• report  July 20, 2017   

    Trump’s $4.8 Trillion Tax Proposals Would Not Benefit All States or Taxpayers Equally

    The broadly outlined tax proposals released by the Trump administration would not benefit all taxpayers equally and they would not benefit all states equally either. Several states would receive a share of the total resulting tax cuts that is less than their share of the U.S. population. Of the dozen states receiving the least by this measure, seven are in the South. The others are New Mexico, Oregon, Maine, Idaho and Hawaii.

  • blog  July 19, 2017

    State Rundown 7/19: Handful of States Still Have Their Hands Full with Tax and Budget Debates

    Tax and budget debates drag on in several states this week, as lawmakers continue to work in Alaska, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. And a showdown is brewing in Kentucky between a regressive tax shift effort and a progressive tax reform plan. Be sure to also check out our “What We’re Reading” section for a historical perspective on federal tax reform, a podcast on lessons learned from Kansas and California, and more!

  • blog  July 18, 2017

    FedEx Pays Just 7.5% of Its Profits in Taxes While Pushing for a Lower Corporate Tax Rate

    The latest annual financial report released by shipping giant FedEx is yet another reminder that where you stand often depends on where you sit.

    The report shows that last year FedEx paid a 7.5 percent federal income tax rate on nearly $3.6 billion of U.S. pretax income and this low rate is due in part to accelerated depreciation, a provision in the tax code that allows the company to write off capital investments faster than they wear out. It’s not surprising, then, that FedEx’s leadership is currently promoting a tax plan that would drop the company’s statutory tax rate even more, and allow it to write off capital investments even faster.

  • report  July 17, 2017

    Comment Letter on Tax Reform to Senate Finance Chairman

    This letter outlines ITEP’s two broad objectives for meaningful federal tax reform and discusses six recommendations that would achieve them.

  • press release  July 13, 2017

    Regardless of Political Maneuvers, Tax Cuts for the Rich Remain Tied to Cuts in Health Care

    The GOP continues its dogged attempt to unravel the Affordable Care Act under the guise of ‘fixing’ our health system despite multiple Congressional Budget Office reports indicating millions stand to lose health care coverage. It’s is not obvious that this version of the bill is much different from the previous fiasco of a bill in which CBO projected 22 million would lose coverage.

  • brief  July 12, 2017

    Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform

    Sales taxes are an important revenue source, composing close to half of all state tax revenues. But sales taxes are also inherently regressive because the lower a family’s income, the more the family must spend on goods and services subject to the tax. Lawmakers in many states have enacted “sales tax holidays” (at least 16 states will hold them in 2017), to provide a temporary break on paying the tax on purchases of clothing, school supplies, and other items. While these holidays may seem to lessen the regressive impacts of the sales tax, their benefits are minimal. This policy brief looks at sales tax holidays as a tax reduction device.

  • blog  July 11, 2017

    State Rundown 7/11: Some Legislatures Get Long Holiday Weekends, Others Work Overtime

    Illinois and New Jersey made national news earlier this month after resolving their contentious budget stalemates. But they weren’t the only states working through (and in some cases after) the holiday weekend to resolve budget issues.

  • blog  July 6, 2017

    Why We Need to End the Era of Anonymous Shell Corporations

    What do terrorists, opioid and human traffickers, corrupt government officials and tax evaders have in common? They all depend on the secrecy provided by anonymous shell corporations to allow them to finance and profit from their crimes. A pair of recently introduced bills in the Senate and the House of Representatives would strike a blow against illicit finance in the United States and around the world by bringing an end to the anonymity provided by U.S. incorporation.

  • blog  June 29, 2017

    CBO Just Shot Down Trump’s Economic Forecast

    Last month, the Trump Administration released a budget proposal that relies on unrealistic projections of economic growth to create the illusion that it will balance the budget by 2027. By making the federal budget outlook appear more favorable than it actually is, the administration is seeking to bolster its case for enacting a multi-trillion-dollar tax cut. Fortunately, Congress has its own independent forecaster that just chimed in with a more rational assessment of the economy.

  • report  June 29, 2017

    Trump Budget Uses Unrealistic Economic Forecast to Tee Up Tax Cuts

    The Trump Administration recently released its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2018. The administration claims that its proposals would reduce the deficit in nearly every year over the next decade before eventually achieving a balanced budget in 2027, but the assumptions it uses to reach this conclusion are deeply flawed. This report explains these flaws and their consequences for the debate over major federal tax changes.