures to legalize marijuana add pressure for federal legalization?
November 16, 2020
Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, studies states’ cannabis tax structures and he said one problem is that most states’ excise tax is based on price not weight. “In the states that have built their system around prices, if you see a big price cut happen, there’s going to […]
Yahoo! Finance: Most Americans are unlikely to see a tax hike under Biden’s presidency
November 12, 2020
If fully implemented, Biden’s tax plan would be a direct tax hike for just the top 1.9% of the U.S. population, according to research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). But it remains uncertain which of Biden’s proposals — if any — could become law. Read more
Stateline: Budget Holes Loom After Voters Reject Some Tax Hikes
November 12, 2020
But Meg Wiehe, deputy executive director of the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said that is an oversimplification. She said wild speculation in opposition ads about what Illinois might do with the extra money, as well as ads that used the “nose under the tent” metaphor to imply that the income tax hike […]
CNBC: Here’s What’s Ahead for President-elect Biden’s Tax Plan
November 10, 2020
Another idea that might stand a chance in a split Congress could be to properly fund the IRS so it can pursue larger targets, rather than going through the contentious process of drafting and passing new tax legislation. “Even in a divided Congress, it might be politically easier to do that, compared to a more […]
Business Insider: Here’s how President-elect Joe Biden’s Corporate Tax Plan Will Impact Big Businesses
November 7, 2020
But even with an increased tax rate, big companies could still manage to pay $0 in federal taxes due to tax code loopholes and tax breaks. Under President Donald Trump, an analysis by NBC News and the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity found twice as many big companies — including Amazon, Netflix and Chevron — paid $0 […]
New York Times: Arizona Passes a Ballot Measure to Raise Teacher Pay by Taxing the Wealthy
November 6, 2020
Prop. 208 passed with 52 percent of voters supporting the measure, The Associated Press reported late Thursday. Under Arizona’s rules for ballot measures, the tax increase needed a simple majority to pass. “It’s a significant win, not just for Arizona, but I think it sent signals all across the country,” said Meg Wiehe, deputy executive […]
Washington Post: Fact-checking the ‘final arguments’ of Biden and Trump
November 2, 2020
This statistic on 91 companies comes via the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). In a 2019 report, ITEP concluded that 91 profitable companies in the Fortune 500 did not pay any federal income tax, largely as a result of the 2017 tax law, such as through deductions for investment that Trump promoted […]
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