Recent Work by ITEP

Trump (Sort of) Used Our Data on Corporate Tax Avoidance, But He Missed the Point

August 31, 2017 • By Matthew Gardner

On Wednesday, reporters waiting to write about President Trump’s much-ballyhooed tax reform speech in Missouri received a fact sheet from the White House informing them that, “Fortune 500 corporations are holding more than $2.6 trillion in profits offshore to avoid $767 billion in Federal taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.”

State Rundown 8/31: Modernizing Taxes is Sometimes a Sprint, Sometimes a Marathon

August 31, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

Tax and budget debates are progressing at different paces in different parts of the country this week. In Connecticut and Wisconsin, lawmakers hope to finally settle their budget and tax differences soon. In South Dakota, a court case that could finally enable states to enforce their sales taxes on online retailers inches slowly closer to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sorting Through the Fallacies in Trump’s Missouri Tax Speech

August 30, 2017 • By Steve Wamhoff

President Donald Trump spoke in Springfield, Missouri today about the need for a tax reform that provides “more jobs and higher wages for America” and “tax relief for middle-class families.” But the proposals the Trump administration has released so far would cut taxes for companies moving investment offshore and would provide most tax cuts to the richest one percent of taxpayers.

Private School Voucher Credits Offer a Windfall to Wealthy Investors in Some States

August 30, 2017 • By Carl Davis

State lawmakers who want to send public dollars to private schools have devised a shrewd tactic for getting around political and constitutional obstacles that make it difficult to do so. These lawmakers found a way to pay high-income taxpayers to fund those schools on states’ behalf, sometimes even offering those taxpayers a tidy profit in […]

State Rundown 8/23: Few Lingering Budget Debates Cannot Linger Much Longer

August 23, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

This week, Oklahoma lawmakers learned they'll need to enter a special session to balance their budget and that they'll likely face a lawsuit over their low funding of public education. Pennsylvania's budget stalemate is also coming to a head as the state literally runs out of funds to pay its bills. And Amazon's tax practices are in the news again as the company has been sued in South Carolina.

GOP Leaders Tout Corporate Tax Cuts at Boeing and AT&T, Companies that Already Have Single-Digit Tax Rates

August 23, 2017 • By Matthew Gardner

House Speaker Paul Ryan plans to visit a Boeing factory in Washington State tomorrow to promote the GOP’s ideas for tax reform, which include a deep cut in the corporate tax rate, while House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady is bringing the same message today to employees of AT&T in Dallas. What is unclear is how much lower taxes for these companies can possibly go.

Inaccuracies Pile Up During Speaker Ryan’s Town Hall Meeting

August 22, 2017 • By Steve Wamhoff

On Monday, House Speaker Paul Ryan participated in a live-broadcast town hall meeting in his district in Wisconsin where he discussed tax reform, among other issues. One could credit Ryan for holding such a meeting, but sadly, anyone wishing to learn about the rationale for Ryan’s ideas on taxes would have been disappointed.

Context Is Everything

August 17, 2017 • By Alan Essig

Today, the economic climate is starkly different, but it seems GOP leaders are relying on messaging and luck to push through the biggest tax package since 1986. The White House, Republican leaders and anti-tax advocates all have been toeing the same erroneous line: their plans to cut individual and corporate taxes will benefit middle class families and grow the economy. This is, of course, baloney.

Nearly Half of Trump’s Proposed Tax Cuts Go to People Making More than $1 Million Annually

August 17, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

A tiny fraction of the U.S. population (one-half of one percent) earns more than $1 million annually. But in 2018 this elite group would receive 48.8 percent of the tax cuts proposed by the Trump administration. A much larger group, 44.6 percent of Americans, earn less than $45,000, but would receive just 4.4 percent of the tax cuts.

The Many Reasons for the Seattle Income Tax

August 10, 2017 • By Lisa Christensen Gee

A month ago, the Seattle City Council passed an income tax measure, which has garnered a lot of attention as well as volumes of supportive and opposition commentary. Haven’t had a chance to dive into the details yet? We’ve got you covered. What is the new income tax law and who does it impact? The […]