Recent Work
2048 items
While many state lawmakers have spent the past few years debating deep and damaging tax cuts that disproportionately help the rich, more forward-thinking lawmakers have improved tax equity by raising new revenue from the well-off and creating or expanding refundable tax credits for low- and moderate-income families.
Corporate Tax Avoidance in the First Five Years of the Trump Tax Law
February 29, 2024 • By Matthew Gardner, Spandan Marasini, Steve Wamhoff
The Trump tax law overhaul cut the federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, but during the first five years it has been in effect, most profitable corporations paid considerably less than that.
State legislative sessions are in full swing with New Jersey and Oklahoma both particularly active this week...
State Rundown 2/22: Some Top-Heavy Tax Cut Proposals are Getting the Chop
February 22, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
With many state legislatures now in full swing with activity heating up, some tax cut proposals have lost steam...
The ‘Low-Tax’ Lie: States Hyped for Low Taxes Usually Only Low-Tax for the Rich
February 20, 2024 • By Jon Whiten
It’s hard to go a week without seeing a politician or a news article hype up a state as the place that everyone is moving to – or should move to – because of low taxes. However, there’s a big problem with these proclamations: they aren’t true.
IRS Commissioner, New GAO Report Highlight Importance of Proper IRS Funding
February 16, 2024 • By Joe Hughes
A new GAO report and Commissioner Werfel’s testimony highlight the value and necessity of a well-funded and functioning IRS. Most families and businesses do their best to pay taxes accurately and on time. The nation benefits from a modern revenue agency that can make this process as easy and simple as possible and identify complex tax schemes that deprive the country of revenues.
As many of you may know, we love taxes, along with the many great things they provide for our communities...
State Rundown 2/8: Flowers, Chocolates, and Tax Cuts for the Wealthy?
February 8, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
While we were hoping to get progressive tax policy wins for Valentine’s Day, many state lawmakers have another idea in mind...
Tax Policy to Reduce Racial Retirement Wealth Inequality
February 6, 2024 • By Brakeyshia Samms, Carl Davis
Historic and ongoing discrimination have created stark racial disparities in the US, and the racial retirement wealth gap is one such example.
House SALT Proposal is Expensive, Unneeded, and Poorly Designed
February 2, 2024 • By Joe Hughes
The SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act passed by the House Rules Committee on February 1 is costly, decreasing tax revenue by about $8 billion in 2023. It also mostly only helps taxpayers who are already well off.
Impacts of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act
February 2, 2024 • By Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff
The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act passed by the House of Representatives on January 31 is a compromise between lawmakers who want to address child poverty and lawmakers who want to expand the Trump tax cuts for corporations and therefore includes provisions that do both. It also offsets the costs of those […]
State Rundown 2/1: Black History Month Begins as Tax Debates Heat Up Nationwide
February 1, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
This week the showdown between the Kansas legislature and governor continued as Gov. Kelly vetoed the legislature’s latest attempt to pass a flat personal income tax. Elsewhere, the focus is on doing more for working families through proposals to expand refundable credits in Maryland and adding a millionaire tax bracket in Rhode Island. Meanwhile, there’s […]
It doesn’t matter if someone with a family income of $800,000 per year thinks they aren’t rich because they can’t quit their jobs and retire to a luxury home on the beach in Malibu. They can call themselves what they want. The point is that they are richer than 99 percent of the population and can afford to pay more.
The IRS Direct File pilot is currently open to eligible taxpayers here. Millions of American families have now received their W-2s for 2023, signaling the start to a new tax filing season. The IRS has set January 29 as the first date that people can file their tax returns for the previous year, and the […]
State Rundown 1/26: Wealth Taxes Drawing Interest Early in Legislative Sessions
January 26, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
Bills are moving and state legislative sessions are picking up across the country, giving elected officials the opportunity to consider two distinct paths when it comes to tax policy...
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