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blog
January 31, 2018
Fact-Checking Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tax Issues
Here are some claims the President made during his State of the Union address, along with the facts.
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blog
January 26, 2018
Moody’s and Conservative Economists Agree: The Trump Corporate Tax Cut Is Not Helping Workers
Moody’s does not believe that corporate tax cuts are trickling down to working people as bonuses and pay raises. The real problem with the corporate PR campaign is that even those economists who supported Trump’s corporate tax cut and claimed it would help workers do not believe that it works this way.
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blog
January 26, 2018
Federal Tax Law Will Have Mixed Effect on Taxpayers' State Tax Bills and States’ Revenue
Most states piggyback on federal law to some extent for their own taxes, especially personal and corporate income taxes. These states in particular must understand what the federal changes mean for their own tax codes and decide whether to remain “coupled” to changes in the tax bill, decouple from them or take other action in response.
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brief
January 26, 2018
What the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Means for States – A Guide to Impacts and Options
The recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has major implications for budgets and taxes in every state, ranging from immediate to long-term, from automatic to optional, from straightforward to indirect, from certain to unknown, and from revenue positive to negative. And every state can expect reduced federal investments in shared public priorities like health care, education, public safety, and basic infrastructure, as well as a reduced federal commitment to reducing economic inequality and slowing the concentration of wealth. This report provides detail that state residents and lawmakers can use to better understand the implications of the TCJA for their states and take this opportunity to improve the adequacy and fairness of their tax codes.
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brief
January 26, 2018
Key Lessons for States as They Determine Responses to the Federal Tax Bill
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was enacted just weeks before many state legislatures began their sessions, leaving state lawmakers, tax officials, and the public scrambling to understand how the bill affects their states and how they should react. The TCJA has many important implications for both the fairness and adequacy of state tax codes and this report aims to summarize those implications and provide guidance on the key decisions facing state policymakers going forward.
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blog
January 25, 2018
IRS Can and Should Block “Charitable Contribution” Schemes
States’ attempts to work around the new federal tax law and ensure their residents continue to maximally benefit from state and local tax (SALT) deductions have been in the news since the beginning of the year. At a panel discussion for tax professionals in Washington Thursday, Thomas West, tax legislative counsel at the Treasury Department, cast doubt on proposed work-around schemes that would convert state income tax payments into “charitable contributions.”
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blog
January 25, 2018
State Rundown 1/25: States Begin Tax Debates while Still Racing to Understand Federal Bill
State legislative sessions are in full swing this week as states grapple with revenue shortfalls and the ramifications of the federal tax cut bill. Lawmakers in Alaska and Louisiana, for example, are debating how to handle their revenue shortfalls, and a tax cut proposal in Idaho has been received tepidly. And be sure to peruse our “What We’re Reading” section for helpful perspectives on how states are affected by the federal tax cut bill.
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blog
January 24, 2018
It’s a Small Bonus After All
The Walt Disney Corporation announced this week that in the wake of the new tax bill’s passage, it will spend $125 million on one-time bonuses and $50 million on an education program for some employees, all in 2018. This $175 million spending commitment is notable for two reasons: it’s temporary, and it’s a drop in the bucket for a company that’s likely to see annual tax savings of $1.2 billion a year and has already committed to a $50 billion-plus corporate acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s assets.
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blog
January 19, 2018
Olympics-like Bidding for Amazon's HQ2 Is a PR Stunt Meant to Extract Tax Subsidies
By Greg LeRoy Amazon.com’s announcement of a 20-site “short list” for its second headquarters, or “HQ2” location, is provoking a public backlash that could reshape… -
blog
January 18, 2018
Apple Gambled on Congressional Spinelessness on Tax Policy— and Won
Now, Apple Inc. would like the American public to know that it has “a deep sense of responsibility to give back to our country” a small fraction of its multi-billion-dollar tax cut haul. However, the company’s splashy press release is devoid of any specifics on the jobs it will create as a result of the tax bill. Like other corporate announcements, the company’s recent proclamation of newfound patriotism should be viewed as a public relations ploy designed to convince a skeptical public that working families will see some trickle-down benefit from this historic corporate giveaway.