ITEP
@itep.org
Informing the debate on tax policy nationwide with research and data-driven solutions. Visit www.itep.org to find our work. More info: linktr.ee/_itep
These 6 companies received more than 40% of the total federal tax breaks disclosed by corporations in 2025. This total also exceeds the entire annual discretionary budget of the U.S. Department of Education.
ITEP@itep.org · 4d ago$83 billion in federal tax breaks went to just 6 companies in 2025. Microsoft has the record high for a publicly held company in a single year at nearly $19 billion. That's out of $204 billion disclosed by publicly traded U.S companies so far for 2025.
More states are adopting tax credits that help workers and families make ends meet. They're also recognizing that refundability is key for two popular tax credits that are specifically designed to reduce the costs of raising children. itep.org/child-tax-cr...
Child Tax Credits and Child and Dependent Care Credits: What’s the Difference?
Three popular state tax credits support families with children: the Child Tax Credit (CTC, or child credit), the Child and…
itep.org
$83 billion in federal tax breaks went to just 6 companies in 2025. Microsoft has the record high for a publicly held company in a single year at nearly $19 billion. That's out of $204 billion disclosed by publicly traded U.S companies so far for 2025.
Get paid to tax the rich. ITEP is hiring a Senior Researcher for our state team. itep.org/hiring-senio...
President Trump is once again weighing a proposal to index capital gains taxes to inflation ahead of the midterm elections. It’s clear who this is for. It would create a massive tax break for wealthy investors on income already subject to favorable tax treatment.
We are hearing a lot of misinformation about the Millionaires Tax. In particular, some ultra-wealthy people and special interest groups who don’t want to pay this tax are pushing the false narrative of “millionaire tax flight." Our new blog post debunks these claims:
Debunking the false claims behind “millionaire tax flight” - Budget and Policy Center
We're hearing a lot of misinformation on the Millionaires Tax. Some ultra-wealthy people and special interest groups who don’t want to pay this tax are pushing the false narrative of “millionaire tax ...
budgetandpolicy.org
Treasury ended a rule requiring U.S. businesses to report their owners to federal financial-crime investigators. Critics warn the move could make it easier to use anonymous shell companies for crimes. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Treasury ends ownership reporting rules for U.S. companies
The rules, intended to combat money laundering and other financial crimes, imposed an undue burden on American businesses, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
washingtonpost.com
ITEP is hiring a Senior Analyst to join our State Policy Team. Learn more about this role and how to apply here. itep.org/hiring-senio...
Senior Analyst, State Tax Policy
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) seeks a state tax policy professional (Senior Analyst) to join our State Policy Team. Our dedicated, congenial, influential staff works with policy...
itep.org
Repeated IRS funding cuts have made it harder for taxpayers to get help and weakened the agency’s ability to enforce the tax code. A new bill would restore critical funding and strengthen the IRS. itep.org/irs-cuts-cou...
IRS Cuts Could Cruise on Autopilot; New Bill Aims to Restore Funding to Help Taxpayers and Fight Tax Cheats
This fall, Congress could allow billions of dollars in IRS funding to disappear on autopilot. However, the Stop CHEATERS Act would restore the multi-year mandatory funding rescinded from the IRA and a...
itep.org
Lawmakers should not be passive as AI reshapes our economy and our society. Congress can use tax policy to: - Ensure a fairer distribution of its benefits - Address the specific harms of AI specifically - Acquire a public stake in the companies driving the AI revolution itep.org/how-federal-...
How Federal Tax Policy Can Address AI
Congress could use its taxing power to ensure a fairer distribution of the fruits of labor, innovation and investment, address the specific harms (the negative externalities) of AI specifically, and a...
itep.org
Sales tax holidays are becoming more common, with 20 states offering them in 2026. But these breaks come at a cost: an estimated $600 million in lost state and local revenue this year. itep.org/which-states...
Which States Have Sales Tax Holidays in 2026?
Twenty states have sales tax holidays on the books in 2026, two more than last year. The combined annual cost to state and local budgets this year is estimated to be around $600 million.
itep.org
The frenzy over NYC’s pied-à-terre tax ignores who actually pays it. Most New Yorkers are renters, and most homeowners don’t own properties valuable enough to qualify. The tax targets a tiny share of the city’s wealthiest property owners. itep.org/new-york-cit...
New Yorkers, Please Pay Your City Income Taxes: Why the Pied-à-Terre Tax Rollout Is Not Worth a Meltdown
The news coverage of the second home tax has been disconnected from the real living conditions for the millions of New Yorkers who don’t own a second (or third, or fourth) home.
itep.org
The issue isn’t simply whether oil prices temporarily inflated profits this quarter. It’s why Congress has spent years making it easier for some of the world’s most profitable corporations to keep a larger share of those profits in the first place. itep.org/trump-exxon-...
Trump Says Exxon and Chevron Are Ripping Off Americans, But His Own Policies Are to Blame
President Trump lashed out at ExxonMobil and Chevron for “making too much money." These companies are reporting enormous profits right now, partly the result of Trump’s war in Iran but also due to the...
itep.org
Who says the public doesn't understand tax fairness? 83% of voters in Missouri rejected a ballot question to swap income tax for sales taxes, proved that voters across the political spectrum strongly support tax progressivity over giveaways for the wealthy. @itep.org itep.org/missouri-vot...
Missouri Voters Reject Amendment 5 and a Damaging Tax Shift onto Working Families
Yesterday Missouri voters rejected Amendment 5, declining to give lawmakers a blank check to raise or expand sales taxes, something some lawmakers sought to enable enormous income tax cuts for the sta...
itep.org
Since 1990, states have raised sales taxes 68 times while cutting top income tax rates 210 times and corporate tax rates 168 times. This shift favors the wealthy while asking more from lower-income families. www.usatoday.com/story/money/...
States are relying more on sales taxes. Here's why that matters
Dozens of states are rolling back income taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations. In many of the same states, sales taxes are quietly rising.
usatoday.com
My new piece for @itep.org on the déjà vu nature of the fight over IRS funding this fall.
IRS Cuts Could Cruise on Autopilot; New Bill Aims to Restore Funding to Help Taxpayers and Fight Tax Cheats
This fall, Congress could allow billions of dollars in IRS funding to disappear on autopilot. However, the Stop CHEATERS Act would restore the multi-year mandatory funding rescinded from the IRA and a...
itep.org
Congressional Republicans want Congress to have the final say on virtually any new tax or fee increase in D.C. Taking away D.C.'s fiscal autonomy would be a profoundly undemocratic and unprecedented act. itep.org/congressiona...
Congressional Republicans Say D.C. Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Run Its Own Tax System
This week a U.S. House of Representatives committee approved a bill that would effectively take away Washington, D.C.’s fiscal autonomy, requiring Congressional approval of any new D.C. laws that incr...
itep.org
@jessedrucker.bsky.social drops some interesting stuff on the shoe company Crocs: its Maltese subsidiary appears to be responsible (on paper) for 100% of its worldwide income last year, in what he describes as a "two person office." www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/b...
How Malta Became a Tax Haven for Crocs and Other U.S. Companies (Gift Article)
The Mediterranean archipelago is a hot destination for U.S. companies seeking to shield profits from income taxes.
nytimes.com
President Trump lashed out at ExxonMobil and Chevron for “making too much money" amid record profits. But these companies can thank Trump for the windfall, from his war in Iran to the enormous corporate tax cuts from his tax laws. itep.org/trump-exxon-...
Trump Says Exxon and Chevron Are Ripping Off Americans, But His Own Policies Are to Blame
President Trump lashed out at ExxonMobil and Chevron for “making too much money." These companies are reporting enormous profits right now, partly the result of Trump’s war in Iran but also due to the...
itep.org
Missouri voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure that would have allowed lawmakers to expand sales taxes to pay for the elimination of income taxes. Only 17% of voters said yes. There's a massive gap between the policies lawmakers push and what voters actually want. itep.org/missouri-vot...
Missouri Voters Reject Amendment 5 and a Damaging Tax Shift onto Working Families
Yesterday Missouri voters rejected Amendment 5, declining to give lawmakers a blank check to raise or expand sales taxes, something some lawmakers sought to enable enormous income tax cuts for the sta...
itep.org
Tax expenditures deserve the same scrutiny as direct spending. Our updated state-by-state resource makes it easier to compare tax expenditure reports, identify what's being tracked, and see where transparency falls short. itep.org/state-tax-ex...
State Tax Expenditures Deserve a Closer Look
As many states enter a new fiscal year this month, it’s an ideal time to take a closer look at a major but often overlooked category of government spending: tax expenditures. To make these programs ea...
itep.org
Only an extremely small number of Americans would be affected by a wealth tax on more than $50 million, let alone $1 billion. Yet we’re still seeing the same tiresome anti-tax arguments that this would somehow harm the middle class. itep.org/campaign-by-...
The Campaign by Former Democratic Officials to Stop Taxes on the Wealthy Is Back
A former Democratic senator from Nebraska has joined Saving America’s Family Enterprises and taken up its cause of opposing wealth taxes.
itep.org
The crypto industry does not need tax breaks. Crypto has caused more harm than good, and there is no reason to give it special tax breaks that aren't available for other assets. itep.org/congress-sho...
Congress Should Reject Proposed Tax Breaks for Crypto
Crypto provides no clear benefit and instead harms society in several ways. Even if crypto was useful in some way that outweighed the harms it causes, there is no reason to make exceptions that treat ...
itep.org
Wrote about Microsoft's new disclosure of a super-low 2.4% tax rate on its 2026 U.S. profits here. Since I've been asked: this is *not* the biggest single-year profit I've ever seen from a US multinational corporation. 2 others (Nvidia at $123 B and Alphabet at $141 B) beat them this year. (1/3)
ITEP@itep.org · 3w agoNEW: Microsoft’s latest annual financial report shows the company achieved record profitability while avoiding federal income tax on almost all of its U.S. income for fiscal year 2026. Microsoft reported $101 billion in profits but paid a federal tax rate of just 2.44%. itep.org/microsoft-ea...
The Treasury Department has “substantially eroded the corporate alternative minimum tax ... and its primary effect has been to reduce or eliminate CAMT liability for many large corporations.” Meta and Qualcomm are among those saving billions from these changes. news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-re...
Weaker Minimum Book Tax Rules Save Meta, Qualcomm Billions
The corporate book-income tax was supposed to get tough on big companies seen as not paying enough in taxes. Critics say regulatory moves have made it largely toothless.
news.bloombergtax.com
As Microsoft continues to lay off thousands of workers, the company just reported a record $101 billion in US income, $18.7 billion in federal tax breaks, and a federal income tax rate of just 2.44%. itep.org/microsoft-ea...
NEW: Microsoft’s latest annual financial report shows the company achieved record profitability while avoiding federal income tax on almost all of its U.S. income for fiscal year 2026. Microsoft reported $101 billion in profits but paid a federal tax rate of just 2.44%. itep.org/microsoft-ea...
Microsoft Reports a 2.44 Percent Federal Tax Rate on a Record $101 Billion in Profits
Microsoft avoided federal income tax on almost all of its U.S. income for fiscal year 2026. The company’s 2.44 percent federal tax rate on over $100 billion of U.S. income is largely attributable to t...
itep.org
NEW: Microsoft’s latest annual financial report shows the company achieved record profitability while avoiding federal income tax on almost all of its U.S. income for fiscal year 2026. Microsoft reported $101 billion in profits but paid a federal tax rate of just 2.44%. itep.org/microsoft-ea...
Microsoft Reports a 2.44 Percent Federal Tax Rate on a Record $101 Billion in Profits
Microsoft avoided federal income tax on almost all of its U.S. income for fiscal year 2026. The company’s 2.44 percent federal tax rate on over $100 billion of U.S. income is largely attributable to t...
itep.org
"As states like Hawai’i and Washington follow suit, critics have again repeated prophecies about millionaire exodus, and again without any substantial evidence. Massachusetts proves them wrong." inequality.org/article/wher...
Where is Massachusetts’ Millionaire Exodus?
Massachusetts proves that progressive taxes do not cause ultra-wealthy flight.
inequality.org
Thanks to massive tax breaks, the nation’s largest airlines are paying little or nothing in federal income taxes despite earning billions in U.S. profits. Delta and United collectively reported $10.5 billion in profits in 2025 but paid $6 million in federal income tax. itep.org/delta-united...
Flying Under the Tax Radar: How Profitable Airlines Avoided Federal Income Taxes in 2025
Corporate tax disclosures reveal that five profitable airlines paid almost nothing in federal income tax last year. In 2025, the effective federal income tax rates of these airlines ranged from 1.07 p...
itep.org