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blog
November 25, 2019
A Lump of Coal for 12 States Not Collecting Marketplace Sales Taxes this Holiday Season
The last few years have brought major improvements in how states enforce their sales tax laws on purchases made over the Internet. Less than a decade ago, e-retailers almost never collected the sales taxes owed by their customers. The result was a multi-billion dollar drain on state coffers and a competitive disadvantage for local businesses. But this holiday season looks a bit different.
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blog
November 6, 2019
State Rundown 11/6: State Voters Show Readiness to Fix Broken Tax Codes
Many of yesterday’s Election Day votes came down to questions of whether or not to improve on upside-down and often inadequate state and local tax systems. The status quo was maintained in Colorado, where voters failed to approve a proposition to allow the state to invest tax revenue in education and other needs, and in Texas, where a constitutional amendment was approved to prohibit the state from creating an income tax. But voters supported important reforms in other states by approving needed funding for schools in Idaho, opting to legalize and tax recreational cannabis in California. And for more on why and how we can make tax policy more fair, find the link below to today’s live-streamed Tax the Rich conference!
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blog
November 1, 2019
Sen. Warren Proposes Sweeping Tax Changes to Finance Medicare for All
Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren released a plan today to offset the costs of Medicare for All, a publicly funded single-payer health care program. While ITEP has not crunched the numbers, it seems likely overall that her proposals would raise trillions of dollars and leave costs and taxes either unchanged or lower for most low- and middle-income people.
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blog
October 30, 2019
There’s a lot more to Corporate Tax Reform than Tax Rates
Several Democratic candidates have proposed raising the statutory corporate tax rate from its current level of 21 percent to fund their spending proposals. Political reporters and observers may read a great deal into the different corporate rates proposed by candidates, but the truth is that rates mean very little on their own.
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blog
October 28, 2019
A Financial Transaction Tax Could Raise Revenue, Curb Inequality
A new report from ITEP explains the potential benefits of a financial transaction tax (FTT), which is supported by several presidential candidates. Few proposals can be said to raise revenue for public investments, make our tax code more progressive, and improve the efficiency of our financial system all at the same time. An FTT can do all of that.
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report
October 28, 2019
Benefits of a Financial Transaction Tax
A financial transaction tax (FTT) has the potential to curb inequality, reduce market inefficiencies, and raise hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue over the next decade. Presidential candidates have proposed using an FTT to fund expanding Medicare, education, child care, and investments in children’s health. Any of these public investments would be progressive, narrowing resource gaps between the most vulnerable families and the most fortunate.
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blog
October 24, 2019
State Rundown 10/24: State Tax Talk Makes Like a Tree and Gets Colorful
As autumn brings a colorful display of foliage to many states, so too are tax proposals taking on interesting hues as states move from the summer off-season toward 2020 legislative sessions. Ohio lawmakers are blue in the face from debating and re-debating tax and budget issues there. Maryland residents again showed they can’t be called yellow-bellied when it comes to footing the bill for needed education improvements, showing their broad support for higher taxes to fund those needs even despite a hefty price tag. Alaska, Michigan, and other states are giving the green light to laws implementing their new ability to collect sales taxes from online retailers, and Massachusetts came out of the blue with a proposal to apply that ability to its corporate income tax. Meanwhile, anti-tax interests showed their true colors in pushing for personal income and business tax cuts in North Carolina and Utah, though advocates for tax justice aren’t by any means waving white flags in those states.
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blog
October 24, 2019
House Passes Landmark Bipartisan Bill to Crack Down on Shell Companies Used for Tax Evasion and Other Crimes
On Tuesday night, 25 Republicans joined nearly all the chamber’s Democrats to approve the Corporate Transparency Act, a bill that would require those creating a company to report its owners to the federal government. The White House expressed support but called for the House and Senate to work on certain details, creating the possibility that the measure could be enacted.
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blog
October 18, 2019
Depreciation Tax Breaks Are a Problem that Deserves More Attention
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ recently released corporate tax plan would shut down the major breaks and loopholes that allow corporations to dodge taxes. The reforms in his plan that are most likely to get attention are proposals to shut down offshore tax dodging, as ITEP has long called for.
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map
October 16, 2019
What is the Gas Tax Rate Per Gallon in Your State?
Every state levies excise taxes on motor fuel, including gasoline, to pay for transportation infrastructure. People who drive far distances or heavy vehicles tend to pay more tax, which helps offset the wear-and-tear they inflict on the roads.