Matthew Gardner
Matt Gardner is a senior fellow at ITEP where he has worked since 1998. He previously served as ITEP’s executive director from 2006 to 2016. Matt’s work focuses on federal, state and local tax systems, with a particular emphasis on the impact of tax policies on low- and moderate-income taxpayers. He uses ITEP’s microsimulation model to produce economic projections and analyses on the effects of current and proposed federal and state tax and budget policies.
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media mention March 9, 2017 New York Times: Profitable Companies, No Taxes: Here’s How They Did It
Although the top corporate rate is 35 percent, hardly any company actually pays that. The report, by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning research group in Washington,… -
report March 9, 2017 The 35 Percent Corporate Tax Myth
Profitable corporations are subject to a 35 percent federal income tax rate on their U.S. profits. But many corporations pay far less, or nothing at all, because of the many tax loopholes and special breaks they enjoy. This report documents just how successful many Fortune 500 corporations have been at using loopholes and special breaks over the past eight years. As lawmakers look to reform the corporate tax code, this report shows that the focus of any overhaul should be on closing loopholes rather than on cutting tax rates.
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report February 22, 2017 Regressive and Loophole-Ridden: Issues with the House GOP Border Adjustment Tax Proposal
In the summer of 2016, House Republicans released a blueprint for tax reform that is likely to be used as the starting point for major tax legislation in 2017.[1] One of the most radical provisions is a proposal to shift the corporate tax code from a residence-based to a destination-based system through applying a border adjustment on exports and imports. This proposal has major flaws that would make it a challenge to implement. Further, it is inherently regressive, rife with loopholes and would violate international agreements.
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media mention January 12, 2017 CNN: Trump’s Tangled Web of Businesses
“In fact, as with most businesses, most of Trump’s are registered in Delaware, known for its business-friendly courts and tax policies, but also the lack of disclosure requirements, according to… -
media mention December 20, 2016 Rising Up with Sonali: How Corporations Have Benefitted From Trump’s Tax Law
A new report by the Institute on Taxation Economic Policy examined corporate tax avoidance in the first year that the tax law took effect. The results are the opposite of… -
media mention December 14, 2016 Christian Science Monitor: The peril and promise of Trump’s approach to saving jobs
““There’s a crying need for federal oversight” of state economic incentives, Matthew Gardner, senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, writes in an email. “It’s basically a… -
media mention November 23, 2016 The Guardian: Trump’s tax plan: massive cuts for the 1% will usher ‘era of dynastic wealth’
“‘Listening to Trump’s rhetoric, most Americans probably don’t realise at all the impact of Trump’s tax plan,’ Matt Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy… -
media mention November 14, 2016 Mic: Here’s exactly how Donald Trump could hurt the middle class — and how to fight back
“‘There was never any real backing for his argument that he was proposing populist tax reform,’ said Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at nonpartisan nonprofit Institute of Policy and Taxation.… -
media mention November 8, 2016 Forbes: Top 100 S&P Companies Averaged 25% In Income Taxes Actually Paid
“I spoke with two of the four experts that WalletHub consulted. Being accounting professors, they knew that the income tax expense on financial statements and the amount actually paid are… -
media mention October 25, 2016 Observer-Reporter: Tax loopholes
“‘It’s emblematic of the way most people feel about the tax system,’ said Matt Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research… -
media mention October 25, 2016 Bloomberg BNA: Thousands of Subsidiaries Go Missing From Bank SEC Filings
“Matt Gardner, executive director with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told Bloomberg BNA that rules governing materiality ‘are neither stringent nor precise,’ and that banks are realizing they… -
report October 4, 2016 Offshore Shell Games 2016
This study explores how in 2015 Fortune 500 companies used tax haven subsidiaries to avoid paying taxes on much of their income. It reveals that tax haven use is now standard practice among the Fortune 500 and that a handful of the country’s wealthiest corporations benefit the most from this tax avoidance scheme.
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report April 15, 2015 Undocumented Immigrants’ State & Local Tax Contributions (2015)
This report was updated February 2016 Read as a PDF. (Includes Full Appendix of State-by-State Data) Report Landing Page In the public debates over federal immigration reform, sufficient and accurate information… -
report January 30, 2015 Who Pays? (Fourth Edition)
Major tax overhauls are on the agenda in a record number of states, and “Who Pays?” documents in state-by-state detail the precise distribution of state income taxes, sales and excise… -
report March 19, 2014 90 Reasons We Need State Corporate Tax Reform
As states struggle with tough budget decisions about funding essential public services, profitable Fortunate 500 companies are paying little or nothing in state income taxes thanks to copious loopholes, lavish giveaways and crafty accounting, a new study by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy reveals.
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report February 25, 2014 The Sorry State of Corporate Taxes
Many of America’s Most Profitable Corporations Pay Little or No Federal Income Taxes; Multinationals Pay Higher Rates Abroad Than in the U.S.
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report July 10, 2013 Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contributions (2013)
In the public debates over federal immigration reform, much has been made of the argument that undocumented immigrants would be a drain on federal, state and local government resources if granted legal status under reform. But it is also true that the 11.2 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States are already taxpayers, and that their local, state and federal tax contributions would increase under reform.
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report April 25, 2012 How Federal Tax Reform Can Help or Hurt State and Local Governments
Federal tax reform can affect state and local taxes in several ways. The federal government can create, repeal or change tax expenditures in a way that is passed on to… -
report December 7, 2011 Corporate Tax Dodging In the Fifty States, 2008-2010
In October, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley suggested that gradually repealing the state’s corporate income tax should be a priority for lawmakers in 2012. Haley’s idea was alarming, but hardly… -
report November 13, 2011 Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers
Earlier this year, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett made headlines by publicly decrying the stark inequity between his own effective federal tax rate (about 17 percent, by his estimate) and… -
report June 16, 2011 Illinois Must Ignore CME’s Tax Tantrum
How much is enough? On top of the close to $500 million in corporate tax breaks Illinois doles out each year, Governor Pat Quinn now finds himself confronted by a… -
report March 31, 2011 In It for the Long Haul: Why Concerns over Personal Income Tax “Volatility” Are Overblown
The precipitous drop in state tax collections during the recent recession has prompted some observers to argue that relying on volatile state taxes is a recipe for budgetary disaster. The… -
report March 24, 2011 Should Illinois Tax Retirement Income?
Earlier this month, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton suggested that limiting the state’s generous income tax break for retirement income “would just be a matter of fairness.” Senator Cullerton’s suggestion… -
report March 3, 2011 The ITEP Guide to Fair State and Local Taxes
The ITEP Guide to Fair State and Local Taxes, released in March of 2011, offers citizens, activists, journalists, and policymakers a detailed primer on state and local tax policy. The… -
report December 15, 2010 How the Bush Tax Cuts Affect State Revenues
Less than one month from now, federal tax cuts pushed through by President George W. Bush are scheduled to expire—and Congressional tax writers have spent much of this year debating…