New figures released show the difference between what Americans paid and owed in taxes grew to $688 billion in 2021, a significant jump from previous estimates. This new data underscores that last year’s boost to IRS funding under the Inflation Reduction Act was absolutely necessary and should be protected by lawmakers.
Inflation Reduction Act
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blog October 17, 2023 Large and Growing Tax Gap Underscores the Need to Adequately Fund the IRS
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blog September 27, 2023 Government Shutdown is Rooted in Hypocrisy, Dysfunction, and, As Always, Tax Cuts for the Rich
The priorities in this shutdown drama couldn’t be clearer. House Republicans once again threaten the financial security of the millions of Americans to exact cuts to programs like Head Start, the Social Security Administration, and the EPA – all while seeking unaffordable tax cuts for multinational corporations, the wealthy, and foreign investors.
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blog August 23, 2023 The Innovative Non-Tax Tax Parts of the Inflation Reduction Act
In the year since Congress enacted the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), ITEP has written extensively on the law’s provisions to increase tax fairness and raise revenue for public investments. The… -
blog August 14, 2023 Celebrating One Year Since the Landmark Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act was a course correction from decades of tax cuts that primarily went to the richest Americans and left the rest of us with budget shortfalls that conservative lawmakers now seek to plug with cuts to Social Security and Medicare. For the first time in generations we are finally asking those who have benefited the most from our economy to contribute back.
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blog May 3, 2023 The GOP is Finally Ready to Raise Taxes. (Or, When a Tax Hike is Not a Tax Hike.)
House Republicans recently voted to rescind the green energy and electric vehicle tax credits that were enacted last Congress as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. This newfound willingness to raise taxes stands in contrast to the recent position of almost the entire House Republican Caucus.
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blog March 14, 2023 Worried About the Debt? Tax the Rich
As one of the most prosperous countries in human history, we have enough resources for our collective needs. By better taxing corporations and the wealthiest, we can generate revenue to improve family security, strengthen our communities, and reduce the debt too.
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brief September 20, 2022 How the Inflation Reduction Act’s Tax Reforms Can Help Close the Racial Wealth Gap
Lawmakers have many opportunities to pass reforms that will make our tax code fairer and further reduce racial inequity in our economy. The Inflation Reduction Act is a great step forward; better taxing wealth and income from wealth and expanding targeted refundable tax credits would build on this progress.
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blog August 22, 2022 Four Tax Policy Wins in the Inflation Reduction Act and Four More That Can Build on This Progress
With four major tax policy provisions, the IRA takes a huge step toward a fairer tax code and a more equitable economy. But as always, there are more steps lawmakers should take to build on this progress.
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blog August 22, 2022 Putting Cleveland and the Nation on a Path Toward Tax and Climate Justice
Editor’s note: This originally ran as an opinion piece in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. When I left Cleveland to work on federal tax policy after 20 years running Policy Matters… -
blog August 22, 2022 The Case for More IRS Funding
Editor’s note: This originally ran as an opinion piece in The Hill. Though the Inflation Reduction Act is enormously popular, some politicians and pundits are trying to generate hysteria about… -
news release August 12, 2022 ITEP: Inflation Reduction Act is Biggest Corporate Tax Reform in Decades
Amy Hanauer, Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, issued the following statement on “The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022,” the reconciliation bill passed today by… -
blog August 12, 2022 Lawmakers Must Choose Between Funding the IRS or Protecting Wealthy Tax Cheaters
Grasping for some way to criticize the popular Inflation Reduction Act as it approaches final passage, Congressional Republicans have decided to attack its provisions that will reverse a decade of… -
blog August 9, 2022 What Tax Provisions are in the Senate-Passed Inflation Reduction Act?
The Inflation Reduction Act approved by the Senate on Aug. 7 would raise more than $700 billion in new revenue over a decade by closing corporate tax loopholes, empowering the… -
news release August 7, 2022 Inflation Reduction Act Will Increase Tax Fairness, Reduce Inequality
Amy Hanauer, Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, issued the following statement on “The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022,” the reconciliation bill passed today by… -
blog August 5, 2022 They Might Really Do It: The Senate Is About to Reform Our Tax Code
For now, the Senate is poised to reverse cuts to the IRS enforcement against wealthy tax evaders for the first time in a decade, crack down on tax-dodging by huge corporations for the first time since 1986, and finally address the method increasingly used by corporations to transfer income to shareholders to avoid federal taxes. The multi-decade winning streak of corporate lobbyists and special interests who have practically written many of our tax laws in recent years is about to come to an end.
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blog August 5, 2022 Corporations are Shifting Profits to Wealthy Investors Tax-Free—Stock Buyback Tax Would Change That
Senate Democrats have announced an agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act that, among other changes to a previous version of the bill, would apply a 1 percent tax on corporations repurchasing their own stock. This proposal was included in the House-passed Build Back Better Act last year and was estimated at that time to raise $124 billion over 10 years. This measure would ensure that income transferred from corporations to wealthy shareholders does not continue to escape taxation.
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blog August 5, 2022 Corporate Minimum Tax Examples: Apple Would Likely Pay More, 3M Would Not
Apple, one of the largest corporations in the United States despite manufacturing most of its physical products offshore, would likely pay the corporate minimum tax that is included in the Inflation Reduction Act that the Senate is debating this week. 3M, a manufacturer that has about 40 percent of its workforce in the United States, likely would not pay the corporate minimum tax if current trends in the company’s profits and taxes continue, because it is already paying above 15 percent of its profits in taxes.
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blog August 2, 2022 Opponents of Inflation Reduction Act Call for Continued Tax Avoidance by Large Manufacturers
The biggest revenue-raising provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, the 15 percent minimum tax for corporations that have more than a billion dollars in profits, is under attack from members… -
blog August 2, 2022 Top Republican Tax-Writer Falsely Claims that Minimum Tax for Huge Corporations Is a Tax Hike on Middle-Class
Opponents of requiring corporations to pay even a minimum amount of taxes hold an unpopular position. But Sen. Mike Crapo, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee and a leader of that opposition, is using a one-sided and incomplete analysis to claim that the corporate minimum tax would raise taxes on low- and middle-income people.
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news release July 28, 2022 ITEP: Reconciliation Deal Represents “Transformational Change” for U.S. Tax Policy
Amy Hanauer, Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, issued the following statement on “The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” the reconciliation bill announced yesterday by Senate…