Recent Work by ITEP

Critical Anti-Tax Evasion Legislation Under Attack

May 2, 2017 • By Richard Phillips

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act – or FATCA – is a financial disclosure and transparency law designed to crack down on international tax evasion by U.S. taxpayers who hold financial assets offshore. This law, passed in 2010 as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, provides the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) […]

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA): A Critical Anti-Tax Evasion Tool

May 2, 2017 • By Richard Phillips

For years, a subset of the well-to-do and well-connected have been able to exploit the intricacies of our global financial system to shelter their income and investments from taxation. The U.S. government took a stand against this type of willful tax evasion with the passage of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act – or FATCA – enacted as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act of 2010.

Time to Repeal State Deductions for Federal Income Taxes

May 1, 2017 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill

Three of the biggest needs facing state policymakers right now are new revenues to fund their priorities in the face of budget shortfalls and federal funding cuts, ways to insulate those revenue streams from unpredictable tax changes at the federal level, and approaches to meet these needs without leaning even more heavily on low- and […]

Why States That Offer the Deduction for Federal Income Taxes Paid Get It Wrong

May 1, 2017 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill

With many states currently facing budget shortfalls—whether due to weak economic recovery after the Great Recession, struggling commodity prices, or self-inflicted tax cuts—and all states bracing for possible federal budget cuts in areas from education to health care to infrastructure, states are unlikely to be able to continue providing high-quality services to their residents without raising new revenue. In this context, states must find ways to generate additional revenue without increasing taxes on individuals and families who are already struggling to make ends meet and may bear the biggest brunt of federal funding cuts.

What Real Tax Reform Should Look Like

April 27, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

If lawmakers truly want to create an environment in which economic mobility is possible for more working people, budget-busting tax cuts are the wrong way to achieve this goal. Dramatic tax giveaways would force cuts to programs that provide early education, health care, job training, affordable housing, nutrition assistance, and other vital services that promote economic mobility. Further, current tax proposals from Congress and the Trump Administration defy what most Americans would consider true reform and, instead, embrace supply-side economic theories. This policy brief outlines two sensible, broad objectives for meaningful federal tax reform and discusses six tax policies that…

3 Percent and Dropping: State Corporate Tax Avoidance in the Fortune 500, 2008 to 2015

April 27, 2017 • By Aidan Davis, Matthew Gardner, Richard Phillips

The trend is clear: states are experiencing a rapid decline in state corporate income tax revenue. Despite rebounding and even booming bottom lines for many corporations, this downward trend has become increasingly apparent in recent years. Since our last analysis of these data, in 2014, the state effective corporate tax rate paid by profitable Fortune 500 corporations has declined, dropping from 3.1 percent to 2.9 percent of their U.S. profits. A number of factors are driving this decline, including: a race to the bottom by states providing significant “incentives” for specific companies to relocate or stay put; blatant manipulation of…

President Trump’s Corporate Tax Outline: At Least He Didn’t Use a Napkin

April 27, 2017 • By Matthew Gardner

The most complimentary thing that can be said about the corporate tax changes outlined by President Trump earlier this week is that they weren’t scribbled on a napkin. Unlike supply-side architect Arthur Laffer, who infamously sketched out his explanation for why tax cuts can somehow pay for themselves in this manner, the Trump Administration took […]

New State Corporate Study: 3 Percent and Dropping

April 27, 2017 • By Aidan Davis

States are experiencing a rapid decline in state corporate income tax revenue, and the downward trend has become increasingly pronounced in recent years. Despite rebounding bottom lines for many corporations, a new ITEP report, 3 Percent and Dropping: State Corporate Tax Avoidance in the Fortune 500, 2008 to 2015,finds that effective tax rates paid by […]

Undocumented Immigrants’ Tax Contributions in California: County-by-County Analysis

April 27, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

Guest Blogger; Josue Chavarin, Program Associate at the California Endowment California’s counties gain hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues from undocumented residents— collectively over $1.53 billion according to a new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Public debates in California over immigrants, specifically around undocumented immigrants, often suffer from insufficient […]

State Rundown 4/27: States Finally Reaching Resolution on Gas Taxes

April 27, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

This week, transportation funding debates finally concluded with gas tax updates in Indiana, Montana, and Tennessee, and appear to be nearing an end in South Carolina. Meanwhile, Louisiana and Oregon lawmakers debated new Gross Receipts Taxes, and Texas legislators considered eliminating the state’s franchise tax. — Meg Wiehe, ITEP Deputy Director, @megwiehe Louisiana Gov. Bel Edward’s Commercial Activities Tax (CAT) was pulled from committee early this week without a vote due to opposition, […]