Select Media Mentions
Fiscal Times: Who Wins if Temporary Tax Cuts Are Made Permanent
April 10, 2018
Virtually all of the individual tax cuts are temporary, and making them permanent is being pitched politically as a win for middle-class taxpayers. But according to a new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the extension the temporary tax cuts after 2025 will do little to change the overall distribution of benefits […]
Lexington Herald-Leader: Bevin Vetoes Entire State Budget and Tax Overhaul Plan
April 9, 2018
Democratic lawmakers expressed support for Bevin’s decision to veto the tax changes. In a joint statement from Senate Minority Leader Ray Jones and House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins, the two Democratic leaders said the bills were not “transparently vetted” and referenced a study performed by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that found that […]
CNBC: Trump Organization’s Online Store Adds Virginia to Short List of States Collecting Tax on Its Sales, Bringing Total to 3
April 9, 2018
“You have Trump Tower New York and the Trump Store in Trump Tower pointing people to the site, essentially being salespeople,” Carl Davis, research director of the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told CNBC. A spokesman for the New York Department of Taxation and Finance said secrecy laws prevent it from commenting on […]
Associated Press: Amazon Ignores Trump’s Attacks as It Molds a Business Empire
April 6, 2018
Trump’s charge that Amazon pays “little or no taxes” may have merit. Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said in February that Amazon “has built its business model on tax avoidance.” Amazon reported $5.6 billion of U.S. profits in 2017 “and didn’t pay a dime of federal […]
The Motley Fool: Amazon Is a Master of Tax Avoidance
April 6, 2018
Until the stock’s recent dive, Amazon was the second-most valuable company in the country, worth nearly $800 billion and behind only Apple. However, the company paid no U.S. income taxes on a $5.6 billion in domestic profits last year thanks to a $789 million windfall from the new tax law, according to the Institute on Taxation […]
Courier Journal: Kentucky Tax Reform Bill is a Break for the Rich but a Hike for Everybody Else, Study Says
April 6, 2018
The tax bill that zipped through the General Assembly on Monday will amount to a tax break for millionaires but a tax increase for 95 percent of Kentuckians, according to an analysis by the Washington-based Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy.
WUKY: A Tale Of Two Tax Studies
April 6, 2018
"This is a complicated tax plan with a lot of moving pieces, but the net result is clear: that it is middle-class tax hike. Kentucky's poorest families and the middle class will end up paying more while the state wealthiest taxpayers are going to end up paying less," ITEP analyst Aidan Davis says.
MarketWatch: Trump Is Jealous Amazon Is Better at Avoiding Taxes
April 4, 2018
In 2017, Amazon paid no federal tax on $5.6 billion in U.S. profits, according to an analysis by Matthew Gardner at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. During the previous five years, Amazon paid an effective rate of 11.4% on its profits of $8.2 billion, about a third the statutory rate, Gardner said. “More […]
Washington Post: If Trump Wants to Go After Amazon, He Has Options
April 4, 2018
Despite Trump’s complaints, Amazon started paying sales taxes in 2017 in most states after setting up warehouses across the country to expedite its delivery times. But Amazon does not collect sales taxes on goods sold by third-party vendors, and several big cities in seven states still are not collecting sales taxes at the same level as from local […]
New York Times: Silicon Valley Warms to Trump After a Chilly Start
March 30, 2018
But Silicon Valley’s favorite thing about Mr. Trump is almost certainly his new tax code. Many tech companies lobbied for corporate tax reform for years before Mr. Trump signed the new tax bill. Tech giants immediately reaped the benefits. Under the new rules, Apple saved $43.7 billion in taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation […]
New York Times: The Facts Behind Trump’s Tweet on Amazon, Taxes and the Postal Service
March 30, 2018
Mr. Trump has made similar claims before about Amazon’s tax payments, both as president and a private citizen. After he mentioned it in August 2017, The New York Times reported: If Mr. Trump’s point was that Amazon did not collect sales taxes — which are owed by the purchaser and collected by the retailer — […]
New York Times: Still Angry at The Washington Post’s Coverage, Trump Bashes Jeff Bezos’ Amazon
March 30, 2018
There was also some irony in the criticism coming from Trump, who has boasted about his dexterity in avoiding paying taxes. “This is the guy who said that not paying taxes ‘makes me smart,’” said Matt Gardner, senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research organization. Read more
ABC News: President Trump Attacks Amazon in New Tweet
March 30, 2018
Earlier this week, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan organization, released a report saying that Amazon has an advantage over brick-and-mortar businesses because Amazon does not collect sales tax from seven states. In other states, the retailer does not charge the full amount of the state sales tax. Carl Davis, the research […]
Politifact: The Facts Behind Trump’s Jabs at Amazon on Taxes, USPS and Lost Retail Jobs
March 30, 2018
Amazon paid $957 million in income tax in 2017, according to regulatory filings. Amazon paid nothing in federal taxes this year thanks to tax credits and, in large part, Trump’s new tax law. But the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Amazon is either not collecting local taxes or is charging a lower […]
Gizmodo: Trump’s Claim That Amazon Pays No Taxes Is Utter Nonsense
March 30, 2018
Recent financial reports have highlighted the fact that Amazon, which raked in more than $5.6 billion in profits last year, paid $0 in federal income taxes. It accomplished this, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, by taking advantage of “various tax credits and tax breaks for executive stock options,” including a one-time […]
Newsweek: Trump, Who Just Gave Amazon a Huge Tax Break, Wants the Company Taxed
March 30, 2018
Noticeably absent from Trump’s critique of the company’s tax payments was its treatment under federal tax law. Amazon, which is currently valued at $673 billion, paid zero federal taxes in 2017 despite earning $5.6 billion in U.S. profits, according to an analysis of Amazon’s latest annual report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s […]
Fortune: President Trump Claims Amazon Pays “Little or No Taxes.” Here’s Where He’s Wrong
March 30, 2018
Where Trump is correct: Amazon doesn’t collect taxes on behalf of third-party vendors, and it still may not collect some local taxes, giving it an advantage over some traditional retailers, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a think tank. According to an analysis from the ITEP, the gap between the tax rate […]
The Wrap: Trump Blasts Amazon for Tax Breaks, Using USPS as ‘Delivery Boy’
March 30, 2018
The Seattle-based company avoided paying federal income taxes for 2017, despite posting more than $5.5 billion in income last year, according to a recent analysis from Matthew Gardner of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Amazon paid $412 million in taxes in 2016. And while the president isn’t a fan of the Amazon-USPS relationship, […]
CNN: Trump v. Amazon, Let’s Set the Record Straight
March 30, 2018
The company has not disclosed how much its customers pay in sales taxes, but it is considerable. Its North American sales came to $106 billion last year, suggesting that it collects billions in sales taxes for various states. The president is correct that Amazon does not always collect city and local sales taxes, according to […]
Bloomberg Law: Trump’s Amazon Tweet Comes at Eventful Time for State-Local Taxes
March 30, 2018
Meanwhile, Amazon may not be paying its share of local sales taxes. A report released March 26 by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said Amazon either doesn’t collect and remit local sales tax or is charging a lower sales tax rate than traditional retailers in seven states: Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, […]
Dallas Morning News: Texas Was Tougher Than Other States in Dealing with Amazon on Sales Taxes
March 30, 2018
When a Dallas resident or shopper in College Station or Lubbock makes a purchase from Amazon or any other online retailer with a physical presence in Texas such as Wayfair and RH.com, the state gets its 6.25 percent. The cities get their local sales taxes too. In Dallas, that’s an additional 2 percent for a […]
Hawaii News Now: Nonprofit to State on Tax Savings for Low-Income Families: Check Your Math
March 29, 2018
The state miscalculated the benefits of the federal tax overhaul to low-income families in Hawaii, a new analysis concludes. The source of the confusion: The scope of the tax savings that the child tax credit benefit would offer very low-income families (those earning up to $10,000 a year).
Honolulu Star Advertiser: New Tax Benefits Likely Overstated for Hawaii’s Poorest
March 29, 2018
A nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, has estimated that Hawaii’s richest 1 percent, represented by households earning over $554,230, would save $39,420 on average next year under the new law. The group also figured that Hawaii taxpayers earning less than $26,620 would save $130 on average in taxes.
Bond Buyer: Why Cities in Some States Aren’t Getting E-Commerce Taxes from Amazon
March 28, 2018
Local governments in seven states are not getting a share of the sales taxes Amazon is collecting for e-commerce transactions because of gaps in state and local laws, according to a report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Amazon began collecting sales tax in all 45 states that have statewide sales taxes as […]
Pacific Standard: Inside the Tax Law’s $25 Billion Oil Company Bonanza
March 27, 2018
More than 50 percent of the tax bill’s benefits will go to the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, and more than 25 percent to the wealthiest 1 percent, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. As Businessweek put it, “President Donald Trump and Republicans sold their $1.5 trillion tax cut as a boon […]
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.