Select Media Mentions
Chicago Magazine: Illinois Is a Few Elections Away From a Graduated Income Tax
September 21, 2018
Illinois has one of the most regressive tax systems in the nation — and politicians are taking notice. Under our system, the burden of taxation falls disproportionately on those least able to pay it. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Illinois is one of the “Terrible Ten Most Regressive State & Local Tax Systems,” clocking in […]
The Free Press: Think Tank Releases Blueprint to Fully Fund Education, Medicaid & Lower Property Taxes
September 20, 2018
Tax cuts passed by the Maine Legislature and Gov. Paul LePage over the past eight years will cost the state $864 million in revenue in the next biennium, according to an analysis by the Maine Center for Economic Policy and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. At the same time the state continues to ignore its legal obligations to fully fund education, Medicaid expansion and revenue sharing.
The Inquisitor: Amazon Proposal to Cage Warehouse Workers Criticized
September 14, 2018
“For states contemplating tax incentives for Amazon, the salient question is: what do you give a tax avoider who already has everything?,” Matthew Gardner, senior fellow at Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, asked, after explaining how Amazon managed to make more than $5 billion in 2017, without paying a dime of federal income taxes. […]
Politico Morning Tax: Let’s Talk SALT
September 12, 2018
Cuomo is far from the only Democratic governor or lawmaker to unload on the SALT cap as, essentially, a broadside against progressive states. But at least one liberal think tank is calling for the limits to stay in place, even as it continues to denounce the TCJA as a giveaway to the wealthy. “Outright repeal […]
The Washington Post: GOP Pushes for New $2 Trillion Round of Tax Cuts
September 11, 2018
Democrats said the GOP’s second round of tax cuts would punish the poor and the middle class, arguing that they will provide a pretext for later spending cuts to entitlement programs that help the elderly. The richest 1 percent of Americans would see an average $24,130 cut from extending the individual tax cuts, compared with […]
Education Week: How a Proposed Tax Rule Could Hurt School Vouchers
September 11, 2018
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017, wealthy residents in states such as New York and California face sizable increases in their federal tax bills because of a $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions they can make on their federal returns. Democratic lawmakers allege the so-called SALT-cap unfairly targets left-leaning […]
Seattle Times: Is a State Like Washington with No Income Tax Better or Worse?
September 11, 2018
These taxes place an unfair burden on the poor, according to research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The reason is the lowest earners in the state devote the lion’s share of their take-home pay to buying things that are subject to sales taxes. The wealthy, who can save a chunk of their […]
The Journal News: Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Anti-Trump Tax Plan Crumbling in Face of IRS Regulations
September 11, 2018
Similar programs give state tax credits on 100 percent of the donations in states such as Alabama, Georgia, Arizona and South Carolina. It’s a system that has proved profitable for savvy taxpayers, said Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more
Politico: A SALT Shake up
September 6, 2018
So what happens now after this new clarification? “Under the right circumstances, some business owners are going to keep getting more back in tax cuts than they ever contributed to these tax credit programs,” said Carl Davis of the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “They’ll be stacking state tax credits and federal write-offs […]
WRAL: Meg Wiehe: Capping North Carolina’s top income tax rate isn’t good for our communities
September 4, 2018
ITEP Deputy Director Meg Wiehe writes for WRAL.com that it would be unwise to constitutionally cap the North Carolina state income tax rate, pointing out that school funding in the state is already down and faltering revenues in other states have led to teacher pay crises and strikes.
WRAL: Capping North Carolina’s Top Tax Rate Isn’t Good for Our Communities
September 4, 2018
Following is an excerpt from an op-ed written by ITEP deputy director Meg Wiehe: Earlier this year, teachers across the country staged walkouts or full-on strikes to protest low wages and lack of investment in education. North Carolina public school teachers and their allies participated too, calling for better pay and more overall school spending […]
Philadelphia Inquirer: Why It’s an Unhappy Labor Day for Some Workers
September 3, 2018
Meanwhile, President Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut — like previous massive tax cuts — has failed to trickle down to average workers in a meaningful way, and many of his policies are hurting American workers. Just 4 percent of workers at Fortune 500 companies received a bonus or wage increase as a result of the […]
Atlanta Journal Constitution: IRS Proposal Could Hurt Georgia Rural Hospital, School Tax Credits
August 25, 2018
The change will have no impact on many Georgians because they don’t itemize their deductions when they file their tax returns. “For about 90 percent of people who are just claiming the standard deduction, this (rule) isn’t going to have any impact at all,” said Carl Davis, the research director with the Institute on Taxation […]
The Montgomery Advertiser: IRS Proposes Regulations that Could Impact Alabama Accountability Act Donors
August 24, 2018
Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization, said the regulations “make a lot of sense as far as what is charity and what isn’t.” The graphic shows how the donations to the Alabama Accountability Act benefit donors. The fundamental problem, he added, was that deductions exceeded the […]
CNBC: Cutting SALT–It Could Be the Last Day for This Tax Saving Strategy
August 24, 2018
There are 18 states with private school voucher tax credits, including programs in Arizona, Alabama and South Carolina. A number of them offer credits to contributing taxpayers on a dollar-for-dollar basis. “In a perverse situation, you donate $100 and you get back $137 in the form of state tax credits and deductions,” said Carl Davis, […]
Bloomberg: New Yorkers Have Four Days to Try to Beat SALT Cap
August 24, 2018
Residents of states that have had charitable tax break programs in effect for some time, such as Georgia and South Carolina, that benefit hospitals or schools, will probably have an easier time writing checks before the new rules go into effect, said Steve Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “The reality […]
Washington Post: New Treasury Proposal Would Stop Attempts to Weaken Tax Law
August 24, 2018
Read more
The Hill: IRS Was Correct to Include Private School Credits in New Tax Regulations
August 24, 2018
Following is an excerpt of an op-ed by Carl Davis, ITEP researcher director, regarding the new regulations issued by the Treasury Department: Last year’s federal tax overhaul has cast a bright light on a corner of the tax code that long has needed scrutiny. With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) […]
Reuters: U.S. Treasury, IRS move to block states dodging tax deduction cap
August 23, 2018
Under the proposed rule, however, a New York taxpayer could not receive a federal charitable deduction for the portion of their donation to the fund for which they received a state tax credit, unless the credit was for 15 percent or less. “If you make a donation of $100 and you get a big chunk […]
New Jersey Online: Trump Administration Rejects Efforts to Save Your Property Tax Break
August 23, 2018
And in New Jersey, more than four in 10 taxpayers claimed that tax break and deducted an average deduction of $17,850 in 2015, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. Only residents of New York, Connecticut and California deduct more from federal taxes than New Jerseyans, according the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more
The Oregonian: Trump Administration Moves to Stop Oregon, Other States from Circumventing New Tax Law
August 23, 2018
Treasury said it expects that only about 1 percent of all U.S. taxpayers would see a reduction of their tax credits for donations to a private-school voucher fund. Several states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Montana and South Carolina — allow taxpayers who donate to private-school funds to get a 100 percent credit against their state […]
Politico Morning Tax: Still More SALT Intake
August 23, 2018
Carl Davis of the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy also pointed out that Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) — who have had staff meet with Treasury and White House officials on the issue — hail from states with generous credits for donations to fund school vouchers. Read more
New Hampshire Business: Winners and Losers Under the New Tax Plan
August 23, 2018
The new law also doubles the standard deduction, making it likely that fewer business owners will itemize on their returns, and that could have a negative impact on things like charitable donations, Burke adds. It also caps the deduction for mortgage interest at $750,000 of home loan value, compared to the current $1 million, leading […]
The Hill: Treasury Issues Rules Taking Aim at Blue-State Workarounds to GOP Tax Law
August 23, 2018
Carl Davis, director of research at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, praised Treasury for taking the same approach to the SALT cap workarounds implemented by blue states and the private school tax credit programs more likely to exist in red states. “All types of charitable credits should be on the same footing […]
CNBC: Upcoming IRS Rules Could Chill These Red-State Tax Credit Programs
August 22, 2018
How the IRS will ultimately proceed remains to be seen, yet experts agree that the agency may take a closer look at programs with generous tax credits. “It’s when you get up and above a 70 percent tax credit — that’s when taxpayers start to view these as not being charitable programs at all but […]
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].
Institute on Taxation
and Economic Policy
ITEP is a non-profit, non-partisan tax policy organization. We conduct rigorous analyses of tax and economic proposals and provide data-driven recommendations to shape equitable and sustainable tax systems.
Subscribe to ITEP Emails
Tax research and policy news in your inbox.
Promote Fair Tax Policy
Your gift to ITEP promotes tax justice. With your help, we do research that supports taxing millionaires and billionaires, taxing big corporations and raising revenue for the things our people, our communities and our planet need.
Together, we can create a country with more economic justice, more racial justice, more climate justice… and more tax justice.