Statement of Richard Phillips, Senior Policy Analyst
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
Before the Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Policy
Hearing on “Post Tax Reform Evaluation of Recently Expired Tax Provisions”
Publication Search Results
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report March 14, 2018 ITEP Testimony on “Post Tax Reform Evaluation of Recently Expired Tax Provisions”
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brief February 23, 2018 Preventing State Tax Subsidies for Private K-12 Education in the Wake of the New Federal 529 Law
This policy brief explains the federal and various state-level breaks for 529 plans and explores the potential impact that the change in federal treatment of 529 plans will have on state revenues.
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brief January 26, 2018 What the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Means for States – A Guide to Impacts and Options
The recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has major implications for budgets and taxes in every state, ranging from immediate to long-term, from automatic to optional, from straightforward to indirect, from certain to unknown, and from revenue positive to negative. And every state can expect reduced federal investments in shared public priorities like health care, education, public safety, and basic infrastructure, as well as a reduced federal commitment to reducing economic inequality and slowing the concentration of wealth. This report provides detail that state residents and lawmakers can use to better understand the implications of the TCJA for their states and take this opportunity to improve the adequacy and fairness of their tax codes.
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brief January 26, 2018 Key Lessons for States as They Determine Responses to the Federal Tax Bill
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was enacted just weeks before many state legislatures began their sessions, leaving state lawmakers, tax officials, and the public scrambling to understand how the bill affects their states and how they should react. The TCJA has many important implications for both the fairness and adequacy of state tax codes and this report aims to summarize those implications and provide guidance on the key decisions facing state policymakers going forward.
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report December 16, 2017 The Final Trump-GOP Tax Plan: National and 50-State Estimates for 2019 & 2027
The final Trump-GOP tax law provides most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low- and middle-income Americans. The bill goes into effect in 2018 but the provisions directly affecting families and individuals all expire after 2025, with the exception of one provision that would raise their taxes. To get an idea of how the bill will affect Americans at different income levels in different years, this analysis focuses on the bill’s impacts in 2019 and 2027.
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report December 16, 2017 Multinational Corporations Would Receive $413 Billion in Tax Breaks from Congressional Repatriation Proposal
Rather than making companies pay what they owe, the final legislation reported out of conference proposes to tax accumulated offshore earnings at a rate lower than the 35 percent that they owe under current law. The final bill would tax offshore earnings being held as cash at a rate of 15.5 percent and tax all other offshore earnings at a rate of 8 percent. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, this proposal would allow U.S. companies to collectively pay about $339 billion in taxes on their offshore earnings, rather than the roughly $752 billion that they owe, meaning that this proposal would give U.S. multinationals a tax break of $413 billion.
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report December 14, 2017 Tax Bill Would Increase Abuse of Charitable Giving Deduction, with Private K-12 Schools as the Biggest Winners
In its rush to pass a major rewrite of the tax code before year’s end, Congress appears likely to enact a “tax reform” that creates, or expands, a significant number of tax loopholes.[1] One such loophole would reward some of the nation’s wealthiest individuals with a strategy for padding their own bank accounts by “donating” to support private K-12 schools. While a similar loophole exists under current law, its size and scope would be dramatically expanded by the legislation working its way through Congress.[2]
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December 13, 2017 Updated Tax Contributions of Young Undocumented Immigrants
In September 2017, US Citizenship and Immigration Services released updated enrollment data for the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The updated data included estimates of the number of former DACA enrollees that were now legal permanent residents and those that failed to reapply or their reapplication was denied. The table below provides updated estimates of their tax contributions.
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report December 6, 2017 National and 50-State Impacts of House and Senate Tax Bills in 2019 and 2027
The House passed its “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” November 16th and the Senate passed its version December 2nd. Both bills would raise taxes on many low- and middle-income families in every state and provide the wealthiest Americans and foreign investors substantial tax cuts, while adding more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. National and 50-State data available to download.
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report December 1, 2017 How True Tax Reform Would Eliminate Breaks for Real Estate Investors Like Donald Trump
The federal tax code includes several loopholes and special breaks that advantage wealthy real estate investors like President Donald Trump. Under current law, real estate investors can claim losses much more quickly and easily than other taxpayers, but they also have several methods to delay or avoid reporting any profits to the IRS.