Recent Work by ITEP

Cannabis Tax Revenue, Per Capita, April – June 2019

September 16, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

Seven states currently allow for the legal, taxable sale of recreational cannabis. The above map shows per capita revenue collections from excise and sales taxes on cannabis during the second quarter of 2019, the most recent period for which data are available in every state. The most lucrative cannabis market in the country, from a tax revenue perspective, is in Washington State where the 46 percent combined tax rate applied to cannabis is the highest in the country. Collections in California and Massachusetts, by contrast, remain low as these states are still in the early stages of establishing their legal…

The Case for a Federal Wealth Tax

September 16, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

A federal wealth tax on the richest 0.1 percent of Americans is a viable approach for Congress to raise revenue and address economic inequality. This new video from ITEP makes the case for a federal wealth tax.

Why Are Ideologues Trying to Downplay Poverty and Economic Inequality?

September 12, 2019 • By Jenice Robinson

Our elected officials should pause and check the pulse of the nation. The public is aware of the great income divide and likely isn’t keen on an agenda that would use sleight of hand to “reduce” poverty and spend less on domestic programs—particularly when that agenda is in tandem with using the tax code to further boost income for the wealthy.

State Rundown 9/12: Work Continues to Flip the Script on Backwards Tax Codes

September 12, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

Residents of several states are spending their palindrome week reading ballot initiatives forwards and backwards to decide whether or not to support them, including measures to improve education funding in California and Idaho, allow Alaska and Colorado to invest more in public services, and constitutionally prohibit income taxation in Texas. New Jersey lawmakers are giving the same thorough treatment to the state’s corporate tax subsidies. And advocates in Chicago, Illinois, have a bold proposal to flip the script on upside-down taxes there. But devotees of good policy and honest government in North Carolina won’t want to re-read yesterday’s news in…

Sen. Wyden’s Anti-Deferral Accounting Proposal Could Be a Game-Changer

September 12, 2019 • By Steve Wamhoff

Today, Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, fulfilled a promise he made several months ago to release a proposal that could fundamentally transform how the U.S. taxes capital gains of the wealthy. The paper he released today proposes “anti-deferral accounting” to ensure that wealthy people are taxed on all of […]

Comments on Senate Finance Committee Paper on Anti-Deferral Accounting

September 12, 2019 • By Steve Wamhoff

Comments on Senate Finance Committee Paper on Anti-Deferral Accounting

Promoting Greater Economic Security Through A Chicago Earned Income Tax Credit: Analyses of Six Policy Design Options

September 12, 2019 • By Lisa Christensen Gee

A new report reveals that a city-level, Chicago Earned Income Tax Credit would boost the economic security of 546,000 to 1 million of the city’s working families. ITEP produced a cost and distributional analysis of six EITC policy designs, which outlines the average after-tax income boost for families at varying income levels. The most generous policy option would increase after-tax income for more than 1 million working families with an average benefit, depending on income, ranging from $898 to $1,426 per year.

Census Numbers Show the Power of the Tax Code to Direct Resources to Low-Income Families

September 10, 2019 • By Jessica Schieder

Refundable federal tax credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), lifted 7.9 million people out of poverty in 2018. This latest analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau demonstrates the power of federal programs to alleviate poverty and help low-income families keep up with the increasing cost of living.

How Tax Policy Can Help Mitigate Poverty, Address Income Inequality

September 10, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

Analysts at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy have produced multiple recent briefs and reports that provide insight on how current and proposed tax policies affect family economic security and income inequality.

Major Federal Tax Credit Proposals

September 10, 2019 • By ITEP Staff

In 2019, several federal lawmakers have introduced tax credit proposals to significantly expand existing tax credits or create new ones to benefit low- and moderate-income people. While these proposals vary a great deal and take different approaches, all build off the success of the EITC and CTC and target their benefits to families in the bottom 60 percent of the income distribution who have an annual household income of $70,000 or less.