Washington
Washington Post: Kansas cut taxes, California raised them. What happened?
June 20, 2016
“The poorest 20 percent of households — those making less than $23,000 a year — are paying about $200 more, on average, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington. For the middle class, the changes have been a wash, with less-affluent households paying somewhat more and more-affluent households […]
The Olympian: Washington state needs tax reform
June 10, 2016
“I read with interest another commentary about an income tax being proposed in Olympia and why that shouldn’t happen. I imagine it means nothing to the writer that the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington, D.C., finds our state tax system the most regressive in the nation. We have the lowest paid teachers […]
The Inquirer: Proposed Philly soda tax gets wide attention
May 9, 2016
“Carl Davis, research director at the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said that’s one of the key reasons people are watching Philadelphia. “Both sides argue using limited data,” he said. “We’re citing a limited number of facts here. Researchers and lawmakers and everyone else will be interested to see what kind of effects […]
Herald and Review: Lawmakers unable to get graduated income tax on ballot
May 5, 2016
“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan but left-leaning group based in Washington, put out a statement Wednesday criticizing the department’s analysis for not taking into account the positive economic impact additional revenue generated by the proposal would have.” Read more
Industry Week: Is Bipartisan Tax Reform Possible?
May 3, 2016
“Well, we can follow the example of states that have passed bipartisan tax reform to address the problem of getting corporations to pay a fair share of taxes in their state. The solution was “apportionment” of corporate income taxes, where a share of taxes to be paid by a corporation to a state is based […]
Norman Transcript: Not overtaxed
May 3, 2016
“In a study recently conducted by a respected Washington think tank, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, income tax cuts over the past decade in Oklahoma reduced this year’s revenue by about $1 billion dollars.” Read more
The Advocate: At Baton Rouge events, John Bel Edwards attempts to build support for budget changes, Medicaid expansion
May 3, 2016
“The Rev. Theron Jackson, of Shreveport, citing an analysis from the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said tax hikes from the special legislative session earlier this year will disproportionately affect poorer residents. Legislators raised about $1.1 billion for the coming year’s budget — much of that through temporarily increasing the state’s sales tax.” […]
Seattle Times: Taxes like Texas: Washington’s system among nation’s most unfair
April 28, 2016
“A problem with relying on sales taxes is that, compared with income or property taxes, they hit the poor the hardest. “Low-income people spend most, if not all, of their income on just getting by,” said Matt Gardner, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Even though wealthier people […]
Politico: Wyden takes aim
April 28, 2016
“WHERE OREGON AND WASHINGTON (STATE) DIVERGE: The Seattle Times has a nice primer on how differently the states of Portlandia and grunge rely on taxes. Washington, for instance, collects about four out of every five dollars from a sales tax, the fifth highest in the nation. Oregon, on the other hand, gets a higher percentage […]
Washington Post: How tax falsehoods flourish
April 25, 2016
“I’m not the first person to challenge these assertions. Figures from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and economist Peter Fisher, respectively, show the same story as that above in previous years. No-income-tax states do not outperform high-income-tax states, and the ALEC-Laffer rankings have been consistently terrible at predicting state economic performance.” Read more
Politico: Boy, that (de)escalated quickly
April 15, 2016
“ALASKAN FOUNDATION EDUCATES ON THE GREAT NORTHERN OILY BUDGET CRISIS: Leaders of the Rasmuson Foundation, one of the nation’s largest charities, are in Washington this week filling in federal policymakers about its Plan4Alaska campaign, which attempts to get state legislators on board for a solution to the $3.5 billion budget shortfall that the state is […]
Info-Europa: Social Media Takes On the Panama Papers Leak Through Cartoons
April 11, 2016
“Often, the person establishes a so-called shell company, which lacks any real operations and exists mainly on paper. “In Wyoming, Nevada and DE, it’s possible to create these shell corporations with virtually no questions asked”, said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit research organization in Washington. More […]
The News Tribune: Have an offshore? Maybe you’re feeling indigestion
April 8, 2016
“The leak may change the long-term behavior of wealthy Americans, said Matt Gardner, executive director of The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington-based public policy group. “This certainly puts in neon lights that you can no longer rely on the absolute secrecy that people were used to in the past,” he said.” Read […]
The Herald: State relies on an unfair, insufficient tax system
April 8, 2016
“Last year, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan and nonprofit research group, said Washington state had the nation’s most unfair state and local tax system, leading its list of the “Terrible Ten Most Regressive.” The state’s poorest 20 percent pay 16.8 percent of their income as taxes, while the middle 60 percent […]
Los Angeles Times: For just $309, you too can hide your assets — in the U.S.
April 8, 2016
“The mechanisms are pretty much the same here,” said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit in Washington. “There’s nothing special happening in Panama. Panama is pretty much a microcosm of what the U.S. is a willing partner in.” Read more
New York Times: Need to Hide Some Income? You Don’t Have to Go to Panama
April 8, 2016
“In Wyoming, Nevada and Delaware, it’s possible to create these shell corporations with virtually no questions asked,” said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit research organization in Washington.” Read more
New York Times: Panama Papers Leak Casts Light on a Law Firm Founded on Secrecy
April 7, 2016
“Panama isn’t the real story,” said Matt Gardner, the executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a research group based in Washington. “This leak is giving a window into a much broader world, but it should be understood as giving a window into how things work in the U.S. as well.” Read […]
Christian Science Monitor: What do the Panama Papers have to do with inequality? A whole lot.
April 6, 2016
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 […]
International Business Times: Why Aren’t More Americans In The Panama Papers? Secrecy, Tax Laws In Nevada, Other States Provide Havens
April 6, 2016
“A very small number of states are notorious for allowing pretty much anybody to start a company in the state without requiring even the most basic information,” said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy with Citizens for Tax Justice, a progressive think tank and advocacy group in Washington. “There […]
Washington Post: Giving up its U.S. citizenship could help this company avoid a $260 million tax bill
March 25, 2016
“IHS is just the latest U.S. firm to be involved in a so-called inversion, in which U.S. companies are bought by or merge with foreign firms to reduce U.S. corporate tax burdens. IHS is merging with London-based Markit and has said the tax rate of the new combined company, IHS Markit, will be in the […]
The Inquirer: Undocumented, but not untaxed: How much immigrants pay
February 26, 2016
“Immigrants living illegally in the United States paid $11.6 billion in state and local taxes in 2013, including $590 million collected in New Jersey, $139 million in Pennsylvania, and $12 million in Delaware, according to a study released Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The Washington research group said its 50-state analysis, which […]
The Capital Journal: SD policy institute figures how sales tax increase will affect different households
February 17, 2016
Smolnisky was trying to provide some more context for lawmakers debating the plan, based on an inkling she got months ago about funding an increase in teacher pay using higher sales taxes. “I was sitting next to two teachers and one said, ‘I would like a higher salary, but I don’t want to pay […]
Capital Journal: SD policy institute figures how sales tax increase will affect different households
February 10, 2016
“Smolnisky was trying to provide some more context for lawmakers debating the plan, based on an inkling she got months ago about funding an increase in teacher pay using higher sales taxes. “I was sitting next to two teachers and one said, ‘I would like a higher salary, but I don’t want to pay more […]
The Columbian: Jayne: Possible constitutional amendment a taxing prospect
January 26, 2016
“Lawmakers could seize the opportunity to elevate the discussion and tweak Washington’s tax system, which has been ranked by some as the most regressive in the nation. Because the state has no income tax and is heavily reliant upon sales tax, an inordinate percentage of the tax burden lands upon poor people, and the Institute […]
Testimony before the Vermont Senate Committee on Finance: Tax Policy Issues with Legalized Retail Marijuana
January 19, 2016 • By Carl Davis
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the tax policy issues associated with legalized retail marijuana. Our testimony includes five parts: 1. An overview of the marijuana tax rates and structures that exist in the four states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington) where retail marijuana can be legally sold. 2. An analysis of early stage revenue trends in the two states (Colorado and Washington) where legal, taxable sales of retail marijuana have been taking place since 2014. 3. A discussion of issues associated with different types of marijuana tax bases--specifically weight-based taxes, price-based taxes, and hybrids of these two…
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