Select Media Mentions
The American Prospect: Paul Ryan Is Lying About High Corporate Tax Rates
August 24, 2017
Republicans are taking their corporate tax-cut campaign on the road. House Speaker Paul Ryan visited airplane manufacturer Boeing on Thursday in Washington state, where he lamented how the company is quivering underneath the weight of a 35 percent tax rate. Meanwhile, Ways & Means Chair Kevin Brady sang the same song at telecom giant AT&T’s […]
Illinois Public Radio: Flat Vs. Graduated Income Tax
August 24, 2017
Obviously to be fair to taxpayers, Illinois needs the flexibility to tax lower levels of income at lower rates and higher levels of income at higher rates. The constitutional prohibition against that makes Illinois a national outlier. Of the 41 states in America with an income tax, 33 have graduated rate structures. Illinois is one […]
Chicago Tribune: Put the Brakes on GOP’s Backdoor Voucher Idea
August 24, 2017
Donors to the scholarship funds are also allowed to count that donation as a standard charitable donation for federal income tax purposes, meaning, as one Georgia agency that distributes to schools enthuses on its website, “You will end with more money than when you started.” And the higher your tax bracket, the higher your risk-free […]
Think Progress: Trump Plans Major Tax Cut for the Rich But Americans Want the Exact Opposite
August 23, 2017
“Regardless of what state you live in, the Trump tax proposals were not created to benefit you unless you are really well-off,” Steve Wamhoff, senior fellow for federal tax policy at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, wrote in July. “In fact, low- and middle-income people would inevitably face a net loss after cuts […]
The Epoch Times: Trump Targets Amazon Over Sales Tax and Retail Jobs
August 23, 2017
More than half of items sold on Amazon are coming through third-party retailers, according to a CNBC report. These retailers can benefit from Amazon’s facilities or payment system, but they are not required to collect sales tax. It is still a pending issue and a meaningful revenue loss for states, said Carl Davis, research director […]
Journal Transcript: Apple Inc., Microsoft Corporation and Cisco Systems, Inc. Buoyed By Trump Proposed 10% Tax Rate
August 18, 2017
The fact that the 5.25% one-time rate in 2004 failed to have the desired impact on American job growth is another headwind that could hinder the proposed 10% rate from coming into effect. The Trump administration will have to come up with a way of preventing the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Cisco, and Apple from […]
NPR’s MarketPlace: Doing the Math on Back-to-School Tax Breaks
August 18, 2017
This week, we’re going to talk a little about saving. Sixteen states offer tax holidays during the year, a tax-free day or two of purchasing certain items, like hunting gear and weather-preparedness products. Several of those states have specific back-to-school sales tax holidays targeting school supplies. It’s a popular but controversial tool meant to help […]
New York Times: Does Amazon Pay Taxes?
August 17, 2017
“If this was five years ago, the tweet would be making a very compelling point,” said Carl Davis, the research director of the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Historically, “there is no doubt that Amazon used its ability to not collect sales tax to gain a competitive advantage.” But that criticism is outdated. […]
Philadelphia Inquirer: If We are Overpaid and Underworked, Why is There a Teacher Shortage?
August 17, 2017
Lower-income Pennsylvanians pay nearly three times as much of their income in taxes as higher-income residents (those making more than $426,000/year). The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has ranked Pennsylvania as the 6th most unfair state tax system in the country. In other words, Pennsylvania’s poor and middle class families are already paying more […]
The Atlantic: The Tax Break Dividing the Republican Party
August 17, 2017
“You can never really know if they’re changing people’s behavior,” said Matt Gardner, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Gardner pointed me to a quote from Paul O’Neill, President George W. Bush’s first Treasury secretary, who told a Senate committee at his 2001 confirmation hearing: “If you want to […]
Associated Press: Tense Days for Business Owners without Legal Status in US
August 17, 2017
Those selling often see no choice but to take a loss. Under Trump, detentions of immigrants in the country illegally rose 37 percent over the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2016. The administration says it is focused on those with criminal records, but the number of detainees who […]
The Motley Fool: Seven States that Tax the Poor the Most
August 16, 2017
According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), here are the seven worst offenders when we’re talking about the working-age population. Specifically, these are the seven states where inequality increases to the greatest degree from pre-state-tax income to post-state-tax incomes, as calculated by ITEP’s formula. Read more
Portland Tribune: Workers without Legal Documents Still Pay Taxes
August 15, 2017
All in all, undocumented working Oregonians contribute about $81 million in state and local taxes per year, according to recent estimates by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). To put that in perspective, that is enough to hire 925 Oregon teachers. And these figures do not include the federal income taxes undocumented workers […]
USA Today Network: Gov. Rick Scott Wants Super Majority Vote for Tax Hikes
August 14, 2017
But one tax policy expert said future lawmakers will eventually find ways around the super majority requirement. Matt Gardner, senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said voters expect elected officials to make financial decisions without such a mandate. “What they’re trying to do is artificially limit the amount of […]
Washington Examiner: Mitch McConnell Faces Dug-in Democrats on Tax Reform
August 13, 2017
“There’s been more and more awareness that actually C-corporations are not paying 35 percent in taxes,” said Steven Wamhoff, a tax expert at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-of-center think tank. His group has highlighted that corporations as a group pay much lower than 35 percent of their profits in taxes, thanks […]
New York Times: Questions Emerge Over What Wisconsin Must Give for Foxconn Plant
August 11, 2017
Mr. Walker, who has made promises of job creation a centerpiece of his two terms in office, has pushed lawmakers to move quickly in approving the bill, which would offer Foxconn, a producer of flat-panel display screens for televisions and other consumer electronics, close to $3 billion in state tax credits. The subsidies for the […]
AP: School Voucher Programs Raise Questions about Transparency and Accountability
August 11, 2017
The AAA Scholarship Foundation Inc. which runs programs in Nevada and five other states, says it doesn’t give tax advice but has, when asked, shared an IRS memo on the matter. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy say loopholes in the tax code would allow contributors to both eliminate their state tax bill and […]
Wall Street Journal: Lawsuit Says Seattle’s ‘Tax-the-Rich’ Measure Violates State Constitution
August 9, 2017
The tax would bring in about $140 million every year for the city. The money would be used to fund affordable housing, education and transit services, and replace federal funding that might be lost because of federal budget cuts. Backers of the tax say they want the rich to pay their fair share. The state […]
International Business Times: How Changing Corporate Tax Rates Affects The Economy, Government Revenue
August 7, 2017
As Suarez Serrato pointed out in the IBT interview, the study also highlighted the gulf between statutory and effective corporate tax rates. While the federal corporate rate stands at 35 percent and the average state rate is just over 6 percent, two studies by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that, taking loopholes into […]
USA Today: In Some States, Sales Tax Holidays Lose Luster
August 4, 2017
For more than a decade after New York started the modern trend in 1997, the number of states with annual sales tax holidays grew steadily. But the count peaked at 19 in 2010, and this year’s tally is one fewer than last year. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that states lost $300 million […]
Politifact: Are There Over $4 Trillion in Earnings Offshore?
August 4, 2017
We also turned to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which found that Fortune 500 companies — a slightly smaller pool — report $2.6 trillion offshore. ITEP included total untaxed earnings, not just indefinitely reinvested ones, in their studies of Apple and Pfizer, as these companies provide a disclosure allowing for a fuller estimate of […]
Between the Lines: Trump Tax Plan Would Benefit the Wealthiest Americans
August 3, 2017
Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Matthew Gardner, senior fellow with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, who discusses his group’s analysis of the Trump administration’s tax reform plan, and what a progressive reform plan focused on reversing growing economic inequality would look like. Read more
International Business Times: As Mnuchin Discusses Tax Reform, Business Groups Lobby To Shape Tax Policy
August 1, 2017
Two reports on effective federal and state corporate tax rates by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that, for dozens of profitable Fortune 500 companies, it has, on occasion, been zero.) Trump’s White House has recently backed off its 15-percent corporate-tax-rate goal, with a plan to implement something closer to 20 percent. Read […]
Houston Chronicle: Sanctuary Cities Law Could Cost Texas Billions
August 1, 2017
An analysis of data from the U.S. Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that if 10 percent of undocumented immigrants leave Texas, the state would forfeit about $190.7 million in federal tax revenue and $223.5 million more in state and local taxes. The disappearance of those […]
Utah Public News Service: Trump’s Economic Policies to Increase Economic Inequality
July 31, 2017
The Trump administration’s tax proposals would not benefit all taxpayers or states equally, according to new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Matt Gardner, a senior fellow with the institute, says the richest 1 percent of taxpayers would receive more than 60 percent of the tax benefits. He adds that poorer states, largely […]
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