Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

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Vox: Undocumented immigrants pay millions of dollars in state taxes — even in the reddest states

March 1, 2019

While it’s impossible to get the exact numbers because of the limited data available, researchers at the left-leaning Institute for Taxation & Economic Policy estimate that undocumented workers paid a total of $11.7 billion in state and local taxes in 2014, the most recent year of data, according to their 2017 report. That includes $7 […]

Miami Community Newspapers: Marijuana Justice Act Introduced in Both Houses of Congress

February 28, 2019

Specifically, a 2017 report estimates that over 149,000 Americans are now working full-time in the cannabis industry. According to tax data compiled by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, tax revenues in 2018 derived from state-sanctioned recreational sales surpassed $1 billion – a 57 percent increase over 2017 levels. Further, numerous studies have identified an association between cannabis […]

New York Times: Betsy DeVos Backs $5 Billion in Tax Credits for School Choice

February 28, 2019

Carl Davis, the research director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, noted that the new tax credit would be extremely generous in providing a 100 percent tax break, especially because the new tax law eliminated some incentives for charitable giving. “Now they want to put a supersized one back into the code,” he […]

Marketplace: Devos Proposes $5B in Tax Credits for Scholarship Donations

February 28, 2019

This new segment features ITEP’s research director Carl Davis:

Bloomberg Tax: Tax Executives Fear Overhaul Impermanence as Dems Mull Tweaks

February 28, 2019

The GILTI income subject to the tax is the income earned through a controlled foreign corporation that exceeds 10 percent of the value of the CFC’s tangible, depreciable assets, such as machinery and other equipment. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington think tank, said in a June 2018 post that this measurement […]

Reuters: Illinois Budget Debate Raises Key Questions on Taxing Retirement Income

February 28, 2019

But the policies of various states are all over the map. Data provided by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that 11 states tax some portion of Social Security benefits, usually mirroring the federal formula. Many others tax pensions and tax-deferred accounts, although some have exemptions that protect lower-income, public sector workers and […]

Napa Valley Register: Congress Must Address Marijuana Banking Issue

February 25, 2019

According to tax data compiled by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, tax revenues in 2018 derived from state-sanctioned recreational sales surpassed $1 billion – a 57 percent increase over 2017 levels. Annual excise tax revenues on adult-use cannabis sales ($1.04 billion) rivaled those for all forms of alcohol ($1.16 billion). Here in California, […]

Bloomberg: Amazon Doesn’t Plan to Pay the IRS Anything This Tax Season

February 22, 2019

The fact that Amazon can legally reduce its tax bill to nothing calls into question the effectiveness of the code, said Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy. While those breaks have the backing of Congress and were implemented for some social or economic policy goal, they might be […]

InsideSources: Amazon Paid Zero Corporate Taxes Last Year. Why Aren’t 2020 Democrats Talking About It?

February 22, 2019

“I blame Congress,” says Matt Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy which first released the news of Amazon’s zero corporate tax bill. “Unless we see the actual tax returns, nobody can say exactly how Amazon avoided paying any corporate income taxes, but the available information makes it clear that […]

Financial Post: Lawrence Solomon: Amazon Is Fleecing Taxpayers. Strangely, Socialists Are the Ones Saving Us

February 22, 2019

According to the non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, while profitable major corporations have paid an average of over 21 per cent in federal taxes, over the last 10 years Amazon’s use of tax loopholes has lowered its average to just three per cent. In the last two years, during which it earned US$16.8 billion in profits, it paid no federal income tax at all, thanks to its use of unspecified tax credits and executive stock options.

The Guardian: Why Didn’t Amazon Pay Federal Taxes for the Second Consecutive Year?

February 22, 2019

Amazon is already getting plenty of benefits from the federal government. The company nearly doubled its profits to $11.2bn in 2018 from $5.6bn the year before and, for the second year running didn’t pay a single cent of federal income tax. In fact, Amazon reported a federal income tax rebate for the past two years totalling almost $270m according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analysis of Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Netflix also paid no federal or income tax on profits of $845m last year.

Irish Examiner: New EU Competition Commissioner Must Take on US Tech Giants, Says ISME

February 21, 2019

“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report in Washington DC has noted that Amazon enjoyed a negative tax rate in the US in 2018. That is not a misprint. “On $10.8bn of US profits in 2018, Amazon got a tax rebate of $130m, equivalent to an effective tax rate of -1.2%.” Mr McDonnell concluded: […]

Think Progress: U.S. Banks Raked in Record Profits Thanks to GOP Tax Bill

February 21, 2019

Because of the corporate tax cut, massive corporations like Amazon, which is valued at nearly $800 billion, will pay $0 in federal taxes this year. In fact, the company is expecting a federal refund of nearly $129 billion. This essentially puts Amazon at a federal income tax rate of -1 percent this year, after paying a federal rate of more than 11 percent from 2011 to 2016. This is the second year in a row that Amazon has not paid any federal taxes. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) suggests that this is due to a combination of…

Truck-Only State Tolls Roil Industry That Favors Fuel-Tax Hike

February 20, 2019

Two dozen states have raised fuel taxes since 2013, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which encourages states to take the lead in fixing their roads. All but 11 have raised fuel taxes since the last increase in the federal fuel tax in 1993, according to the American Transportation Research Institute, the ATA’s research […]

The Columbian: In Our View: Amazon HQ2 Outcome Leaves Much to Unpack

February 20, 2019

But at the same time, growing wealth disparity throughout the United States is fueling mistrust of large corporations. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy last week reported that Amazon has paid no federal tax the past two years, rather than the statutory 21 percent. Following profits of $11.2 billion in 2018, the company received […]

Hawai’i Public Radio: Corporate Tax Loophole Costs Hawaii $38 Million Annually

February 20, 2019

Hawaii lawmakers are missing out on millions in potential tax revenue. That is the conclusion of a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The ITEP found that a loophole in Hawaii’s tax code allows multinational corporations to avoid paying state corporate income taxes, resulting in a loss of $38 million in revenue annually. Read […]

New York Observer: Amazon Paid $0 in Federal Taxes Despite Making $11 Billion in 2018—And No One Knows Why

February 20, 2019

You may feel like a champion financial planner after filing last year’s income taxes, even though you did pay a hefty fee to an accountant or some tax software. But don’t even think about beating Amazon, which paid a whopping $0 in federal taxes last year—despite earning $11.2 billion in U.S. profits—according to a report from the […]

Vox: Amazon’s $0 Corporate Income Tax Bill Last Year, Explained

February 20, 2019

For starters, Jeff Bezos is rich because of the value of Amazon stock, but for years, Wall Street loved the company even though it was a curiously unprofitable retail and technology giant. But more recently, Amazon has emerged recently as a consistently profitable firm, reporting nearly $11 billion in earnings last year. Yet during this surge into profitability — the company’s earnings doubled between 2017 and 2018 — Amazon’s tax bill has actually gone down. The company paid $0 in corporate income tax last year, according to an analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, an astonishing figure…

The Columbian: In Our View: Amazon HQ2 Outcome Leaves Much to Unpack

February 20, 2019

But at the same time, growing wealth disparity throughout the United States is fueling mistrust of large corporations. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy last week reported that Amazon has paid no federal tax the past two years, rather than the statutory 21 percent. 

Axios: 1 Big Thing: Filthy Rich, Owing No Tax

February 19, 2019

Amazon is not a passive player in tax law, says ITEP's Matthew Gardner, who researched and wrote the Amazon report. "Amazon in particular has shaped tax law in its own image. They made the laws by lobbying so persistently and effectively," Gardner tells Axios.

Forbes: Amazon Paid $0 In Federal Income Taxes Last Year [Infographic]

February 19, 2019

Despite doubling its profits, Amazon has paid zero dollars in federal taxes for the second successive year. A recent report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has raised huge questions about the tax-paying habits of the tech giant, given that its profits soared from $5.6 billion in 2017 to $11.2 billion last year. […]

Fox Business, Bulls & Bears: Amazon, Netflix Did Not Pay Any Federal Taxes in the US in 2018: Report

February 18, 2019

ITEP senior fellow Matthew Gardner discusses how big tech companies are taking advantage of tax loopholes in the U.S. Watch the video

The Leaf Online: Cannabis Revenue Catching Up With Alcohol

February 17, 2019

State and local excise tax collections on retail adult-use cannabis sales surpassed $1 billion in 2018 nationally. That is a 57 percent increase over 2017 levels, according to data compiled by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

The Hill: Tech Looks for Lessons From Amazon HQ2 Fight

February 17, 2019

Amazon's decision to scrap its plans for a second headquarters in New York City, dubbed HQ2, stunned both the tech world and its critics this week, raising new questions about the industry's ambitious expansion plans and their dealings with state and local governments.

Herald and News: No Relief in Sight for Taxpayers Denied Deductions

February 17, 2019

An analysis by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that nearly two-thirds of the benefit of repealing the [SALT] cap would go to the top 1 percent of taxpayers. But even though the wealthy reap the most benefits, many of the people affected by the new cap in high-cost, high-tax states are […]

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].