• report  October 7, 2020

    National and State-by-State Estimates of Joe Biden’s Revenue-Raising Proposals 

    Former Vice President Joe Biden’s proposals to change the tax code would raise revenue directly from households with income exceeding $400,000. More precisely, Biden proposes to raise personal income taxes on unmarried individuals and married couples with taxable income exceeding $400,000, and he also proposes to raise payroll taxes on workers with earnings exceeding $400,000. Just 1.9 percent of taxpayers would see a direct tax hike (an increase in either personal income taxes, payroll taxes, or both) if Biden’s tax proposal were in effect in 2022. The share of taxpayers affected in each state would vary from a low of 0.6 percent in West Virginia to a high of 3.7 percent in Connecticut.

  • news release  September 30, 2020

    People Need Relief. House Compromise COVID-19 Bill Addresses Urgent Needs

    Media contact Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the COVID-19 relief bill that…
  • blog  September 30, 2020

    Donald Trump and Taxes: Fast and Loose with Loopholes or Fraud?

    The president’s apparent abuse of everything from hair-care deductions to consulting fees for family members raises questions about whether Trump was fast and loose with tax loopholes or whether the IRS simply wasn’t enforcing the law. Either way, Trump successfully flouting or pushing the limits of the law shouldn’t come as a surprise: Congress has cut IRS funding, in real terms in each of the last 10 years.

  • blog  September 29, 2020

    A 2017 Tax Provision Could Have Restrained Trump’s Tax Dodging, But Congress Just Weakened It

    President Trump and Republicans in Congress passed up almost every opportunity to shut down special tax breaks and loopholes for real estate investors when they enacted their 2017 tax law. They did, however, include some welcome provisions to limit how business owners use losses to avoid taxes, and these provisions could potentially limit the sort of tax dodging perfected by Trump. Unfortunately, Congress temporarily reversed these limits with some provisions tucked into the CARES Act that was enacted in March, and this may help Trump and others like him to continue avoiding taxes.

  • blog  September 29, 2020

    Real Tax Reform Never Had a Chance Under Trump

    Congress is certainly to blame both for providing a ridiculously lenient tax code for the super-wealthy and for preventing the IRS from enforcing even the existing weak limits in the law on tax avoidance. But make no mistake, one person is primarily responsible for the farce that is Donald Trump’s tax dodging, and that is Donald Trump. For years, he has actively and loudly supported special tax breaks and tax shelters, making him anything but a passive bystander to their creation.

  • blog  September 29, 2020

    It's Time to Change the Tax Laws to Make Donald Trump and Corporate Giants Pay Up

    It’s time for a new approach. Trump’s egregious tax avoidance further exposes a system that preserves an enormous and growing economic divide. Congress has gutted IRS funding so that we don’t have the resources to audit wealthy tax avoiders. And lobbyists continue to secure giveaways for corporate clients that do nothing for our communities.

  • news release  September 27, 2020

    ITEP: New York Times' Trump Tax Revelation Confirms What We Already Know

    “The New York Times revelation of Trump’s years of dodging taxes confirms something we already know. There are two tax systems: one that most of us follow, and another far more generous one for the very rich.”

  • blog  September 25, 2020

    It’s No Secret—To Save State Budgets End Preferential Treatment of Capital Gains

    In an updated policy brief, ITEP explores the flaws in state capital gains tax breaks and highlights how ending special tax breaks provides one of the simplest ways to raise additional revenue and increase equity in the tax system.

  • brief  September 25, 2020

    State Taxation of Capital Gains: The Folly of Tax Cuts & Case for Proactive Reforms

    The federal tax system and every state treat income from capital gains more favorably than income from work. Preferential capital gains tax treatment includes exclusions and seldom-discussed provisions like deferral and stepped-up basis, as well as more direct tax subsidies for profits realized from local investments and, in some instances, from investments around the world. This policy brief explains state capital gains taxation, examines the flaws in state capital gains tax breaks, and proposes reform options that will help make state tax systems more progressive and more equitable.

  • blog  September 24, 2020

    Of Shiny Objects and Scapegoats

    While the moneyed elite were dangling shiny objects, scapegoating Black and brown people, denigrating immigrants, and financing studies to convince us that poor people are the problem, they were concurrently securing policies that cut taxes primarily for the rich and profitable corporations, deregulated industry, weakened unions and attacked voting rights. This and more allowed the rich to amass even more wealth and power.