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.
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media mention October 22, 2021 Marketwatch: As Democrats’ tax proposals evolve, the outlook for the super-rich is improving
“There is no doubt that wealthy people are talking Democratic lawmakers into doing things that are not popular with the American public,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy… -
media mention October 13, 2021 Fast Company: Is the Global Minimum Tax Enough?
The result of many months of negotiations, the decision means companies doing business abroad will have to pay a minimum tax of 15% on their overseas profits, leaving little advantage… -
media mention October 12, 2021 McClatchy: Biden’s spending plan has big income tax changes. Here are the Californians who would benefit
Chief beneficiaries of tax cuts would be parents and very low-income workers without children who are among the lowest 20% of income earners, which means those making less than $29,100… -
media mention October 10, 2021 Associated Press: How US states help rich foreigners shield assets
The Pandora Papers revealed how hundreds of politicians, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have used shell companies and trusts to hide their wealth and investments. “The Pandora Papers is… -
media mention October 8, 2021 Associated Press: ‘Pandora Papers’ bring renewed calls for tax haven scrutiny
“The Pandora Papers is all about individuals using secrecy jurisdictions, which we would call tax havens, when the goal is to evade taxes,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax… -
media mention October 8, 2021 Politico: Democrats likely to throw billions in tax hikes overboard as spending plans shrink
“Democrats need to think about reforms to capital gains that prevent rich people from avoiding capital gains,” said Steve Wamhoff, a former tax aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) now… -
blog September 28, 2021 The Billionaires’ Income Tax Is the Latest Proposal to Reform How We Tax Capital Gains
When people first hear about proposals to tax unrealized capital gains, they often ask, “Is this income, and if so, should we tax it?” The answers to those questions are “yes” and “yes, when we are talking about the very rich.”
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report September 23, 2021 Repealing the SALT Cap Would Wipe Out Revenue Raised by the House Ways and Means Bill’s Income Tax Provisions
There are several ways that the House leadership could avoid this problem. One approach is for lawmakers to replace the SALT cap with a different kind of limit on tax breaks for the rich that actually raises revenue and avoids disfavoring some states compared to others as the SALT cap does. ITEP has suggested a way to do this.
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blog September 21, 2021 New ITEP Report Examines the Tax Changes in the House Ways and Means Build Back Better Bill
The vast majority of these tax increases would be paid by the richest 1 percent of Americans and foreign investors. The bill’s most significant tax cuts — expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) — would more than offset the tax increases for the average taxpayer in all income groups except for the richest 5 percent.
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report September 21, 2021 Tax Changes in the House Ways and Means Committee Build Back Better Bill
This report finds that the vast majority of these tax increases would be paid by the richest 1 percent of Americans and foreign investors. The bill’s most significant tax cuts — expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) — would more than offset the tax increases for the average taxpayer in all income groups except for the richest 5 percent.
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report September 17, 2021 Why Congress Should Reform the Federal Corporate Income Tax
It is reasonable for corporations (and, indirectly, their shareholders) to pay taxes to support the government investments that make their profits possible, such as the highways that facilitate the movement of goods and people, the education and health care systems that provide a productive workforce, the legal system and the protection of property, all of which are vital to commerce. Corporate tax avoidance allows wealthy and powerful individuals to reap enormous benefits from these investments without contributing their fair share to support them.
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blog September 15, 2021 House Ways and Means Provisions to Raise Revenue Would Significantly Improve Our Tax System But Fall Short of the President’s Plan
High-income people and corporations would pay more than they do today, which is a monumental change. But some wealthy billionaires like Jeff Bezos would continue to pay an effective rate of zero percent on most of their income, and American corporations would still have some incentives to shift profits offshore.
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media mention September 14, 2021 The Hill: House Democrats take step back from Biden on tax hikes
Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said the committee’s proposal would be a “huge improvement” over the current tax code. But… -
media mention September 13, 2021 Daily Tax Report: House Democrats’ International Tax Plan More Modest in Aim
“It’s definitely more corporate-friendly than the Biden plan,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy for the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. But in big-picture terms, he… -
media mention September 8, 2021 Wall Street Journal: Heirs, Estates and the Step-Up in Basis Rule
Following is an excerpt from a letter to the editor published in the Wall Street Journal by Steve Wamhoff, ITEP federal policy director. Under current law, America’s wealthiest people can… -
blog September 3, 2021 Frequently Asked Questions about Proposals to Repeal the Cap on Federal Tax Deductions for State and Local Taxes (SALT)
Even though Democrats in Congress uniformly opposed the TCJA because its benefits went predominately to the rich, many Democratic lawmakers now want to give a tax cut to the rich by repealing the cap on SALT deductions.
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media mention September 2, 2021 The Hill: Progressives prepare to launch counterattack in tax fight
“Clearly what is happening is that some lawmakers are responding to a lobbying campaign by corporations and very wealthy people, and that campaign is really kicking into gear now,” said… -
blog September 2, 2021 It’s Not About Farms: Don’t Let Lies Crush Biden’s Tax Plan
Several former Democratic members of Congress have joined a campaign to misrepresent President Biden’s proposal to close a huge tax loophole for wealthy people with capital gains. This proposed reform is the cornerstone of the president’s tax plan. If lawmakers fall for the lies, Biden’s plan will collapse. Instead, they should do what is both popular and fair: enact the plan intact so that millionaires and billionaires no longer escape the federal income tax.
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blog August 26, 2021 New Report from ITEP Describes Options for Changing the SALT Cap without Repealing It
A new report from ITEP provides policy recommendations to modify the $10,000 cap on federal tax deductions for state and local taxes (SALT), which was signed into law by President Trump as part of the… -
report August 26, 2021 Options to Reduce the Revenue Loss from Adjusting the SALT Cap
If lawmakers are unwilling to replace the SALT cap with a new limit on tax breaks that raises revenue, then any modification they make to the cap in the current environment will lose revenue and make the federal tax code less progressive. Given this, lawmakers should choose a policy option that loses as little revenue as possible and that does the smallest amount of damage possible to the progressivity of the federal tax code.
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media mention August 25, 2021 Bloomberg Law: Wyden Plan Retains Tax Boost But Mulls Foreign Tax Credit Perk
But public opinion supports the idea of companies paying higher taxes on their offshore profits, said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy for the Institute on Taxation and Economic… -
media mention July 29, 2021 Common Dreams: 73 Major Corporations Paid Just 5.3% Federal Tax Rate Between 2018 and 2020: Report
Thirty-nine U.S. corporations reaping over $120 billion in profits between 2018 and 2020—the first three years of the so-called “GOP tax scam”—paid no net federal income tax, or claimed refunds… -
report July 29, 2021 Corporate Tax Avoidance Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Thirty-nine profitable corporations in the S&P 500 or Fortune 500 paid no federal income tax from 2018 through 2020, the first three years that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was in effect. Besides the 39 companies that paid nothing over three years, an additional 73 profitable corporations paid less than half the statutory corporate income tax rate of 21 percent established under TCJA. As a group, these 73 corporations paid an effective federal income tax rate of just 5.3 percent during these three years.
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media mention July 23, 2021 CNBC: Between stimulus checks and expanded tax credits, here’s how much federal money you could get
Between cash hitting bank accounts — in the form of stimulus payments and advance child tax credits — and the expanded earned income tax credit, the value is an average… -
media mention July 22, 2021 CNBC: Between stimulus checks and expanded tax credits, here’s how much federal money you could get
t looks like the combination of stimulus checks and at least two expanded tax credits will be a boon to most U.S. households. Between cash hitting bank accounts — in…