Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Trump Tax Policies

10 Reasons Why the U.S. Should Reform Its Corporate Income Tax

The U.S. needs a tax code that is more progressive and that raises more revenue than the one we have now. An important way to achieve this is to reform the taxation of business profits. These four key policy reforms would greatly strengthen the corporate tax system: Eliminating or restricting special breaks and loopholes that […]

President Trump Says His Tariffs Aren’t Paid by Americans. Corporations Are Indicating the Opposite.

Corporations have publicly revealed that they are passing the cost of tariffs on to Americans—the opposite of what the executive branch has said is happening.

No, Scott Bessent: States Aren’t Taking Away Anyone’s Tax Cuts

It’s wildly inappropriate for a U.S. Treasury Secretary to lean on states to adopt or not adopt specific federal provisions in their own state tax codes.

Linking to Tipped and Overtime Income Deductions Would Worsen State Shortfalls, Do Little to Help Workers

State deductions for tips and overtime are not only ineffective at supporting working-class people, it will come at a substantial cost to state budgets.

Conforming to the ‘No Tax on Tips’ Gimmick Just Got Riskier and Costlier for States

An unknown number of workers who previously were assumed to be ineligible for the tax break may nonetheless claim it.

Re-Examining 529 Plans: Stopping State Subsidies to Private Schools After New Trump Tax Law

The 2025 federal tax law risks making 529 plans more costly for states by increasing tax avoidance and allowing wealthy families to use these funds for private and religious K-12 schools.

State Tax Dollars Shouldn’t Subsidize Federal Opportunity Zones

The Opportunity Zones program benefits wealthy investors more than it benefits disadvantaged communities.

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Trump Raises the Price of Filing a Tax Return

November 5, 2025 • By Joe Hughes

Trump Raises the Price of Filing a Tax Return

The move was expected, given heavy lobbying from tax prep companies like Intuit and H&R Block to put a halt to the IRS’s popular Direct File program.

Biden Tax Reforms Take a $16 Billion Bite Out of Trump’s Big Tax Giveaway to Meta

Meta’s earnings setback is entirely attributable to an important tax reform championed by the Biden administration in 2022.

Why States Shouldn’t Go Along With OBBBA’s Corporate Tax Breaks: A Practical Guide

States should immediately decouple from four costly corporate tax provisions in the new federal tax law.

Well, That Was Fast: Trump Tax Law’s New Corporate Breaks are Already Worsening the Deficit

Corporate income taxes for the fiscal year that ended in September are $77 billion lower than in the previous year, a 15 percent drop.

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Some Members of Congress Will Cash in from New Tax Law

October 9, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

Some Members of Congress Will Cash in from New Tax Law

Many lawmakers who were vocal supporters of this bill will see direct personal benefits while most of their constituents benefit little or will be worse off.

Trump Tax Law Erases Economic, Racial Progress in the Tax Code

President Trump’s massive tax-and-spending bill continues the administration’s assault on racial and economic justice by prioritizing tax breaks for the top 1% while neglecting the economic well-being of poor and working families of all races, especially people of color.

The Trump Megabill Hands the Rich a Gift — and Sends the Bill to Young Americans

Trump's megabill directs most benefits to the wealthy, while leaving younger generations with higher taxes, more debt, and fewer opportunities. For Millennials and Gen Z, it means reduced public investment and an economy less likely to work in their favor.

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How Will the Trump Megabill Change Americans’ Taxes in 2026?

July 22, 2025 • By Steve Wamhoff, Michael Ettlinger, Carl Davis, Jon Whiten

How Will the Trump Megabill Change Americans’ Taxes in 2026?

The megabill will raise taxes on the poorest 40 percent of Americans, barely cut them for the middle 20 percent, and cut them tremendously for the wealthiest Americans next year.

June Budget Report Doesn’t Erase Our Nation’s Fiscal Challenges

Nobody should be too excited and think this means our country is headed toward lower deficits - especially when the administration recently signed one of the most expensive budget reconciliation bills in history.

10 Crazy Comparisons Showing How Much Trump and Congress Just Cut Taxes for the Rich

$117 billion is a big number, so we thought it could use a little context.

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There Were Far Cheaper and Fairer Options Than the Trump Megabill

July 8, 2025 • By Steve Wamhoff, Joe Hughes, Jessica Vela

There Were Far Cheaper and Fairer Options Than the Trump Megabill

Congress and the president could have spent less than half that much money on a tax bill that does more for working-class and middle-class households.

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Analysis of Tax Provisions in the Trump Megabill as Signed into Law: National and State Level Estimates

July 7, 2025 • By Steve Wamhoff, Carl Davis, Joe Hughes, Jessica Vela

Analysis of Tax Provisions in the Trump Megabill as Signed into Law: National and State Level Estimates

President Trump has signed into law the tax and spending “megabill” that largely favors the richest taxpayers and provides working-class Americans with relatively small tax cuts that will in many cases be more than offset by Trump's tariffs.

Top 1% to Receive $1 Trillion Tax Cut from Trump Megabill Over the Next Decade

The Trump megabill will give the top 1 percent tax cuts totaling $1.02 trillion over the next decade. For comparison, the bill’s cuts to the Medicaid health care program will total $930 billion over the same period.

Megabill Takes Cap Off Unprecedented Private School Voucher Tax Credit, Potentially Raising Cost by Tens of Billions Relative to Earlier Version

It is clear that this tax credit has the potential to come with an enormous cost if private school groups are successful in convincing their supporters to participate. In these times of very high debt and deficits, this is reason for all of us to be uneasy.

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Local Tax Trends in 2025

July 1, 2025 • By Rita Jefferson

Local Tax Trends in 2025

As federal aid ends and economic uncertainty grows, local governments face tough budget choices. Now is the time for localities to protect vulnerable residents and build stronger, more equitable fiscal foundations.

Trump Megabill Will Give $117 Billion in Tax Cuts to the Top 1% in 2026. How Much In Your State?

The predominant feature of the tax and spending bill working its way through Congress is a massive tax cut for the richest 1 percent — a $114 billion benefit to the wealthiest people in the country in 2026 alone.

How Much Do the Top 1% in Each State Get from the Trump Megabill?

The Senate tax bill under debate right now would bring very large tax cuts to very high-income people. In total, the richest 1 percent would receive $114 billion in tax cuts next year alone. That would amount to nearly $61,000 for each of these affluent households.

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Analysis of Tax Provisions in the Senate Reconciliation Bill: National and State Level Estimates

June 25, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Jessica Vela, Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff

Analysis of Tax Provisions in the Senate Reconciliation Bill: National and State Level Estimates

Compared to its House counterpart, the Senate bill makes certain tax provisions more generous, including corporate tax breaks that it makes permanent rather than temporary. But the bottom line for both is the same. Both bills give more tax cuts to the richest 1 percent than to the entire bottom 60 percent of Americans, and both bills particularly favor high-income people living in more conservative states.