What's New
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report
December 16, 2017
The Final Trump-GOP Tax Plan: National and 50-State Estimates for 2019 & 2027
The final Trump-GOP tax law provides most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low- and middle-income Americans. The bill goes into effect in 2018 but the provisions directly affecting families and individuals all expire after 2025, with the exception of one provision that would raise their taxes. To get an idea of how the bill will affect Americans at different income levels in different years, this analysis focuses on the bill’s impacts in 2019 and 2027.
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blog
March 26, 2018
Trends We’re Watching in 2018, Part 3: Improvements to Tax Credits for Workers and Families
This has been a big year for state action on tax credits that support low-and moderate-income workers and families. And this makes sense given the bad hand low- and middle-income families were dealt under the recent Trump-GOP tax law, which provides most of its benefits to high-income households and wealthy investors.
Many proposed changes are part of states’ broader reaction to the impact of the new federal law on state tax systems. Unfortunately, some of those proposals left much to be desired.
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press release
March 26, 2018
Amazon Maintains Sales Tax Advantage over Local Businesses
This report concludes that lack of consistent sales tax collection is contributing to an unlevel playing field for local businesses “because millions of shoppers are able to pay less tax if they choose to buy from out-of-state companies over the Internet rather than at local stores.” It recommends that states explore reforms to bring their sales tax policies into the digital age.
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blog
March 26, 2018
Amazon and Other E-Retailers Get a Free Pass from Some Local-Level Sales Taxes
A new ITEP analysis reveals that in seven states (Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania), the nation’s largest e-retailer, Amazon.com, is either not collecting local-level sales taxes or is charging a lower tax rate than local retailers. In other states, such as Colorado and Illinois, Amazon is collecting local tax because it has an in-state presence, but localities cannot collect taxes from other e-retailers based outside the state.
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brief
March 26, 2018
Many Localities Are Unprepared to Collect Taxes on Online Purchases: Amazon.com and other E-Retailers Receive Tax Advantage Over Local Businesses
Online retailer Amazon.com made headlines last year when it began collecting every state-level sales tax on its direct sales. Savvy observers quickly noted that this change did not affect the company’s large and growing “marketplace” business, where it conducts sales in partnership with third-parties and rarely collects tax. But far fewer have noticed that even on its direct sales, Amazon is still not collecting some local-level taxes.
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blog
March 23, 2018
Unintended Consequences of the New Tax Bill Keep Cropping Up
Due to its rushed passage in a matter of weeks, without public hearings or enough time even for basic proofreading, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) contains numerous unintended consequences that Congress is now scrambling to fix. The authors of the new law have openly admitted that the law includes major mistakes. One of the most prominent drafting errors is what is now known as the “grain glitch,” which temporarily created a huge incentive for farmers to sell their products to cooperatives over businesses taking other forms.
How the New Federal Tax Law Affects State Tax Codes
As state legislative sessions swing into high gear, the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is figuring prominently in policy discussions, with officials examining how the bill affects their states and weighing the necessary policy responses.
The 35 Percent Corporate Tax Myth
Before the recent tax law passed, profitable corporations were subject to a 35 percent federal income tax rate on their U.S. profits. Although lobbyists complained about this rate for years, this report (which examines eight years of corporate data) reveals many profitable corporations exploited loopholes and paid no where near the official corporate tax rate.
Corporations Stand to Reap at Least $413 Billion or More in Tax Breaks from New Tax Law
Under the new law, corporations' accumulated offshore earnings will be taxed at a rate of 15.5 percent and all other offshore earnings at a rate of 8 percent. This change gives corporations a more than $413 billion tax break on the trillions they were sheltering offshore.
State and Local Tax Contributions of Young Undocumented Immigrants
This report specifically examines the state and local tax contributions of undocumented immigrants who are currently enrolled or immediately eligible for DACA and the fiscal implications of various policy changes.
Who Pays? 5th Edition
ITEP's Who Pays? report assesses the fairness of state and local tax systems, examining the share of income paid in state and local taxes by people across the economic spectrum. The new federal tax law is expected to effect changes in many state tax codes this year. ITEP staff continues to monitor and analyze tax policy in all 50 states and plans to update this report in late 2018.
Impact
Whether it’s at the state or federal level, ITEP produces careful research and in-depth analyses of tax policies, and provides a voice for working people in tax policy debates. State advocates, policymakers and media often use our work to inform public discourse on current and proposed tax policies.
Expertise
Federal Policy
ITEP’s federal policy resources provide quantitative and qualitative research and analysis on current tax policies, proposals, and reform options. Its distributional analyses highlight how tax proposals will affect low-income, middle-class and wealthy Americans nationally and in all 50 states.
Learn more about our Federal Policy work
State Policy
State taxes pay for essential public services, from education to health care. But the ideal design of a tax system is complicated. ITEP’s state policy resources offer insights into central issues, including the impact of state tax systems on individuals, families, and businesses. Its work also analyzes the sustainability of revenue sources over time.
Learn more about our State Policy work
Corporate Tax Research
ITEP’s corporate tax research examines the tax practices of Fortune 500 companies. Besides its corporate study on average effective tax rates paid by the nation’s largest, most profitable corporations, ITEP produces research on subjects such as offshore cash holdings, tax haven abuse, executive stock options and other tax loopholes.
Expert's View
The truth is, if lawmakers truly wanted to craft a tax overhaul that would benefit working people most, they would have started from fundamentally different principles and developed policies that would provide true tax relief for all working families while shutting down favorable tax treatment for rich people.
