Carl Davis
Carl Davis is the research director at ITEP, where he has worked since 2008. Carl works on a wide range of issues related to both state and federal tax policy. He has advised policymakers, researchers, and advocates on tax policy issues in nearly every state. Much of his work relates to the link between taxes and economic growth, and the shortcomings of dynamic scoring and supply-side economic theories.
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media mention October 1, 2018 Politico: Morning Tax
Today also marks 25 years since the last federal gas tax increase, which was raised to its current 18.3 cents per gallon in 1993. Plenty of people have talked about… -
blog September 25, 2018 An Unhappy Anniversary: Federal Gas Tax Reaches 25 Years of Stagnation
The federal gas tax was last raised on Oct. 1, 1993, the same year that the classic movie Groundhog Day was unveiled to the American public. In the film, Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray) gets caught in a time loop and spends decades reliving the same cold, February day in Punxsutawney, Penn. Those of us lamenting the 25-year stagnation of the federal gas tax can’t help but feel some of that same sense of repetition.
Federal lawmakers occasionally discuss updating the gas tax, but top lawmakers have yet to put in the effort needed to shepherd such a change into law. In fact, after passage of a top-heavy income and estate tax cut last year, the chances of boosting the federal gas tax anytime soon are probably slimmer than ever.
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blog September 20, 2018 IRS Reopens Tax Loophole Sought by Sen. Toomey, but it Won’t Work in Pennsylvania
A recent IRS clarification, which appears to have been a pet project of Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), has been widely interpreted as reopening a loophole the agency had proposed closing just weeks earlier. But while the announcement creates an opening for aggressive tax avoidance in many states, Pennsylvania, ironically enough, isn’t one of them.
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media mention September 12, 2018 Politico Morning Tax: Let’s Talk SALT
Cuomo is far from the only Democratic governor or lawmaker to unload on the SALT cap as, essentially, a broadside against progressive states. But at least one liberal think tank… -
media mention September 11, 2018 Education Week: How a Proposed Tax Rule Could Hurt School Vouchers
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017, wealthy residents in states such as New York and California face sizable increases in their federal tax bills because of… -
media mention September 11, 2018 The Journal News: Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Anti-Trump Tax Plan Crumbling in Face of IRS Regulations
Similar programs give state tax credits on 100 percent of the donations in states such as Alabama, Georgia, Arizona and South Carolina. It’s a system that has proved profitable for… -
media mention September 6, 2018 Politico: A SALT Shake up
So what happens now after this new clarification? “Under the right circumstances, some business owners are going to keep getting more back in tax cuts than they ever contributed to… -
media mention August 25, 2018 Atlanta Journal Constitution: IRS Proposal Could Hurt Georgia Rural Hospital, School Tax Credits
The change will have no impact on many Georgians because they don’t itemize their deductions when they file their tax returns. “For about 90 percent of people who are just… -
media mention August 24, 2018 The Montgomery Advertiser: IRS Proposes Regulations that Could Impact Alabama Accountability Act Donors
Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization, said the regulations “make a lot of sense as far as what is charity and… -
media mention August 24, 2018 CNBC: Cutting SALT–It Could Be the Last Day for This Tax Saving Strategy
There are 18 states with private school voucher tax credits, including programs in Arizona, Alabama and South Carolina. A number of them offer credits to contributing taxpayers on a dollar-for-dollar… -
media mention August 24, 2018 Bloomberg: New Yorkers Have Four Days to Try to Beat SALT Cap
Residents of states that have had charitable tax break programs in effect for some time, such as Georgia and South Carolina, that benefit hospitals or schools, will probably have an… -
media mention August 24, 2018 Washington Post: New Treasury Proposal Would Stop Attempts to Weaken Tax Law
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media mention August 24, 2018 The Hill: IRS Was Correct to Include Private School Credits in New Tax Regulations
Following is an excerpt of an op-ed by Carl Davis, ITEP researcher director, regarding the new regulations issued by the Treasury Department: Last year’s federal tax overhaul has cast a… -
media mention August 23, 2018 Reuters: U.S. Treasury, IRS move to block states dodging tax deduction cap
Under the proposed rule, however, a New York taxpayer could not receive a federal charitable deduction for the portion of their donation to the fund for which they received a… -
news release August 23, 2018 Proposed IRS Regulations Would End SALT Workarounds and Rightly Tamp Down on School Voucher Tax Shelters
The main difference between states that recently passed SALT workaround legislation and states that provide overly generous credits for donations to private schools are their political leanings. Private school supporters were hoping for a special carve out that would allow their tax shelter to remain intact, but the IRS was correct not to pick winners and losers.
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media mention August 23, 2018 Politico Morning Tax: Still More SALT Intake
Carl Davis of the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy also pointed out that Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) — who have had staff meet with… -
media mention August 23, 2018 The Hill: Treasury Issues Rules Taking Aim at Blue-State Workarounds to GOP Tax Law
Carl Davis, director of research at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, praised Treasury for taking the same approach to the SALT cap workarounds implemented by blue states… -
media mention August 22, 2018 CNBC: Upcoming IRS Rules Could Chill These Red-State Tax Credit Programs
How the IRS will ultimately proceed remains to be seen, yet experts agree that the agency may take a closer look at programs with generous tax credits. “It’s when you… -
media mention August 1, 2018 Kiplinger: Online Shopping Could Get Pricier
Generally, shoppers who buy from midsize online retailers will be the hardest hit, says Carl Davis, research director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. South Dakota’s rule requires… -
report July 24, 2018 Rep. Shuster’s Mixed Bag: Doubling the Gas Tax before Repealing It Entirely
This article examines the good aspects of Rep. Shuster’s infrastructure funding plan (a higher gas tax that is indexed to inflation), the bad (a flawed indexing formula and eventual gas tax repeal), and the downright ugly (tying the hands of a funding commission before their work even begins and refusing to ask more of high-income households).
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media mention July 5, 2018 The Bond Buyer: Where SALT Workarounds Are Being Promoted
he $10,000 federal cap on the deductibility of state and local taxes has led to a flurry of activity in red states to promote tax credits for taxpayers’ efforts to… -
media mention July 2, 2018 USA Today: Gas Taxes Rise Sunday in Seven States as AAA Projects Record Travel for July 4th
Massive teacher protests this spring in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kentucky and other states prompted the Oklahoma Legislature to raise taxes on cigarettes, fuel and oil and gas production to pay for… -
media mention June 27, 2018 Bloomberg BNA: Fix’ for Federal Cap on State Tax Deduction? K-12 Tax Credits
But the very same charge can be made against the tax credit programs for private K-12 schools, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said in its report. These programs… -
media mention June 27, 2018 Wall Street Journal: As Treasury Targets Workarounds to Tax Law, Impact May Extend Beyond High-Tax States
Tax experts say the federal government will find it difficult if not impossible to write rules to stop the workarounds in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut without also limiting… -
media mention June 27, 2018 Consumer Reports: Sales Tax Ruling May Have Limited Impact
Most states currently have some kind of sales tax, though the amount—and what items or services are taxed—varies widely from state to state. Some experts think states will need to…