As one of the most prosperous countries in human history, we have enough resources for our collective needs. By better taxing corporations and the wealthiest, we can generate revenue to improve family security, strengthen our communities, and reduce the debt too.
Amy Hanauer
Amy Hanauer joined ITEP in 2020, bringing nearly 30 years of experience working to create economic policy that advances social justice. As executive director of both ITEP and Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), Amy provides vision and leadership to promote fair and equitable state and national tax policy.
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blog March 14, 2023 Worried About the Debt? Tax the Rich
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blog February 9, 2023 Why the States Have a Major Role to Play If We Want Tax Justice
With fears of gridlock in a divided Washington, tax justice champions are building momentum in other places where there’s dire need for better tax policy: the states. We can upgrade communities across the country by making 2023 a year to win tax improvements in statehouses.
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blog February 7, 2023 State of the Union Likely to Continue Progress on Tax Justice
After decades of Presidents who ran away from taxes, it’s a sea change to have a chief executive who understands that the rich should pay their fair share, extremely profitable corporations should pay their fair share, and the public sector should have revenue to invest in problems – like climate change and healthcare – that will only be solved with pathbreaking public action.
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blog January 4, 2023 Trump’s Tax Shenanigans Show Need for Real Reforms
Congress should unite around a basic principle that Republican, Democratic, and independent voters support: the wealthiest, whether they are presidents, CEOs, or just rich heirs, should pay their fair share. Using Trump’s tax maneuvering as a guidebook could make the tax code much fairer for all of us.
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blog August 22, 2022 Putting Cleveland and the Nation on a Path Toward Tax and Climate Justice
Editor’s note: This originally ran as an opinion piece in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. When I left Cleveland to work on federal tax policy after 20 years running Policy Matters… -
news release August 12, 2022 ITEP: Inflation Reduction Act is Biggest Corporate Tax Reform in Decades
Amy Hanauer, Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, issued the following statement on “The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022,” the reconciliation bill passed today by… -
news release August 7, 2022 Inflation Reduction Act Will Increase Tax Fairness, Reduce Inequality
Amy Hanauer, Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, issued the following statement on “The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022,” the reconciliation bill passed today by… -
news release July 28, 2022 ITEP: Reconciliation Deal Represents “Transformational Change” for U.S. Tax Policy
Amy Hanauer, Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, issued the following statement on “The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” the reconciliation bill announced yesterday by Senate… -
news release July 15, 2022 ITEP: Tax and Climate Provisions Are What Americans Want and Need
In response to conflicting reports on negotiations with Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia on tax increases and climate provisions, Amy Hanauer, ITEP Executive Director, released the following statement: Sen. Joe… -
July 13, 2022 Abortion-Restricting States Do Least for Children
Lawmakers have passed laws in 22 states that either immediately or soon will greatly restrict women’s rights to decide whether and when to have children. These states have some of the worst tax, spending and labor market policies for families in the U.S.
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blog April 18, 2022 Public Problems Demand Public Solutions
Long-term troubles for this country and this planet now demand our attention. Progressive tax policy would transform our ability to tackle them.
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blog March 1, 2022 Taxes Should be Part of the State of the Union Agenda
President Biden should elevate his tax and revenue proposals which remain essential if we are to pay for environmental restoration, health priorities and peacekeeping, the front-burner items that may dominate the speech.
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blog February 16, 2022 Imagine a Better Tax Code, Use Evidence to Make It Real
It’s become popular to urge people to imagine a better world. But on tax policy, the last year gives us ample evidence that lets us move far beyond imagining.
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blog January 25, 2022 Why Tax Reform Should Remain on the Table
In this country, wealthier than any other and wealthier than we’ve ever been, we can create a smarter, more equitable tax code that better taxes those most able to pay.
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news release November 19, 2021 House Passage of Build Back Better Bill Moves America’s Tax Code in the Right Direction
The Build Back Better plan that the House passed today will transform the country and make our tax code more progressive, more equitable and better able to pay for crucial priorities.
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news release November 15, 2021 ITEP Statement on President Biden Signing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
America does better when we invest in our people, our places and our planet. The infrastructure bill that President Biden signed today will restore and strengthen our physical infrastructure, making repairs and improvements that are long overdue. Now Congress needs to take the next step and pass legislation that taxes wealthy people and corporations to pay for our care and climate infrastructure.
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blog October 28, 2021 Tax Provisions in the White House Build Back Better Framework: The Good and Bad
The tax provisions in the Build Back Better framework released by the White House today include enormously helpful reforms but also some disappointments. The good news is that the plan would raise nearly $2 trillion over a decade from those who can afford to pay–the richest Americans and large, profitable corporations. The bad news is that some fundamental problems with our tax code would remain unaddressed.
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blog October 27, 2021 A Surprising Idea from the Era of Reaganomics
President Reagan is lionized by many for cutting taxes and government. But the story is more complicated. Reagan knee-capped regulation and much domestic spending, and early in his administration he… -
news release September 13, 2021 ITEP: House Ways and Means Revenue Proposals Are a Promising Start, Leave Some Crucial Work Undone
Earlier this year, the Biden administration put forth a transformative tax proposal that would raise significant revenue, reduce corporate tax avoidance, and substantially increase taxes paid by the wealthiest individuals. The Ways and Means Committee has kept some of these important reforms but has diluted others in ways that would leave some of the work of tax reform undone.
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news release August 5, 2021 ITEP Statement on AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka’s Death
Following is a statement from Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the death of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: “The board and staff of… -
news release June 24, 2021 ITEP: Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Must Be Accompanied by Bolder Legislation
Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of ITEP, regarding the bipartisan deal announced today by senators and the White House. “While the bipartisan infrastructure deal announced today… -
news release June 8, 2021 ITEP: ProPublica’s Expose on Billionaires’ Taxes Is Another Wake-up Call
The explosive ProPublica report released today confirmed what we have known for quite some time: the wealthy and powerful play by a different set of rules than the rest of us. Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the report: “ProPublica’s reporting today on the details of how 25 billionaires pay little to nothing in federal tax relative to their incomes is a wakeup call: the nation needs tax reform that will impart some balance to our tax system.”
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news release May 28, 2021 Biden’s Budget Signals the End of Trickle-Down Economics Era
President Joe Biden’s 2022 budget proposal released today signals a commitment to transformational policy solutions that not only invest in people and communities but also ensure corporations and rich people contribute more in taxes to support the economy that makes their wealth and profits possible, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) said today.
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news release April 28, 2021 American Families Plan Proposes Transformational Investments and More Equitable Tax Reform
Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding President Biden’s remarks on the American Families Plan. “Longstanding inequities, deepened by… -
blog April 27, 2021 Alvin Schorr and the Policy Relay Race
Sometimes a good idea takes a while. Alvin Schorr, who would have turned 100 this month, helped draft a 1972 bill “to provide for a system of children’s allowances.” He continued to push (in a 1977 congressional testimony and in a 1983 New York Times op-ed) for a refundable tax credit for all families and a children’s allowance, among other laudable ideas. A half-century later, these ideas—which many others have championed—are becoming reality.