Recent Work by ITEP

Legal Cannabis and a Tax Cut, Too

December 9, 2019 • By Carl Davis

A new ITEP report explains that an income tax cut for cannabis businesses embedded in the MORE Act is probably larger than the new 5 percent sales tax. This means that the average cannabis retailer—and its customers—could expect to pay LESS tax if the MORE Act is signed into law. Congress might have good reasons for structuring legalization this way, but it is an underappreciated aspect of the bill that should be made clearer as this debate progresses.

Cannabis Legalization: Tax Cut or Tax Hike?

December 9, 2019 • By Carl Davis

Understanding the full tax consequences of cannabis legalization requires evaluating not only the excise taxes proposed in most legalization bills, but also the effects on the federal income tax liability of cannabis businesses.

State Rundown 11/27: Don’t Forget to Thank Taxes!

November 27, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

In the last few weeks, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has served up his budget proposal, which advocates are eager to dig into and hoping to contribute to with a delectable Earned Income Tax Credit proposal of their own. Utah lawmakers have been cooking up tax ideas as well, but haven’t yet decided when to come to the table to debate them. And Maryland leaders finalized their menu of needed education reforms, now moving on to assigning responsibilities for funding them. With respect to dividing up the pie, our “What We’re Reading” section below includes reporting on evidence that corporate tax…

A Lump of Coal for 12 States Not Collecting Marketplace Sales Taxes this Holiday Season

November 25, 2019 • By Carl Davis

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.

State Rundown 11/6: State Voters Show Readiness to Fix Broken Tax Codes

November 6, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

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…

Sen. Warren Proposes Sweeping Tax Changes to Finance Medicare for All

November 1, 2019 • By Steve Wamhoff

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.

There’s a lot more to Corporate Tax Reform than Tax Rates

October 30, 2019 • By Lorena Roque

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.

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…