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Though we can’t fault anyone for being distracted by the major stories of the day, we at ITEP remain committed to keeping you up to date on what’s happening in the tax world around you...
New Census Data Highlight Need for Permanent Child Tax Credit Expansion
September 14, 2021 • By Neva Butkus
The status quo was a choice, but the Census data released today shows that different policy choices can create drastically different outcomes for children and families. It is time for our state and federal legislators to put people first when it comes to recovery.
A Data-Driven Case for the CTC Expansion in the Ways & Means Committee’s Recent Proposal
September 13, 2021 • By Aidan Davis
The move toward permanent full refundability and inclusion of all immigrant children are crucial components of the future of the CTC. Together they will help ensure that the credit reaches the children most in need, making a vital dent in our nation’s unacceptably high rate of child poverty.
Extending Federal EITC Enhancements Would Bolster the Effects of State-Level Credits
September 13, 2021 • By Aidan Davis
The EITC expansion targets workers without children in the home. In 2022 it would provide a $12.4 billion boost, benefiting 19.5 million workers who on average would receive an income boost of $730 dollars.
Frequently Asked Questions about Proposals to Repeal the Cap on Federal Tax Deductions for State and Local Taxes (SALT)
September 3, 2021 • By Carl Davis, ITEP Staff, Steve Wamhoff
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.
It’s Not About Farms: Don’t Let Lies Crush Biden’s Tax Plan
September 2, 2021 • By Steve Wamhoff
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.
Labor Day is around the corner and in the spirit of celebrating the achievements of workers around the country, we here at ITEP want to call attention to the states (and territories) that are using tax policy to support workers and residents alike...
We asked New York state resident Morris Pearl, former Blackrock executive and current chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, a few questions to hear straight from the mouth of a millionaire how the SALT cap and its proposed repeal would affect his life.
New Report from ITEP Describes Options for Changing the SALT Cap without Repealing It
August 26, 2021 • By Steve Wamhoff
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 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Because the SALT cap mostly restricts tax deductions for the richest 5 percent of Americans, the best options are to leave the cap as is or replace […]
Options to Reduce the Revenue Loss from Adjusting the SALT Cap
August 26, 2021 • By Carl Davis, ITEP Staff, Matthew Gardner, Steve Wamhoff
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.
The One Thing Missing From the Qualified Business Income Deduction Conversation: Racial Equity
August 25, 2021 • By Marco Guzman
When crafting tax policy, lawmakers and bill authors often work backward, using a patchwork of changes to help achieve their stated goal. One important consideration that is routinely left out is what impact the change will have on racial equity. Such is the case with the qualified business income deduction, which is helping to further enrich wealthy business owners, the overwhelming majority of whom are white. At present, white Americans own 88 percent of private business wealth despite making up only 60 percent of the population. Meanwhile, Black and Hispanic families confronting much higher barriers to entrepreneurship each own less…
Eliminating the State Income Tax Would Wreak Havoc on Mississippi
August 25, 2021 • By Kamolika Das
History has repeatedly shown that such policies harm state economies, dismantle basic public services, and exacerbate tax inequities.
Summer is quickly (and sadly) coming to an end and if you’ve been away enjoying the great outdoors or off the grid, we’re here to help keep you up to date on what’s been happening on the tax front around the country...
State Experimentation with Sales Tax Holidays Magnifies Their Flaws
August 6, 2021 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill
It’s back-to-school shopping season, so…everyone who buys a cell phone in Arkansas this weekend will do so sales-tax-free. For this whole week in Connecticut, and for the entire spring in New Mexico, the corporate owners of highly profitable multinational restaurant chains had the option to pocket their customers’ taxes rather than remit them to the state to fund vital public services, pass along those savings to their customers, or give a much-needed boost to their employees. And all told, about $550 million of state and local revenue will be forgone in 17 states this year through wasteful and poorly targeted…
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
August 6, 2021 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill
Policymakers tout sales tax holidays as a way for families to save money while shopping for “essential” goods. On the surface, this sounds good. However, a two- to three-day sales tax holiday for selected items does nothing to reduce taxes for low- and moderate-income taxpayers during the other 362 days of the year. Sales taxes are inherently regressive. In the long run, sales tax holidays leave a regressive tax system unchanged, and the benefits of these holidays for working families are minimal. Sales tax holidays also fall short because they are poorly targeted, cost revenue, can easily be exploited, and…
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