Recent Work
2085 items
Local Mansion Taxes: Building Stronger Communities with Progressive Taxes on High-Value Real Estate
March 14, 2024 • By Andrew Boardman
More than one dozen cities and counties levy progressive taxes on high-price real estate transactions — sometimes called mansion taxes — and over a dozen more are considering such policies. By asking buyers and sellers with greater financial means to contribute more to the common good, these policies are equipping communities with resources to make progress on critical challenges of local and national concern.
Revenue-Raising Proposals in President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Plan
March 12, 2024 • By Steve Wamhoff
President Biden’s most recent budget plan includes proposals that would raise more than $5 trillion from high-income individuals and corporations over a decade. Like the budget plan he submitted to Congress last year, it would partly reverse the Trump tax cuts for corporations and high-income individuals, clamp down on corporate tax avoidance, and require the wealthiest individuals to pay taxes on their capital gains income just as they are required to for other types of income, among other reforms.
Some states 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 in recent years. Others, however, have gone the opposite direction, pushing through deep and damaging tax cuts that disproportionately help the rich. Many of these negative developments are quantified in […]
President Biden discussed multiple tax proposals during the State of the Union address to Congress. Several of these proposals appeared in the budget plan he submitted to Congress last year, but at least two appear to be new proposals. Raise Corporate Tax Rate from 21 Percent to 28 Percent 10-Year Revenue Impact in President’s Previous […]
Anti-tax interests finally found the end of the tax cutting appetite in a few states this week...
Tax Cuts Fail Again in Kansas and Wisconsin; Lawmakers Should Pivot to Proven Investments
March 6, 2024 • By Neva Butkus
The governors of both Kansas and Wisconsin recently stood up to legislators who tried to push through costly tax cuts that would overwhelmingly benefit the most well-off. Lawmakers in those states and others should shift their focus from expensive, top-heavy tax cuts to tried and true policies that help middle-class and low-income families.
ITEP’s Kamolika Das Testifies on Pennsylvania’s Upside-Down Tax Code
March 4, 2024 • By Kamolika Das
Below is written testimony delivered by ITEP Local Policy Director Kamolika Das before the Pennsylvania House Finance Subcommittee on Tax Modernization & Reform on March 1, 2024. Good afternoon and thank you for this opportunity to testify. My name is Kamolika Das, I live in South Philly, and I’m the Local Tax Policy Director at […]
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...
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