Select Media Mentions
Louisville Courier-Journal: Fix Kentucky’s Upside Down Tax Code
July 19, 2017
And among other things, the legislation would raise Kentucky’s tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. This would initially generate about $155 million in revenue, but – more importantly – it would discourage tobacco use and reduce associated costs. Kentucky has one of the highest smoking rates and highest rates of lung cancer […]
The Hill: Tech Groups Voice Support for Tax Reform
July 19, 2017
The U.S. currently taxes companies on their income at home and abroad. Corporations, however, don’t have to pay taxes on their income abroad until they repatriate it back home. Supporters of a territorial system argue it could help bring lost tax dollars back into the U.S. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that […]
Bloomberg BNA: Low Tax Revenue Fuels State Deficits, Budget Battles
July 16, 2017
In more than a dozen other states, legislators fought down to the wire. Maine and New Jersey were forced into brief government shutdowns. Much press was given to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) time at the beach over the July 4th weekend when some stretches of state coastline were closed to beach-goers. “In some […]
MarketWatch: Why Back to School Sales Could Actually Cost You Money
July 14, 2017
Currently 16 states have back-to-school sales tax holidays planned for 2017, with most located in the Southeast. Some states also have sales tax holidays for other products, such as guns and hunting supplies, energy-efficient appliances and hurricane preparedness items. “Sales tax holidays may provide some taxpayers savings on necessary purchases, but they’re a distraction from […]
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Legislator Proposes Exempting Poorest Virginia Localities from Some Taxes
July 14, 2017
Carl Davis, research director at the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, says state taxes don’t play that large a role in economic development decisions. Companies search for an ideal location and a trained workforce and balance a host of other factors during site selection. “There’s just so much more than state tax policy […]
The American Prospect: As Trump Gears Up for Big Tax Cuts, Seattle Opts to Tax Wealthy
July 12, 2017
Currently, Washington is one of the few states that don’t levy a personal or corporate income tax. No cities in Washington levy a tax on income, either. That’s partially why the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found in 2015 that the state has most regressive taxation system in the entire country, with low- and […]
Governing: In an Income-Tax Free State, Seattle Hopes to Tax the Rich
July 12, 2017
There were about 11,000 individuals in Seattle with earned annual incomes of at least $250,000 in 2015, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The Seattle tax would cover both earned and unearned income. “Washington has among the most regressive tax systems in the United States,” the legislation states, citing research by the Institute on Taxation […]
The Hill: Repealing Obamacare Has Always Been about Tax Cuts for the Rich
July 11, 2017
Below is an excerpt of an op-ed by ITEP Senior Fellow Steve Wamhoff that was published in The Hill on July 11, 2017 Does moving a tax cut for the rich out of one bill and into another bill make lawmakers seem more in touch with the middle class? Senators trying to repeal the Affordable […]
Seattle Times: Seattle Council to Vote Today on Income Tax on the Wealthy
July 10, 2017
There were about 11,000 individuals in Seattle with earned annual incomes of at least $250,000 in 2015, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The Seattle tax would cover both earned and unearned income. “Washington has among the most regressive tax systems in the United States,” the legislation says, citing research by the Institute on Taxation […]
Bloomberg BNA: Private School Tax Credits Transform Charitable Incentive Into Profit Scheme
July 6, 2017
Public schools are funded by taxpayer dollars. School tuition vouchers allow taxpayer dollars to fund private education by paying for private school tuition. Tuition tax credits work in a similar fashion, by allowing a credit for donations to private school voucher funds. In this article, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s Carl Davis, discusses […]
Reno News and Review: Workers Stuck with the Check
July 5, 2017
According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Nevada’s poorest 20 percent of families pay 6.1 percent of their income in sales tax. The wealthiest one percent of Nevada families pay six-tenths of 1 percent. Given the fact that low income people bear a heavier portion of taxation in Nevada than the affluent, the […]
USA Today: Gas Taxes Rise in Seven States As Travelers Hit the Road for July 4 Holiday
June 30, 2017
The urge to hit the road comes as the national average gas price is 4 cents per gallon cheaper than at the same time last year, at $2.28 per gallon, according to AAA. “With gas prices at historically low levels, state lawmakers have decided that now is a good time to ask drivers to pay […]
Huffpost: Why States Are Struggling To Tax Services
June 29, 2017
Another challenge is that taxes on services are regressive, with a disproportionate impact on low-income residents, and are sometimes seen as an unfair way to plug a budget hole or reduce other taxes, prompting opposition from advocates for the poor. “The services that get pulled into these plans … are not necessarily the ones that […]
Scripps News Service: Money Diverted from Public Schools?
June 26, 2017
All the programs basically work this way: Individuals and businesses make cash or stock donations to scholarship granting organizations. The organizations award scholarships to qualifying families with K-12 students, primarily children in failing public schools or whose families’ income meets the state’s poverty threshold. Students can then attend a private or religious school of their […]
Bloomberg: Corporate Tax Rate at 28% Seen as More Likely Than Historic Cut
June 26, 2017
Both men have pitched their rate-cut plans as a way to spur hiring and economic growth. But setting a 28 percent tax rate would be largely meaningless for more than 150 of the largest U.S. companies, which already paid lower rates than that from 2008 through 2015, according to a recent study. The companies took […]
Public News Service: GOP Health Bill Would Deliver Tax Breaks to the Wealthiest
June 20, 2017
Alan Essig, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, says data from the Congressional Budget Office confirms that the health bill that cleared the U.S. House is less about health policy than tax breaks for the top 3 percent of U.S. earners. “The end result is 23 million people losing health care […]
Salon: Apple CEO Tim Cook Thinks a Big Corporate Tax Cut is “What’s Good for America”
June 18, 2017
Earlier this year, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan liberal think tank, published research showing that few large profitable companies even come close to paying the 35 percent federal income tax rate on U.S. profits. The study, which looked at 258 large U.S. companies that reported annual U.S.-based profit from 2008 to 2015, […]
PBS News Hour: How Much Do the Poor Actually Pay in Taxes? Probably More Than You Think.
June 8, 2017
“All told, those in the bottom fifth of earners pay almost a fifth of their income in taxes. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the lowest-income quintile — those making less than $19,000 a year — pay almost 11 percent of their income in state and local taxes. Working people, even if […]
Kansas City Star: Kansas Tax ‘Experiment’ Offers Lessons to the Nation, Analysts Say
June 7, 2017
“An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found in 2015 that taxpayers in the bottom 40 percent saw an overall increase in their taxes under Brownback when the 2015 sales tax increase is included.” Read more
The Atlantic: Can America’s Farms Survive the Threat of Deportations?
June 6, 2017
“Pete points out that the undocumented community is a net contributor to taxes. It’s true: A recent report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that undocumented immigrants contribute billions of dollars to state and local taxes across the country. Deporting them, Pete added, will only hurt Americans. “If they just stopped contributing […]
Charleston Gazette-Mail: Senate Tax Plan is Upward Redistribution
June 3, 2017
“Some West Virginia Senators are singing a similar tune as Reagan with their tax plan. While they say their plan is a tax cut for everyone, the facts say otherwise. According to a recent analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the Senate tax plan would increase taxes for most West Virginia households […]
Politifact: Richest 1 Percent Pay Lowest Rate of State and Local Taxes in Wisconsin?
June 2, 2017
McCabe, who says he is not a member of any political party, cited a 50-state analysis of state and local taxes published in January 2015 by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning research organization based in Washington, D.C. Experts told us it is the only recent report of its kind on state […]
Bloomberg: Trump ‘Self-Help’ Infrastructure Plan Irks State, Local Leaders
June 1, 2017
Six states this year raised their gas taxes — joining 18 others that have raised or changed the tax since 2013 to generate more money for transportation work, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The federal gas tax hasn’t been increased since 1993. Read more
Chicago Magazine: What Can Illinois Learn from Other States’ Budget Disasters
June 1, 2017
In 2012, Kansas would go on to enact tax cuts that the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy called ”among the largest” enacted by any state. Under the leadership of recently elected Governor Sam Brownback, the state dropped the top income tax rate by one-fourth, nixed taxes on “pass through” business profits (business profits passed directly to the […]
The Boston Globe: Ax the Sales Tax (Also the Income Tax)
May 27, 2017
A constitutional amendment to eliminate the sales tax and replace the flat state income tax with a progressive scale based on income would be a bold solution. It would both alleviate the tax burden for low- and moderate-income families and generate enough revenue to right our budget ship before the next recession hits. A couple […]
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