The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank that works on state and federal tax policy issues. ITEP was founded in 1980, and is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. ITEP describes its mission as striving to “keep policymakers and the public informed of the effects of current and proposed tax polices on tax fairness, government budgets and sound economic policy.”

Publications

ITEP’s flagship publication is its “Who Pays” report. The report was originally released in 1996, and has since been updated in 2003 and again in 2009 – which gives 2007 data. “Who Pays” analyzes the distribution, by income level, of state and local taxes in all 50 states, as well as in the District of Columbia. Its core finding is that: “on average, state and local tax systems require the poorest taxpayers to pay the highest effective tax rates.” The majority of the data contained in this report is produced using the ITEP Microsimulation Tax Model.

Other major reports released by ITEP have dealt with issues such as capital gains tax breaks, or the treatment of itemized deduction

Itemized deduction

An itemized deduction is an eligible expense that individual taxpayers in the United States can report on their federal income tax returns in order to decrease their taxable income....

s, on a multi-state basis. Many of ITEP’s reports deal with issues or proposals that are relevant to only a single state – including proposed tax reforms or budget packages.

Funders

ITEP lists a number of foundations among its funders, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute, and the New York Community Trust. ITEP also accepts individual donations.

Political Stance

ITEP is generally described as left-leaning in its policy positions and recommendations. Nonetheless, its quantitative analyses are widely regarded as reliable by observers from across the political spectrum, and by analysts within government. ITEP’s sister organization, Citizens for Tax Justice

Citizens for Tax Justice

Citizens for Tax Justice is a non-profit research and advocacy think tank based in Washington, DC. CTJ’s work focuses primarily on federal tax policy...

, is often referred to as a progressive group.

The ITEP Microsimulation Tax Model

Many of ITEP's analyses rely on the ITEP Microsimulation Tax Model. The ITEP
Model is a computer program capable of estimating the revenue yield and
distribution of federal, state, and local taxes, as well as proposed changes
to those taxes.

According to ITEP, its model "relies on one of the largest databases of tax returns and supplementary data in existence, encompassing close to three quarters of a million records." Similar microsimulation models are housed at the Joint Committee on Taxation, the U.S. Treasury Department, and the Congressional Budget Office. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center has more recently built a similar model. The ITEP model, however, stands apart from each of these in that it adds state-by-state estimating capabilities not found anywhere else.

See also

• Center for American Progress

Center for American Progress

The Center for American Progress is a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization. Its website states that the organization is "dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action." It has its headquarters in Washington D.C.Its President and Chief...

• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a non-profit think tank that describes itself as a "policy organization ... working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals."The Center examines the short- and...

• Economic Policy Institute

Economic Policy Institute

The Economic Policy Institute is a 501 non-profit, liberal, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy...

• Tax Foundation

Tax Foundation

The Tax Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank founded in 1937 that collects data and publishes research studies on tax policies at the federal and state levels. The organization is broken into three primary areas of research which are the Center for Federal Fiscal Policy, The and the...

• Tax Policy Center

Tax Policy Center

The Tax Policy Center is a non-partisan joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. Based in Washington D.C., it aims to provide independent analyses of current and longer-term tax issues and to communicate its analyses to the public and to policymakers in a timely and...

• Good Jobs First

External links

• Official ITEP website.
• http://www.itepnet.org/whopays/Who Pays report, its most recent edition, published in 2009.