May 23, 2017
Scholarship or tuition tax credits have a way of staying in the public spotlight. Over the last several years, battles surrounding these credits have been waged in courtrooms, on the floors of state legislatures and in the public consciousness. A new front has emerged in this old fight as evidenced by the report “Public Loss […]
May 22, 2017
The national School Superintendents Association, which opposes the tax-based tuition subsidies because they leave less money on the table for public schools, published the report Public Loss, Private Gain, with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. It describes the “double-dipping” tax benefits gained by those who donate to such programs in Georgia and eight […]
May 20, 2017
A bill now in Congress would expand tax-credit scholarships nationwide, creating a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for individuals and corporations. That could “undermine public education,” according to a new report by The School Superintendents Association and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. It says that, as a result of tax-credit scholarships, more than a […]
May 18, 2017
Not only do California’s undocumented workers fill jobs, but they pay taxes too. In 2014, almost $3.2 billion of California’s state and local taxes came from undocumented immigrants, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington D.C.-based research group. Read more
May 17, 2017
AASA and the liberal-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy examined programs in 17 states that send more than $1 billion a year to private schools via tuition tax credits, and concluded that private schools were benefiting from a “federally sanctioned voucher tax shelter” for wealthy taxpayers. The study called it a “get-rich scheme for […]
May 17, 2017
While is doesn’t strive for a reform in the tax system that allows those firms to write off huge chunks of their fines, the senators’ measure, which applies to settlement agreements with executive agencies worth at least $1 million, requires the agency in question to “make publicly available in a searchable format” a list of those […]
May 14, 2017
If there’s a bright side to West Virginia’s state budget troubles — in a misery-loves-company kind of way — it’s that plenty of other states have been having trouble too. “West Virginia is not unique this year or even in recent years in taking a little longer than usual to agree on a budget, largely […]
May 13, 2017
About 4,000 registered lobbyists work on tax issues in the nation’s capital, but spending is highly concentrated among large multinational conglomerates and trade organizations. Fifteen companies and organizations, ranging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the American Association of Retired Persons, have spent more than $2.7 billion while lobbying on tax issues since 2008, […]
May 11, 2017
Meanwhile, the Trump administration works tirelessly to ease tax rates for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations while ripping away affordable health care for everyone else. The president wants to dramatically reduce the 35 percent corporate tax rate under the guise of spurring economic growth. Yet research has shown that many companies pay nowhere near the top […]
May 11, 2017
Given DeVos’ repeated states-rights pronouncements, it also seems likely that individual states will have substantial ability to shape how tax credits scholarships are distributed in their jurisdictions to support their vision of public education. Each state will have to protect itself, and its children, against waste, fraud and abuse that are already apparent in state […]
May 11, 2017
The lobbying activity has coincided with a continuing slide in the percentage of federal revenues collected from corporate income taxes. During the 1950s, corporate taxes made up 28% of federal revenue. By 2015, the corporate share had fallen to roughly 11%. Individual income tax receipts have remained relatively stable, accounting for almost half of federal receipts. […]
May 10, 2017
Bloomberg BNA: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)? Wiehe: I am ITEP Deputy Director, my primary responsibility being to plan and execute state policy work, so I have a real bird’s eye view for what is happening in all 50 states, plus […]
May 7, 2017
Already this year, governors in California, Indiana and Tennessee signed laws to raise fuel taxes, meaning a total of 22 states have passed laws imposing higher gas taxes in the past five years. Chances are also good that the list will grow even longer this year. “It is such an unusual thing to see nearly […]
May 4, 2017
As the gig economy has grown, the tax gap has widened. Because of inconsistencies in sales tax policies, state and local governments across the U.S. may be missing out on $300 million in annual tax revenues from transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft, according to a March study from the non-profit Institute on Taxation […]
May 4, 2017
Unauthorized immigrants in San Diego County pay an estimated $218.5 million in state and local taxes annually, according to a report from the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. That amount could increase by more than $30 million, according to the report, if those unauthorized immigrants were granted legal status. In California as a […]
May 3, 2017
An assessment by Mark Muchow, deputy secretary of the Department of Revenue, estimates that by 2020, this will cause a revenue decline of $220 million due to income tax cuts. This would come on top of year after year of major budget cuts. On top of that, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found […]
May 3, 2017
On April 26, just a few days short of President Trump’s 100th day in office, a so-called “tax reform” plan was released by the White House that consisted of bullet points on a single printed page. Although there were few details on implementation and the net impact on families and federal revenue, it was clear […]
May 2, 2017
This might not help taxpayers who live in states with high state and local taxes. Currently, taxpayers in the bottom half of the top income quintile — that is, those with an average income of $129,000 — pay nearly 11 percent in state and local taxes as a percentage of income, according to the Institute […]
May 2, 2017
On a per-share basis, the company’s foreign earnings left overseas come to more than $40 a share, according to CNBC calculations using figures from a recent report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Unlike Apple, most companies do not report overseas cash breakdowns. But regulations do require that they report money that will […]
May 2, 2017
The bill would have given a larger benefit to wealthy residents who pay a larger share of their income at the top tax rate. Supporters said the income tax portion was largely aimed at small businesses that would promote job growth and diversify the economy. Critics said the package doesn’t do nearly as much for […]
May 1, 2017
Voters in rural areas overwhelmingly chose Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, and a higher gas tax also may indeed affect those areas disproportionately, said Carl Davis, research director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit research organization in Washington. The gas tax is regressive, meaning it puts […]
April 29, 2017
A broader comparison of all state and local taxes comes from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive Washington research group. It, too, ranks Minnesota’s tax system today among the country’s most progressive — or, as ITEP says, among the “least regressive.” “Virtually every state tax system is fundamentally unfair,” the report declares, […]
April 29, 2017
The choice of Cohn and Mnuchin as the faces of Trump’s tax plan really says it all. Their former employer, Goldman Sachs, is already a champion tax dodger. When Cohn stepped down as the bank’s president to join the administration, Goldman had $31 billion in untaxed offshore profits and 987 tax haven subsidiaries, according to […]
April 29, 2017
PATRICIA SABGA: From the White House to Capitol Hill, Republicans are determined to lower the 35 percent corporate tax rate — the highest of any developed economy. Matt Gardner is a Senior Fellow with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal, Washington-based think tank. MATT GARDNER: The biggest, most profitable corporations are now […]
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