Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Washington

Washington Post: How a GOP tax plan would help Caterpillar after a raid by federal agents

March 22, 2017

“Caterpillar appears to have elevated international tax avoidance to an art form,” said Matt Gardner, the former director of the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “From that perspective, this plan is exactly backwards. It would leave the barn door wide open for companies like Caterpillar to continue shifting their profits on paper offshore.” […]

Queen Anne News: Seattle’s proposed soda tax doesn’t go far enough

March 22, 2017

According to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Washington has the most unfair state and local tax system in the country. Read more According to the non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Washington state has the most unfair state and local tax system in the country. The state’s reliance on sales taxes […]

Alaska Dispatch News: How billion-dollar companies paid nothing in taxes

March 13, 2017

Although the top corporate rate is 35 percent, hardly any company actually pays that. The report, by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning research group in Washington, found that 100 of them — nearly 40 percent — paid no taxes in at least one year between 2008 and 2015. Eighteen, including General […]

CNBC: Shares of General Electric rise on report that Immelt could be ‘pushed into retirement’

March 13, 2017

An uptick in stock price comes as a report was issued Thursday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning research group in Washington, claiming that 100 corporations, including GE, paid no taxes in at least one year between 2008 and 2015. The report also says that GE incurred a total federal income […]

Washington Post: Undocumented and paying taxes, they seek a foothold in the American Dream

March 13, 2017

About half of undocumented immigrants file personal tax returns, channeling $1.1 billion to state coffers, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The IRS could not say how much ITIN filers paid in income taxes last year, but past federal reports have estimated that they pay billions of dollars in federal taxes over […]

The Columbian: Teachers, parents and legislators gather for school funding forum

March 13, 2017

Stonier said the state should look to raise more revenue. Heather Lindberg, an education activist who ran for the Vancouver School Board in 2015, said the state’s tax code is “completely upside down” in making the poor pay a greater percentage of their income than the wealthy. (A 2015 study by the nonpartisan Institute on […]

Washington Post: We Didn’t Think We Agreed on Undocumented Immigrants

March 13, 2017

In fact, undocumented residents in the United States pay an estimated $11.74 billion annually in state and local taxes, an amount that would increase significantly if these immigrants were given a pathway to citizenship, according to a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

New York Times: Profitable Companies, No Taxes: Here’s How They Did It

March 9, 2017

Although the top corporate rate is 35 percent, hardly any company actually pays that. The report, by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning research group in Washington, found that 100 of them — nearly 40 percent — paid no taxes in at least one year between 2008 and 2015. Eighteen, including General […]

The Seattle Times: Tax Code Upside Down

March 9, 2017

According to a 2015 state-by-state report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, middle-and lower-income households in Washington state pay up to 17 percent of their incomes in taxes while the average rate among the very wealthiest households is less than 3 percent. Washington has the most inequitable tax system in the nation. Read […]

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A Tax Perspective on International Women’s Day

March 8, 2017 • By Misha Hill

A Tax Perspective on International Women’s Day

Thursday, March 8 is International Women’s Day. The day draws attention to the progress that has been made and the work that still needs to be done in advancing gender equality. Many campaigns on issues like equal pay or paid family leave acknowledge that economic policies impact women and men differently. But we often overlook […]

The Christian Science Monitor: Why Authorities Just Raided Caterpillar

March 8, 2017

The questions go beyond whether the financial activities were legal or illegal. The news puts names and faces on the problems of political cronyism and tax evasion by the wealthy, and on the global scale of these problems. That’s politically volatile in its own right. But the news, arriving at a time income inequality is […]

News 7: Undocumented people would be able to use Social Security card to get license in Colo. under bill

March 8, 2017

The bill comes at the same time that a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan nonprofit based in Washington, that says Colorado has an estimated 163,000 undocumented immigrants who contributed $139.5 million to the state in income, property, sales and excise taxes in 2015. Read more

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Proposal Advanced to Cut Top Rate on Ga. Income Taxes

February 28, 2017

The left-leaning Georgia Budget and Policy Institute said the measure could save Georgia taxpayers — and cost the state — about $154 million. That estimate comes from the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

The Sun-Sentinel: Undocumented Immigrants Contribute $437 Mil to South Florida Economy

February 28, 2017

The FIU institute compiled its figures from new undocumented immigrant population estimates by the Pew Research Center and effective tax rates for sales, property and income taxes paid by low- and moderate-income families in states as reported by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Both Pew and the taxation institute are nonpartisan organizations located […]

Washington Post: The New Immigration Order, a Disaster in the Making

February 28, 2017

And the cost of the undocumented? Their contributions to the economy far outweigh their burden. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants pay $11.6 billion in taxes each year. According to the Social Security Administration, undocumented workers contribute $15 billion annually to the fund, but only withdraw an estimated $1 billion. […]

Common Dreams: Taking on the Billionaires

February 22, 2017

The result has been to make state and local taxes, on the whole, regressive. The share of income paid by the poorest 20 percent is twice that of the richest 1 percent. Unsurprisingly, the disparity is widest in states without an income tax. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reports that Washington’s working class […]

Mic: Taxpayers in These Seven States Don’t Pay State Income Tax

February 22, 2017

As a result of Washington’s various consumption taxes, its low-income residents wind up paying a disproportionately higher percentage of their income in taxes than the rich, according to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Read more

Alternet: It’s Time to Take America’s Billionaire Class Head on

February 3, 2017

The result has been to make state and local taxes, on the whole, regressive. The share of income paid by the poorest 20 percent is twice that of the richest 1 percent. Unsurprisingly, the disparity is widest in states without an income tax. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reports that Washington’s working class […]

This is the third installment of our six-part series on 2017 state tax trends. The introduction to this series is available here. As we described last week, many states are gearing up for challenging budget debates this year. But the need to address revenue shortfalls has not stopped lawmakers in many states from pursuing harmful […]

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State Rundown 2/1: 2017 State Tax Debates Getting Real

February 1, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

This week’s Rundown brings news of tax cuts passed in Arkansas and advanced in Idaho, proposals to exempt feminine hygiene products from sales taxes in Nevada and Michigan, revenue shortfalls forcing tough choices in Louisiana and Maine, and more governors’ state of the state addresses and budget proposals setting the stage for yet more tax […]

Washington State Budget & Policy Center: Creating a Safeguard Rebate Is Key to Equitable Property Tax Reform

January 30, 2017

  This is the fourth in a series of schmudget blog posts about property taxes in Washington state and the role they play in funding basic K-12 education. Any reform to the Washington state property tax code to help pay for schools must also take steps to make the tax code more equitable. In conjunction […]

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What to Watch in the States Series: Tax Policy 2017

January 27, 2017 • By Lisa Christensen Gee

Over the next few weeks we will be blogging about what we’re watching in state tax policy during 2017 legislative sessions. In this “What to Watch in the States” series, we will look at the following: State responses to short- and long-term revenue deficits Boosting funding for infrastructure, though sometimes at the expense of other […]

New York Times: Federal Policy Will Shift. Not All States Will Shift With It.

January 23, 2017

“But the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington reports that these fears were overblown, citing a recent Stanford University study. It found that million-dollar income earners are actually less likely to move than Americans earning only average wages; fewer than 2 percent of the tiny fraction of those millionaires who did move cited […]

Washington State Budget & Policy Center: Closing the Tax Break on Capital Gains

January 20, 2017

A capital gain is the profit an individual receives from the sale of a financial asset. Currently, Washingtonians receive a tax break on the profits they make from the sale of high-end capital assets. This tax break contributes to our state having the most upside-down tax code in the nation, in which people with low […]

This week we continue to track revenue shortfalls, governors’ budget proposals, and other tax news around the country, finding most proposals to be focused on slashing taxes and reducing public investments despite public opinion and economic research showing the benefits of well-funded state services and progressive tax policies. — Meg Wiehe, ITEP State Policy Director, […]