Recent Work by ITEP

How Much Will Typical Middle-Class Workers Really See Their Paychecks Change?

February 3, 2018 • By Steve Wamhoff

The campaign by Republican leaders in Congress to promote their new tax law has two prongs. One is the claim that corporate income tax cuts are already trickling down to workers, which, as we have explained, is believed by basically no economists anywhere. The other prong of their campaign is to argue that the personal income tax cuts will provide a noticeable decline in withholding from paychecks that middle-class people will notice soon. At this point, it’s helpful to look at some actual data and see how small the boost in take-home pay will really be for most Americans.

How the U.S. Became a Top Secrecy Jurisdiction

February 1, 2018 • By Richard Phillips

Sometimes, ranking near No. 1 in the world is not a badge of pride. According to the Financial Secrecy Index released by the Tax Justice Network (TJN), the United States is the second largest contributor to financial secrecy in the world, placing it in the company of infamous tax havens such as Switzerland (ranked No. 1) and the Cayman Islands (ranked No. 3). Financial secrecy is enabling people to hide income from the authorities to evade taxes or financial regulation, launder profits from crime, finance terrorism, or otherwise break the law.

State Rundown 1/31: Low-Income Families’ Taxes Getting Some Much-Needed Attention

January 31, 2018 • By ITEP Staff

This week was promising for advocates of Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs) and other tax breaks for workers and their families, which are making headway in Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Utah, and Wisconsin. The week also saw the unveiling of a tax cut plan in Missouri, a budget-balancing tax increase package in Oklahoma, the end of an unproductive film tax credit in West Virginia, and a very busy week for tax policy in Utah.

How Exxon’s Empty $50 Billion Promise Made Its Way into Trump’s SOTU

January 31, 2018 • By Matthew Gardner

Never one to let the truth get in the way of a good story, House Speaker Paul Ryan immediately published a press release with the headline, “ExxonMobil to Invest an Additional $50 Billion in the U.S. Due to Tax Reform.” The statement was completely faithful to ExxonMobil’s statement, except for the words “additional” and “due to tax reform.” Not to be outdone, President Trump implied during his State of the Union address that the company was investing $50 billion in response to the new tax law. But a closer examination of ExxonMobil’s recent history of domestic spending finds that the…

Fact-Checking Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tax Issues

January 31, 2018 • By Steve Wamhoff

Here are some claims the President made during his State of the Union address, along with the facts.

Moody’s and Conservative Economists Agree: The Trump Corporate Tax Cut Is Not Helping Workers

January 26, 2018 • By Steve Wamhoff

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.

Federal Tax Law Will Have Mixed Effect on Taxpayers’ State Tax Bills and States’ Revenue

January 26, 2018 • By Meg Wiehe

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.

What the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Means for States – A Guide to Impacts and Options

January 26, 2018 • By ITEP Staff

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…

Key Lessons for States as They Determine Responses to the Federal Tax Bill

January 26, 2018 • By ITEP Staff

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.

IRS Can and Should Block “Charitable Contribution” Schemes

January 25, 2018 • By Steve Wamhoff

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.”