While many provisions targeting higher education in previous versions of the tax plan were eventually dropped, little thought has been given to how the bill still raises taxes on parents at the time they are trying to pay for college tuition.
Steve Wamhoff
Steve Wamhoff is ITEP’s director of federal tax policy. In this role, he is responsible for setting the organization’s federal research and policy agenda. He is the author of numerous reports and analyses of federal tax policies as well as in-depth policy briefs that outline how the federal income tax and corporate tax code can be overhauled to improve tax fairness.
-
blog December 19, 2017 Final Tax Bill Hits Parents of College Students Harder than Other Taxpayers
-
blog December 15, 2017 Final Tax Bill Reported to Provide Senator Rubio With Much Smaller Improvement for Children than He Demanded
The latest news on the GOP tax bill is that, in order to secure the vote of Senator Marco Rubio, Republican leaders have agreed to expand the child tax credit — but only by a fraction of the amount that Rubio initially demanded.
-
blog December 13, 2017 Latest “Compromise” for Tax Plan Is Even Worse than Previous Proposals, Would Reduce the Plans’ “Losers” by Less than 17,000 Taxpayers
Earlier this week, ITEP explained that two possible “compromises” to improve the Senate tax bill would accomplish very little other than make the plan more expensive. Incredibly, Republican leaders are… -
blog December 13, 2017 Parents of College Students: The Tax Plans’ Losers that No One Is Talking About
Parents of college students or kids in their last years of high school are more likely to face a tax hike than others under the tax legislation moving through Congress. Higher education has entered the tax debate because the House bill (but not the Senate bill) would repeal several provisions that make college and graduate education more accessible. But little thought has been given to how the tax bills would affect the parents of college students in more direct ways and make it difficult for them to finance college for their kids. If tax legislation were allowed a reasonable number of hearings and time for debate, this is exactly the sort of issue that could be addressed.
-
blog December 12, 2017 Who Is “America First” Under the Tax Plan? The Rich First, Foreign Investors Second, Then the Rest of Us.
In his inaugural speech, President Trump told the world that Washington would be driven by a principle of “America First.” But the tax plans moving through Congress only put the richest Americans first. Everyone else comes after foreign investors.
-
blog December 12, 2017 Treasury’s 1-Page Memo Reasserts False Claims that Tax Cuts Largely Pay for Themselves — But Only When Accompanied by Spending Cuts
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin claimed for weeks that his department would release a study showing that the $1.5 trillion tax cut moving through Congress would “pay for itself.” On Monday he released a one-page memo that asserts, without evidence, that economic growth resulting from President Trump’s policies would raise enough revenue to more than offset the costs of the tax cuts.
-
blog December 10, 2017 “Compromises” Under Discussion for the State and Local Tax Deduction Do Not Fix Flawed Tax Bills
Republicans in Congress are reported to be considering two versions of a change they claim would “improve” the current bills by making them more generous to residents of higher-taxed states. As illustrated by these estimates, the reality is that these proposals would make little difference on those states and taxpayers hit hardest.
-
blog December 10, 2017 Even with Potential SALT Compromises, Senate Bill Forces California and New York to Shoulder a Larger Share of Federal Taxes While Texas, Florida, and Other States Will Pay Less
The Senate tax bill, with or without either of the compromises that could be added to it, would shift personal income taxes away from Florida and Texas to states like California and New York, which are already paying a high share relative to their populations.
-
blog December 1, 2017 New ITEP Report Explains How Tax Reform Should Eliminate Breaks for Real Estate Investors Like Trump
A new report from ITEP provides more details on the many breaks and loopholes for wealthy real estate investors like Trump and what a true tax reform would do to close them.
-
blog November 30, 2017 Republican Senators Debate Size of “Pass-Through” Break, But Proposed Compromises Will Make No Difference to Anyone Who Is Not Well-Off
Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana want the tax bill on the Senate floor to be amended to offer a more generous tax break for “pass-through” businesses. We have estimated how all the provisions in the tax bill would impact each income group under three possible scenarios. The only thing different in each scenario is the size of the deduction for pass-through income: 17.4 percent (the deduction in the bill as this is written), 20 percent and 27 percent. We find that the size of the pass-through break makes no difference for anyone who is not well off.
-
media mention November 30, 2017 New York Times: Trump Says GOP Tax Bill Won’t Benefit Him. That’s Not True
Mr. Trump still has not released his tax returns, so it’s impossible to know to what extent he would personally benefit from the legislation. But there’s little doubt that he… -
blog November 30, 2017 Chained CPI Would Raise Everyone’s Personal Income Taxes in the Future, Would Hurt the Poor Right Away
One of the findings is that every income group would face higher personal income taxes in years after 2025 (including 2027). Chained CPI would gradually push taxpayers into higher income tax brackets and make the standard deduction, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and several other breaks less generous over time. The switch to chained CPI would cause some low-income people to face a tax hike starting in 2019, the second year the plan would be in effect.
-
blog November 22, 2017 Mick Mulvaney and the 19 States Paying Higher Taxes Under the Senate Tax Bill
One of the more surprising findings of ITEP’s recent estimates on the Senate tax bill is that 19 states would pay more overall in federal taxes if the bill becomes law. This is not just an increase in the personal income taxes paid (which would happen in some states under the House bill). This is an increase in their net federal taxes overall, even including the assumed benefits of corporate tax cuts and estate tax cuts.
-
report November 6, 2017 Analysis of the House Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was introduced on Nov. 2 in the House of Representatives, would raise taxes on some Americans and cut taxes on others while also providing significant savings to foreign investors.
-
blog November 6, 2017 House Tax Bill Would Reserve Charitable Giving Subsidies for a Small Subset of Wealthier Households
In the tax policy framework released in September, President Trump and Congressional leadership insisted that their proposal would retain the tax incentive for donating to charity because doing so helps “accomplish important goals that strengthen civil society, as opposed to dependence on government.” Now that the House has released a more detailed proposal, it is finally possible to evaluate exactly how their plans would impact the incentive to donate to charity.
-
blog November 5, 2017 Mortgage Interest Deduction Wiped Out for 7 in 10 Current Claimants Under House Tax Plan
Throughout the ongoing federal tax debate, President Trump and Congressional leadership have insisted that while many tax deductions and credits would be wiped out, the mortgage interest deduction would be spared from the chopping block. But while the proposal recently unveiled by House leaders retains the mortgage interest deduction on paper, the actual substance of this policy would be nearly unrecognizable to today’s homeowners.
-
blog November 3, 2017 House Plan Slashes SALT Deductions by 88%, Even with $10,000 Property Tax Deduction
One of the most contentious issues in the current federal tax debate is over what to do with the deduction for state and local taxes paid (the SALT deduction). Since the deduction’s benefits vary by state, the House proposal to drastically scale it back has led to an outcry among lawmakers from states such as New York, New Jersey, and California whose constituents would be impacted most dramatically by the change. In an attempt to address those concerns, House leadership agreed to partially retain the deduction for real estate property taxes paid (up to $10,000 per year) while still repealing the deductions for income and sales taxes.
-
media mention October 30, 2017 NPR’s On Point: Who Benefits from GOP Tax Plan
We go to the biggest legislative push yet by the president and Republican Congress: to overhaul American taxes. Details slated to be released this week, with a lightning-fast push through… -
blog October 25, 2017 The Framework’s Tax Increases and Tax Cuts by State
As our report on the Trump-GOP tax framework explained, in nine states plus the District of Columbia, more than a fifth of households would pay higher taxes under the framework.
-
blog October 24, 2017 GOP Tax Plan Will Mainly Benefit Millionaires Even If Top Rate Remains 39.6 Percent
The Trump-GOP taxframework would reduce the top personal income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 35 percent, but now lawmakers are discussing keeping the top personal income tax rate at 39.6 percent for those with taxable income of more than $1 million. This modification would barely change the proposal’s overall impact.
-
report October 4, 2017 Benefits of GOP-Trump Framework Tilted Toward the Richest Taxpayers in Each State
The “tax reform framework” released by the Trump administration and Congressional Republican leaders on September 27 would affect states differently, but every state would see its richest residents grow richer if it is enacted. In all but a handful of states, at least half of the tax cuts would flow to the richest one percent of residents if the framework took effect.
-
brief September 18, 2017 Fact Sheet: The Consequences of Adopting a Territorial Tax System
President Trump and Republican leaders in Congress have proposed a “territorial” tax system, which would allow American corporations to pay no U.S. taxes on most profits they book offshore. This would worsen the already substantial problem of corporate tax avoidance and result in more jobs and investment leaving the U.S. Lawmakers should know some key facts about the territorial approach.
-
report September 13, 2017 Trump Proposals Would Reduce the Share of Taxes Paid by the Richest 1%, Raise It for Everyone Else
The tax proposals released by the Trump Administration in April would reduce the share of total federal, state and local taxes paid by America’s richest 1 percent while increasing the share paid by all other income groups. This clearly indicates that the tax system would be less progressive under the president’s approach.
-
blog September 12, 2017 Census Data Shows Importance of Refundable Tax Credits in Reducing Poverty, But Lawmakers Move to Restrict Them
The annual poverty data released by the Census Bureau today continues to show that federal refundable tax credits are the second most important anti-poverty program after Social Security. But this… -
blog September 6, 2017 New ITEP Report: Trump’s Proposed Territorial Tax System Would Increase Corporate Tax Dodging
While promoting his ideas for overhauling our tax code today in North Dakota, President Trump said that Congress should adopt a territorial tax system which, he argued, would result in more investment in the United States. You’re not alone if you’re not sure what “territorial” means in this context. It’s a euphemism used by some politicians to describe a proposal that will be wildly unpopular once voters understand what it really means.