Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

ITEP @itep.org · 10h

The Trump administration wants to weaken the IRS. That's been clear from the funding and staff cuts made so far this year.

Now nearly 50% of the agency has been furloughed.

This only benefits the wealthiest Americans and corporations that avoid paying taxes.
www.cnn.com/2025/10/09/p...

IRS furloughs nearly half its staff amid shutdown, prompting chaos and confusion | CNN Politics

The Internal Revenue Service began furloughing nearly half its staff Wednesday because of the ongoing government shutdown, sparking chaos and confusion among employees as the news rippled through agen...

www.cnn.com

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ITEP @itep.org · 14h

The Child Tax Credit is a proven tool for reducing poverty.

America's cities should use them.

Our new report with @povertycenter.bsky.social and @nokidhungry.org shows how local Child Tax Credits could transform the lives of families with children in American cities. itep.org/potential-of...

The Potential of Local Child Tax Credits to Reduce Child Poverty

Local governments have a critical role to play in reducing child poverty. Local Child Tax Credits could provide large tax cuts to families at the bottom of the income scale, lessening the overall regr...

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · 3d

President Trump's tax law benefits the richest 1% more than the bottom 80% of Americans.

This also fuels the racial wealth gap as Black and Hispanic households will be left behind.

Overall, it’s a tax plan that falls tremendously short on fairness.
news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-re...

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

Opinion: President Donald Trump’s massive tax-and-spending package will leave a costly hole in the federal budget for future multiracial generations.

news.bloombergtax.com

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ITEP @itep.org · 6d

Coca-Cola is telling investors it will likely pay only a small fraction of one of the largest IRS tax penalties in history.

If Coca-Cola only pays 3% of the $18 billion tax bill it's facing, then the rest of us will have to pick up the remaining 97%.
itep.org/coca-cola-sh...

Coca-Cola To Shareholders: $18 Billion Tax Bill? What $18 Billion Tax Bill?

If Coca-Cola only has to pay 3 percent of the tax bill they’re currently facing, the rest of us will be left to pick up the remaining 97 percent.

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · 9d

Even though refundable Child Tax Credits failed to gain approval in Indiana and Ohio this year, it's clear that more states view this tool as a winning policy.

Refundable CTCs are effective at providing financial breathing room for working families.
stateline.org/2025/09/24/r...

Red states pushed child tax credits this year, but the broadest plans fizzled • Stateline

Earlier this year, conservative states began to embrace child tax credits that can put cash directly into the hands of families. But Republican proposals in Indiana and Ohio did not advance — a setbac...

stateline.org

ITEP @itep.org · 10d

The IRS' capacity to prevent huge corporations from avoiding income taxes is facing a generational crisis due to an exodus of tax lawyers.

Unless Congress steps in to help, the agency is hamstrung from stopping corporations from raiding the U.S treasury.
itep.org/trump-brain-...

Leaving Billions on the Table: Trump-Induced Brain Drain Leaves the IRS Struggling to Prevent Corporate Tax Avoidance

The IRS's capacity to prevent big multinational corporations from avoiding income taxes is facing a generational crisis.

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · 13d

The new Trump tax law could throw state tax systems out of balance.

Our webinar will explore how states can chart their own course.

Learn more on our homepage, or sign up here:
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

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ITEP @itep.org · 15d

Too many lawmakers across the U.S. want to cut taxes for the wealthy through wide-ranging property tax cuts – or even elimination.

But property taxes are one of the few taxes we have on a person’s wealth.

They should be improved, not discarded.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Last Americans Really Paying Taxes

The tax code is becoming more chaotic and less fair.

www.theatlantic.com

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ITEP @itep.org · 16d

itep.org/child-povert...

Child Poverty Remains Unacceptably High, New Federal Changes Unlikely to Move Needle

By not extending the 2021 temporary Child Tax Credit expansion, federal lawmakers have allowed the number of children and families in poverty to increase and remain unnecessarily high.

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · 16d

It’s not a mystery which policy tools can reduce poverty.

Any lawmaker serious about helping struggling families should push for a permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit.

Otherwise, families across the country face unnecessary hardship.

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ITEP @itep.org · 17d

itep.org/everything-y...

Everything You Need to Know About Proposals to Better Tax Billionaires

Tax policy may not be on the minds of most Americans during the final weeks of 2023, but billionaires with an eye on their own tax bills have been riveted by developments in D.C.

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · 17d

Most Americans want billionaires to pay more in taxes.

This proposal aims at one of their biggest tax breaks: unrealized capital gains.

It would apply only to those with incomes over $100 million or assets worth over $1 billion.
www.barrons.com/articles/dem...

Democrats Want to Roll Out a Billionaires Income Tax. Here’s How It Would Work.

Legislation proposed in both chambers of Congress would attempt to tax unrealized capital gains for fewer than 1,000 of the U.S.’s wealthiest taxpayers.

www.barrons.com

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ITEP @itep.org · 20d

The Earned Income Tax Credit can help families meet basic needs, reduce racial and wealth inequality, and offset regressive state tax systems.

Our new brief explains why lawmakers should enact and strengthen state EITCs with these concepts in mind.
itep.org/state-earned...

State Earned Income Tax Credits Support Families and Workers in 2025

Nearly two-thirds of states now have an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Momentum continues to build on these credits that boost low-paid workers’ incomes and offset some of the taxes they pay, helpin...

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · 21d

No, the Trump administration didn't end taxes on Social Security.

There have only been two meaningful changes in the tax treatment of Social Security benefits since the New Deal program was introduced, in 1983 and 1993. Not in 2025.
itep.org/trump-lying-...

President Trump is Still Lying About Ending Taxes on Social Security

Why is Trump saying that he has eliminated taxes on Social Security?

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · 22d

It’s well past time to modernize the IRS and close the widening audit gap on wealthy tax cheats.

Congress gave the agency more money in a smart, fiscally responsible move.

Now lawmakers have eliminated virtually all those resources.
itep.org/irs-funding-...

IRS Enforcement Boost Was Supposed to Last 10 Years. Congress Killed It in Under Three.

The IRS was set to overhaul how it audits the ultra-rich. Now most of that funding is gone.

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · 23d

Huge corporations continue to funnel their profits to tax havens and shield their practices from public view.

But instead of increasing transparency, some lawmakers in Congress want to dismantle a new reform that would help expose corporate tax dodgers.
itep.org/corporate-ta...

Corporate Tax Transparency’s Disappearing Act

What currently stands in the way of better corporate tax transparency.

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · 24d

Child Tax Credits are effective tools to support low- and middle-income families.

As more states create their own CTCs, our brief explains how lawmakers should design them for maximum impact.
itep.org/state-child-...

State Child Tax Credits Boosted Financial Security for Families and Children in 2025

Child Tax Credits (CTCs) are effective tools to bolster the economic security of low- and middle-income families and position the next generation for success.

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · 28d

More states and local governments are finding mansion taxes useful to improve their communities.
www.latimes.com/california/s...

A record $387 million will go to L.A. affordable housing, with most coming from ‘mansion tax’

The L.A. Housing Department is currently accepting applications from developers for $387 million in funding for affordable housing and preservation projects, which is the largest funding pool the depa...

www.latimes.com

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ITEP @itep.org · 29d

A vacation town is nothing without the community that maintains it all year round.

That's why Rhode Island lawmakers are asking more from very wealthy homeowners to better invest in these communities.
itep.org/wealthy-fair...

Making the Wealthy Pay their Fair Share is the Way to Preserve Vacation Towns

Rhode Island lawmakers created a new surcharge on second homes worth more than $1 million as part of the budget enacted this spring.

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · Sep 9

The Trump administration is not just ignoring corporate tax avoidance – they're actively protecting it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/b...

Trump Administration Halts I.R.S. Crackdown on Major Tax Shelters

www.nytimes.com

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ITEP @itep.org · Sep 8

A drafting error in the 2017 tax law will cost U.S. taxpayers over $1 billion in unintended tax cuts for big multinational corporations.

This mistake allowed Cisco Systems to claim an additional $720 million in tax cuts.
itep.org/billion-doll...

Who Can Make a Billion Dollar Mistake and Not Lose Their Jobs? Congressional Tax Writers

A drafting error in the 2017 tax law will cost U.S. taxpayers over $1 billion in unintended tax cuts for big multinationals.

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · Sep 4

We're glad to have our director @amyhanauer.bsky.social featured in "Death & Taxes," a documentary about wealth, inequality, and the American Dream.

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ITEP @itep.org · Sep 3

Does “no tax on tips” help working Americans?

Only about 1.6% of all workers benefit.

And a tax incentive that pulls more jobs into tipped services will further drive down wages.

Fortunately, there are better solutions.
itep.org/no-tax-on-ti...

Here’s a Tip: Keep the Taxation of Tips As-Is

The no tax on tips idea isn't a new one, but it's always been abandoned because it's practically impossible to do without creating new avenues for tax avoidance. Despite its embrace by the candidates ...

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · Sep 2

States have to find ways to navigate budget holes caused by Trump's new tax law.

Colorado's solution: crack down on offshore corporate tax avoidance.

The corporate tax reform strategies they're pursuing offer a sensible template for action.
itep.org/colorado-tru...

Colorado Lawmakers Help Fill Trump-Induced Shortfall by Tackling Offshore Corporate Tax Avoidance

As the Trump megabill blows holes in state budgets, Colorado is leading with reforms to curb offshore tax avoidance and roll back wasteful corporate subsidies.

itep.org

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ITEP @itep.org · Aug 29

The IRS wants Americans to weigh in on Direct File, the agency's free tax filing program.

We already know Direct File has been widely popular and successful.

The program could save Americans billions annually between filing fees and time costs.
www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs...

IRS asks for public input on free tax filing options to inform congressional report | Internal Revenue Service

IR-2025-85, Aug. 21, 2025 — The IRS invites the public to participate in an anonymous feedback survey on tax preparation and filing options, which will run through Sept. 5, 2025.

www.irs.gov

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