Recent Work by ITEP

A Financial Transaction Tax Could Raise Revenue, Curb Inequality

October 28, 2019 • By Steve Wamhoff

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.

Benefits of a Financial Transaction Tax

October 28, 2019 • By Jessica Schieder, Lorena Roque, Steve Wamhoff

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.

State Rundown 10/24: State Tax Talk Makes Like a Tree and Gets Colorful

October 24, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

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…

House Passes Landmark Bipartisan Bill to Crack Down on Shell Companies Used for Tax Evasion and Other Crimes

October 24, 2019 • By Steve Wamhoff

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.

Depreciation Tax Breaks Are a Problem that Deserves More Attention

October 18, 2019 • By Steve Wamhoff

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.

What is the Gas Tax Rate Per Gallon in Your State?

October 16, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

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.

Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman’s New Book Reminds Us that Tax Injustice Is a Choice

October 15, 2019 • By Steve Wamhoff

Cue Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman. In their new book, The Triumph of Injustice, the economists, who already jolted the world with their shocking data on exploding income inequality and wealth inequality, tell us to stop acting like we are paralyzed when it comes to tax policy. There are answers and solutions. And in about 200 surprisingly readable pages, they provide them.

State Rundown 10/10: Always Something Old, Something New in State Tax Debates

October 10, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

Creative thinking from Pennsylvania lawmakers has helped them discover that the Wayfair ruling allowing states to collect sales tax from online retailers can also help them identify and tax corporate profits earned in their borders. Similarly, New York leaders had the vision to put bold environmental goals in place and identify a carbon price as a potential pay-for. Gubernatorial candidates in Mississippi and Kentucky showed less ingenuity, proposing tax cuts even though Mississippi is still phasing in a massive tax cut from a few years ago and Kentucky’s next election isn’t until 2020. Meanwhile, the old idea of eliminating income…

How a Federal Wealth Tax Can Help the Economy

October 2, 2019 • By Steve Wamhoff

A New York Times article explained that proponents of a federal wealth tax hope to address exploding inequality but then went on to list the fears of billionaires and economic policymakers, finding that “the idea of redistributing wealth by targeting billionaires is stirring fierce debates at the highest ranks of academia and business, with opponents arguing it would cripple economic growth, sap the motivation of entrepreneurs who aspire to be multimillionaires and set off a search for loopholes.” A wealth tax will not damage our economy and instead would likely improve it. Here’s why.

The Nation’s Income Inequality Challenge Explained in Charts

September 27, 2019 • By Stephanie Clegg

Income inequality has reached its highest level since the U.S. Census Bureau began tracking the measure more than 50 years ago, according to recent data. While recent Census data show modest increases in median household income and average hourly wages—numbers anti-tax politicians and pundits have used to deny rising inequality—a deeper look at some of the latest numbers reveals a decades-long trend of widening economic inequality.