New York
CBS News: Is your state next to raise its gas tax?
October 14, 2016
“’There has been a lot of procrastination,’ said Carl Davis, research director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. ‘It’s an issue that the states cannot put off any longer. There are 21 states which have gone a decade or more since the last time they increased their gas tax rate. These states have […]
This report explains the workings, and problems, with state-level tax subsidies for private K-12 education. It also discusses how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has exacerbated some of these problems by allowing taxpayers to claim federal charitable deductions even on private school contributions that were not truly charitable in nature. Finally, an appendix to this report provides additional detail on the specific K-12 private school tax subsidies made available by each state.
The Huffington Post: The Latino Contributions to New York
October 11, 2016
“According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants pay $11.6 billion in state and local taxes every year at an average rate of 8 percent, a significantly higher rate than the 5.4 percent rate, at which the top 1 percent earners pay annually.” Read more
Salon: Donald Trump’s tax returns show the American tax code favors the rich
October 5, 2016
“’The real estate [loophole] is a pretty clear and, I think, pretty potent example of a tax break where middle-income Americans look at it and just say, “Well, this doesn’t do anything, this is basically inapplicable to me,”’ said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. ‘It’s legal; it probably […]
This study explores how in 2015 Fortune 500 companies used tax haven subsidiaries to avoid paying taxes on much of their income. It reveals that tax haven use is now standard practice among the Fortune 500 and that a handful of the country's wealthiest corporations benefit the most from this tax avoidance scheme.
Malay Mail Online: Does Trump pay taxes? Debate triggers new scrutiny
October 3, 2016
“Matthew Gardner of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy told AFP that some analysts suspect real estate moguls regularly generate losses on real estate income to avoid paying taxes on other income — a tactic forbidden in many other industries.” Read more
Despite this unlevel playing field states create for their poorest residents through existing policies, many state policymakers have proposed (and in some cases enacted) tax increases on the poor under the guise of "tax reform," often to finance tax cuts for their wealthiest residents and profitable corporations.
State lawmakers seeking to make residential property taxes more affordable have two broad options: across-the-board tax cuts for taxpayers at all income levels, such as a homestead exemption or a tax cap, and targeted tax breaks that are given only to particular groups of low- and middle-income taxpayers. One such targeted program to reduce property taxes is called a "circuit breaker" because it protects taxpayers from a property tax "overload" just like an electric circuit breaker: when a property tax bill exceeds a certain percentage of a taxpayer's income, the circuit breaker reduces property taxes in excess of this "overload"…
The Daily Cardinal: Scott Walker to push for new sales tax holiday
September 13, 2016
“These temporary reprieves from sales taxes don’t do much to help relieve financial burdens, according to a New York Times article. In the article, Meg Wiehe, state tax policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, claims these holidays are ‘really mostly just a political gimmick.’ Wiehe also said in the article that […]
Fast Company: For All We Know, Undocumented Immigrants Pay A Higher Tax Rate Than Donald Trump
September 8, 2016
“We don’t know how much tax Donald Trump pays because he won’t release his returns. But we do know how much undocumented immigrants contribute annually. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s 50 state study, America’s “11 million” pay $11.64 billion a year in state and local taxes.” Read more
New York Times: Donald Trump’s Brexit Moment
September 2, 2016
“Unauthorized immigrants pay almost $12 billion a year in state and local taxes, according to a recent study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Between 70 and 75 percent of immigrants who are in the country illegally pay Social Security taxes, although they cannot collect Social Security.” Read more
City-Journal: Undocumented-and Unmeasured
September 2, 2016
“In a similar vein, city council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito commissioned her finance division to weigh the economic impact on New York City if unlawful residents departed. Citing the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the analysis concludes that illegal immigrants pay $793 million in state and city taxes. However, the source data reveal that […]
New York Times: The Path to Prosperity Is Blue
August 5, 2016
Ranking the states by social and economic indicators. Source: Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, etc. Read more
New York Times: Back-to-School Sales Tax Holidays May Be Skimpier This Year
August 5, 2016
Many tax policy experts, however, look askance at the sales tax holiday phenomenon. “They’re really mostly just a political gimmick,” said Meg Wiehe, state tax policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Elected officials, she said, like the opportunity to talk about how the holidays save voters money. But in reality, she […]
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
July 11, 2016 • By Meg Wiehe
This brief was updated July 2018 Read this Policy Brief in PDF here. Sales taxes are an important revenue source, composing close to half of all state tax revenues.[1] But sales taxes are also inherently regressive because the lower a family’s income, the more the family must spend on goods and services subject to the […]
Read this Policy Brief in PDF Form Map of State Treatment of Itemized Deductions Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia allow a group of income tax breaks known as “itemized deductions.” [1] Itemized deductions are designed to help defray a wide variety of personal expenditures that affect a taxpayer’s ability to pay taxes, including charitable […]
New York Times: Oklahoma Makes the Poor Poorer
May 31, 2016
“This may seem negligible to the state’s wealthy and middle class, but not to a poor family with a breadwinner struggling at the margins. The method chosen is deporable – cutting the state share of the earned-income tax credit for low-income workers, a federal program widely praised as an effective life from poverty. “It’s one […]
Christian Today: New York bishop defends undocumented workers, decries mass deportation plan
May 27, 2016
“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated that undocumented immigrants pay $11.6 billion per year in income, sales and property taxes.” Read more
Equal Times: The Panama Papers’ impact in the United States: The calm before the storm?
April 19, 2016
“A very small number of states are notorious for allowing pretty much anybody to start a company in the state without requiring even the most basic information,” says Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy with Citizens for Tax Justice, to the New York-based online news publication International Business Times. […]
New York Times: Need to Hide Some Income? You Don’t Have to Go to Panama
April 8, 2016
“In Wyoming, Nevada and Delaware, it’s possible to create these shell corporations with virtually no questions asked,” said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit research organization in Washington.” Read more
New York Times: Panama Papers Leak Casts Light on a Law Firm Founded on Secrecy
April 7, 2016
“Panama isn’t the real story,” said Matt Gardner, the executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a research group based in Washington. “This leak is giving a window into a much broader world, but it should be understood as giving a window into how things work in the U.S. as well.” Read […]
Higher Education Income Tax Deductions and Credits in the States
March 22, 2016 • By Carl Davis
Read full report in PDF Download detailed appendix with state-by-state information on deductions and credits (Excel) Every state levying a personal income tax offers at least one deduction or credit designed to defray the cost of higher education. In theory, these policies help families cope with rising tuition prices by incentivizing college savings or partially […]
Undocumented Immigrants’ State & Local Tax Contributions (2016)
February 24, 2016 • By Lisa Christensen Gee, Meg Wiehe
This report was updated in March 2017 Read as a PDF. (Includes Full Appendix of State-by-State Data) Report Landing Page Public debates over federal immigration reform often suffer from insufficient and inaccurate information about the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants particularly at the state level. The truth is that undocumented immigrants living in the United […]
Fiscal Policy Institute: New York’s Regressive Tax Structure and the 1% Plan for Tax Fairness
February 17, 2016
Those in the wealthiest 1% are taking home the lion’s share of income gains, yet they nevertheless pay a smaller share of their income in combined state and local taxes than lower and middle-income families. New York households with incomes under $100,000 pay higher effective state and local tax rates, ranging from 10.4% to 12%, […]
When thinking of tax havens, one generally pictures notorious zero-tax Caribbean islands like the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. However, we can also find a tax haven a lot closer to home in the state of Delaware - a choice location for U.S. business formation. A loophole in Delaware's tax code is responsible for the loss of billions of dollars in revenue in other U.S. states, and its lack of incorporation transparency makes it a magnet for people looking to create anonymous shell companies, which individuals and corporations can use to evade an inestimable amount in federal and foreign taxes. The…
