Recent Work by ITEP

State Rundown 10/13: Haven Sent Edition

October 13, 2021 • By ITEP Staff

The release of the ‘Pandora Papers’ showed once again that states and their tax systems play an important role in wealth inequality, and in this case, worsening it...

State Income Tax Reform Can Bring Us Closer to Racial Equity

October 4, 2021 • By Carl Davis, ITEP Staff, Marco Guzman

To pave the way for a more racially equitable future, states must move away from poorly designed, regressive policies that solidify the vast inequalities that exist today.

State Income Taxes and Racial Equity: Narrowing Racial Income and Wealth Gaps with State Personal Income Taxes

October 4, 2021 • By Carl Davis, Jessica Schieder, Marco Guzman

10 state personal income tax reforms that offer the most promising routes toward narrowing racial income and wealth gaps through the tax code.

State Rundown 9/29: Where There’s Smoke, There’s Revenue?

September 29, 2021 • By ITEP Staff

One of the few industries to excel during the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic has been the marijuana business, and lawmakers around the country are taking notice as they try to ensure that sales in their state are both legal and subject to tax...

The Billionaires’ Income Tax Is the Latest Proposal to Reform How We Tax Capital Gains

September 28, 2021 • By Steve Wamhoff

When people first hear about proposals to tax unrealized capital gains, they often ask, “Is this income, and if so, should we tax it?” The answers to those questions are “yes” and “yes, when we are talking about the very rich.”

Reforming Federal Capital Gains Taxes Would Benefit States, Too

September 28, 2021 • By Carl Davis

Congress’s action or inaction on federal tax changes under consideration in the Build Back Better plan could have important implications for states on many fronts. One critical area of note is at the foundation of income tax law: setting the definition of income that most states will use in administering their own income taxes.

Repealing the SALT Cap Would Wipe Out Revenue Raised by the House Ways and Means Bill’s Income Tax Provisions

September 23, 2021 • By Steve Wamhoff

There are several ways that the House leadership could avoid this problem. One approach is for lawmakers to replace the SALT cap with a different kind of limit on tax breaks for the rich that actually raises revenue and avoids disfavoring some states compared to others as the SALT cap does. ITEP has suggested a way to do this.

New ITEP Report Examines the Tax Changes in the House Ways and Means Build Back Better Bill

September 21, 2021 • By Steve Wamhoff

The vast majority of these tax increases would be paid by the richest 1 percent of Americans and foreign investors. The bill’s most significant tax cuts -- expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) -- would more than offset the tax increases for the average taxpayer in all income groups except for the richest 5 percent.

Tax Changes in the House Ways and Means Committee Build Back Better Bill

September 21, 2021 • By ITEP Staff, Matthew Gardner, Steve Wamhoff

This report finds that the vast majority of these tax increases would be paid by the richest 1 percent of Americans and foreign investors. The bill’s most significant tax cuts -- expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) -- would more than offset the tax increases for the average taxpayer in all income groups except for the richest 5 percent.

Why Congress Should Reform the Federal Corporate Income Tax

September 17, 2021 • By Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff

It is reasonable for corporations (and, indirectly, their shareholders) to pay taxes to support the government investments that make their profits possible, such as the highways that facilitate the movement of goods and people, the education and health care systems that provide a productive workforce, the legal system and the protection of property, all of which are vital to commerce. Corporate tax avoidance allows wealthy and powerful individuals to reap enormous benefits from these investments without contributing their fair share to support them.