Jon Whiten
@whitenjon.bsky.social
Deputy Director @ Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Dad to 4. Pet dad to many. Husband to the best one out there.
Reposted by Jon Whiten
I’ll say this as many times as I have to.
No tax cut in the history of tax cuts has ever paid for itself. Not a one.
No tax cut in the history of tax cuts has ever paid for itself. Not a one.
May 30, 2025 at 4:55 PM
I’ll say this as many times as I have to.
No tax cut in the history of tax cuts has ever paid for itself. Not a one.
No tax cut in the history of tax cuts has ever paid for itself. Not a one.
The recently-passed House tax bill changes course on taxing multinational corporations engaged in shifting U.S. profits overseas, offering massive tax giveaways that weaken American revenues and risk sending more American corporate investment offshore. itep.substack.com/p/house-bill...
May 28, 2025 at 2:49 PM
The recently-passed House tax bill changes course on taxing multinational corporations engaged in shifting U.S. profits overseas, offering massive tax giveaways that weaken American revenues and risk sending more American corporate investment offshore. itep.substack.com/p/house-bill...
So much for economic populism!
The top 1% of earners — making more than $920,000 — would receive an average tax cut of close to $70,000 in the first year after enactment.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
The top 1% of earners — making more than $920,000 — would receive an average tax cut of close to $70,000 in the first year after enactment.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
GOP rejects ‘millionaire tax’ pitch, advancing breaks for rich Americans
Legislation moving through Congress includes significant breaks for the affluent as the House rebuffs President Donald Trump’s suggestions.
www.washingtonpost.com
May 28, 2025 at 12:48 PM
So much for economic populism!
The top 1% of earners — making more than $920,000 — would receive an average tax cut of close to $70,000 in the first year after enactment.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
The top 1% of earners — making more than $920,000 — would receive an average tax cut of close to $70,000 in the first year after enactment.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Wondering just how big of a tax cut would the richest 1% in your state get from the bill the House passed this morning? We've got you covered: itep.org/analysis-of-...
Analysis of Tax Provisions in the House Reconciliation Bill: National and State Level Estimates
The poorest fifth of Americans would receive 1 percent of the House reconciliation bill's net tax cuts in 2026 while the richest fifth of Americans would receive two-thirds of the tax cuts. The riches...
itep.org
May 22, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Wondering just how big of a tax cut would the richest 1% in your state get from the bill the House passed this morning? We've got you covered: itep.org/analysis-of-...
The way the House reconciliation bill uses the tax code to punish immigrants + their citizen family members is unprecedented & immoral. This weaponization of the tax system will also lead to more complicated work for the IRS at a time its funding is being significantly cut.
House Tax Bill Would Create a Parallel, Harsher Tax Code for Immigrant Filers and their Citizen Family Members
Immigrant tax filers face a harsher tax code than citizens in some important respects. Sweeping tax legislation recently passed by the House of Representatives would apply new or stricter limits for i...
itep.org
May 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
The way the House reconciliation bill uses the tax code to punish immigrants + their citizen family members is unprecedented & immoral. This weaponization of the tax system will also lead to more complicated work for the IRS at a time its funding is being significantly cut.
The House worked all night under the cloak of darkness to deliver huge tax breaks for wealthy Americans and foreign investors while stripping health care and food assistance from millions of Americans.
May 22, 2025 at 11:10 AM
The House worked all night under the cloak of darkness to deliver huge tax breaks for wealthy Americans and foreign investors while stripping health care and food assistance from millions of Americans.
New analysis of the tax provisions in the House reconciliation package: The richest 1% of Americans would receive a total of $138 billion in net tax cuts in 2026, significantly more than the $92 billion that would go the bottom 60% of Americans.
May 21, 2025 at 12:36 PM
New analysis of the tax provisions in the House reconciliation package: The richest 1% of Americans would receive a total of $138 billion in net tax cuts in 2026, significantly more than the $92 billion that would go the bottom 60% of Americans.
Reposted by Jon Whiten
The Republican's policy will continue a decades-long effort to weaken a critical tool to prevent the hoarding of wealth from one generation to the next.
www.commondreams.org/opinion/gop-...
www.commondreams.org/opinion/gop-...
Dynastic Wealth of Ultra-Rich American Families Wins Again With GOP Tax Bill | Common Dreams
The Republican's policy will continue a decades-long effort to weaken a critical tool to prevent the hoarding of wealth from one generation to the next.
www.commondreams.org
May 18, 2025 at 6:35 PM
The Republican's policy will continue a decades-long effort to weaken a critical tool to prevent the hoarding of wealth from one generation to the next.
www.commondreams.org/opinion/gop-...
www.commondreams.org/opinion/gop-...
The damaging House tax bill is heading toward a floor vote later this week. It gives two-thirds of its tax cuts to the top 20% of families and 41% to the top 5% of families, all while taking health care and food assistance away from millions of Americans. itep.org/house-tax-pl...
The House Tax Plan, By the Numbers
The House of Representatives unveiled a sprawling piece of tax legislation earlier this week that would extend temporary tax changes enacted in 2017 and layer various kinds of tax cuts and increases o...
itep.org
May 19, 2025 at 12:14 PM
The damaging House tax bill is heading toward a floor vote later this week. It gives two-thirds of its tax cuts to the top 20% of families and 41% to the top 5% of families, all while taking health care and food assistance away from millions of Americans. itep.org/house-tax-pl...
Reposted by Jon Whiten
Moody’s Ratings downgraded the United States’ credit rating, as the country’s debt soars and interest rates remain high.
The downgrade, from the highest rating to one notch below, comes as the president’s budget bill suffered a blow in Congress.
The downgrade, from the highest rating to one notch below, comes as the president’s budget bill suffered a blow in Congress.
Moody’s downgrades U.S. credit as Congress considers bill that could add to deficits
Moody’s knocked the government’s credit rating down a notch as debt soars.
www.washingtonpost.com
May 16, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Moody’s Ratings downgraded the United States’ credit rating, as the country’s debt soars and interest rates remain high.
The downgrade, from the highest rating to one notch below, comes as the president’s budget bill suffered a blow in Congress.
The downgrade, from the highest rating to one notch below, comes as the president’s budget bill suffered a blow in Congress.
Reposted by Jon Whiten
The $86 million Congress proposes to spend in FY26 repealing the excise tax on firearm silencers is trivial. But it's a little alarming that, at $200 a pop, we apparently buy over 400,000 silencers a year. And JCT appears to think we're going to buy 15% more of them each year going forward.
May 16, 2025 at 8:48 PM
The $86 million Congress proposes to spend in FY26 repealing the excise tax on firearm silencers is trivial. But it's a little alarming that, at $200 a pop, we apparently buy over 400,000 silencers a year. And JCT appears to think we're going to buy 15% more of them each year going forward.
Reposted by Jon Whiten
SETBACK. The GOP's big sweeping bill just failed in the Budget Committee, 16-21. Five Republicans voted NO. "The NOs have it. The committee stands in recess, subject to the call of the chair," Jodey Arrington says.
May 16, 2025 at 4:02 PM
SETBACK. The GOP's big sweeping bill just failed in the Budget Committee, 16-21. Five Republicans voted NO. "The NOs have it. The committee stands in recess, subject to the call of the chair," Jodey Arrington says.
There's a lot of talk of helping "working people" in the House tax bill through Trump's campaign promises on tips, OT, car loan interest, and senior tax breaks.
Thing is, those only amount to 4% - YES, 4% - of the tax cuts in the bill. No wonder the thing is regressive.
itep.org/house-tax-pl...
Thing is, those only amount to 4% - YES, 4% - of the tax cuts in the bill. No wonder the thing is regressive.
itep.org/house-tax-pl...
May 16, 2025 at 2:46 PM
There's a lot of talk of helping "working people" in the House tax bill through Trump's campaign promises on tips, OT, car loan interest, and senior tax breaks.
Thing is, those only amount to 4% - YES, 4% - of the tax cuts in the bill. No wonder the thing is regressive.
itep.org/house-tax-pl...
Thing is, those only amount to 4% - YES, 4% - of the tax cuts in the bill. No wonder the thing is regressive.
itep.org/house-tax-pl...
With roughly the same amount of $, the House GOP wants to:
1) take away food assistance from as many as 4 million kids and 7 million adults
2) give an estate tax cut to a few thousand people who will leave behind more than $7 million to their heirs
Talk about priorities!
itep.org/house-tax-bi...
1) take away food assistance from as many as 4 million kids and 7 million adults
2) give an estate tax cut to a few thousand people who will leave behind more than $7 million to their heirs
Talk about priorities!
itep.org/house-tax-bi...
House Tax Bill Would Encourage Dynastic Wealth Hoarding by Further Weakening the Estate Tax
The sprawling tax and spending bill before the House of Representatives would cut more than $200 billion from food assistance, potentially affecting 4 million children and 7 million adults, while prov...
itep.org
May 16, 2025 at 12:28 PM
With roughly the same amount of $, the House GOP wants to:
1) take away food assistance from as many as 4 million kids and 7 million adults
2) give an estate tax cut to a few thousand people who will leave behind more than $7 million to their heirs
Talk about priorities!
itep.org/house-tax-bi...
1) take away food assistance from as many as 4 million kids and 7 million adults
2) give an estate tax cut to a few thousand people who will leave behind more than $7 million to their heirs
Talk about priorities!
itep.org/house-tax-bi...
Not only would the CTC plan keep 17 million of the poorest kids from getting the full credit, it would bar 4.5 million citizen kids from getting it at all because of their parents' immigration status.
House GOP plan to raise child tax credit adds citizenship provisions
The bill would boost the tax break to as much as $2,500 but end it for children of undocumented immigrants and married parents who file separate returns.
wapo.st
May 15, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Not only would the CTC plan keep 17 million of the poorest kids from getting the full credit, it would bar 4.5 million citizen kids from getting it at all because of their parents' immigration status.
There is a lot not to like in the parts of the 2025 tax bill released by the House GOP last night but one thing that bothers me the most is the proposal to strip the CTC from 4.5 million kids in mixed-status families. itep.org/itep-stateme...
ITEP Statement: Partial House Tax Bill Doubles Down on Trickle Down
Contact: Jon Whiten (jon@itep.org) House Republicans have released some of the text of the tax bill they hope to begin…
itep.org
May 10, 2025 at 2:39 PM
There is a lot not to like in the parts of the 2025 tax bill released by the House GOP last night but one thing that bothers me the most is the proposal to strip the CTC from 4.5 million kids in mixed-status families. itep.org/itep-stateme...
"Uncertain tax benefits," explained -->
Corporation to SEC: I'm taking some tax breaks that, if investigated, would likely be illegal.
IRS: zzzzzz
Statute of limitations: Time's up!
Corporation: Yay, I get to keep those tax breaks!
itep.org/what-corpora...
Corporation to SEC: I'm taking some tax breaks that, if investigated, would likely be illegal.
IRS: zzzzzz
Statute of limitations: Time's up!
Corporation: Yay, I get to keep those tax breaks!
itep.org/what-corpora...
What Corporations Have to Gain from the Gutting of the IRS
Seven huge corporations recently announced that in 2024 they were allowed to collectively keep $1.4 billion in tax breaks from previous years that they had publicly admitted would likely be found ille...
itep.org
May 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
"Uncertain tax benefits," explained -->
Corporation to SEC: I'm taking some tax breaks that, if investigated, would likely be illegal.
IRS: zzzzzz
Statute of limitations: Time's up!
Corporation: Yay, I get to keep those tax breaks!
itep.org/what-corpora...
Corporation to SEC: I'm taking some tax breaks that, if investigated, would likely be illegal.
IRS: zzzzzz
Statute of limitations: Time's up!
Corporation: Yay, I get to keep those tax breaks!
itep.org/what-corpora...
Reposted by Jon Whiten
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has issued a report on efforts to reduce the IRS workforce. Every state has been impacted.
www.forbes.com/sites/kellyp...
www.forbes.com/sites/kellyp...
IRS Has Shed More Than 11% Of Its Workforce With Thousands More Cuts On The Way
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has issued a report on efforts to reduce the IRS workforce. Every state has been impacted.
www.forbes.com
May 5, 2025 at 8:50 PM
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has issued a report on efforts to reduce the IRS workforce. Every state has been impacted.
www.forbes.com/sites/kellyp...
www.forbes.com/sites/kellyp...
Many states are moving forward with tax cut plans at a time when they should clearly be preserving revenues
How Federal Employee Layoffs and Contract Cancellations Will Harm State Tax Revenues
State lawmakers should prepare to pause or roll back their recent tax cuts and begin planning for tax increases to help them weather the fiscal storm that is coming their way.
open.substack.com
May 2, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Many states are moving forward with tax cut plans at a time when they should clearly be preserving revenues
Take your child to work day was a blast
April 24, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Take your child to work day was a blast
Filing your taxes should, for most people, be 3 things:
1. easy
2. fast
3. free
Direct File was the vehicle to accomplish this. Destroying it hurts taxpayers and enriches the profitable corporations that charge Americans for tax filing.
itep.org/trump-admini...
1. easy
2. fast
3. free
Direct File was the vehicle to accomplish this. Destroying it hurts taxpayers and enriches the profitable corporations that charge Americans for tax filing.
itep.org/trump-admini...
Ending Direct File Program is a Gift to the Tax-Prep Industry That Will Cost Taxpayers Time and Money
The Trump administration reportedly plans to shutter the IRS Direct File program before it has a chance to get fully off the ground, taking away a free option for people to file their tax returns dire...
itep.org
April 17, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Filing your taxes should, for most people, be 3 things:
1. easy
2. fast
3. free
Direct File was the vehicle to accomplish this. Destroying it hurts taxpayers and enriches the profitable corporations that charge Americans for tax filing.
itep.org/trump-admini...
1. easy
2. fast
3. free
Direct File was the vehicle to accomplish this. Destroying it hurts taxpayers and enriches the profitable corporations that charge Americans for tax filing.
itep.org/trump-admini...
Reposted by Jon Whiten
NEW: GOP lawmakers are preparing reconciliation bill with $90-175 BILLION in new funding for immigration enforcement.
ICE's entire annual budget is ~$9 billion.
Inside the Trump administration's plan for the real mass deportation campaign: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc... @theatlantic.com
ICE's entire annual budget is ~$9 billion.
Inside the Trump administration's plan for the real mass deportation campaign: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc... @theatlantic.com
Trump’s Mass-Deportation Campaign Hasn’t Really Started Yet
The Trump administration’s campaign to remove millions of people from the United States could soon be supercharged by Congress.
www.theatlantic.com
April 16, 2025 at 6:13 PM
NEW: GOP lawmakers are preparing reconciliation bill with $90-175 BILLION in new funding for immigration enforcement.
ICE's entire annual budget is ~$9 billion.
Inside the Trump administration's plan for the real mass deportation campaign: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc... @theatlantic.com
ICE's entire annual budget is ~$9 billion.
Inside the Trump administration's plan for the real mass deportation campaign: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc... @theatlantic.com
Reposted by Jon Whiten
With Trump reportedly planning to end the IRS Direct File program, there's no better time to remember how TurboTax owner Intuit spent two decades fighting to prevent Americans from filing their taxes online for free.
(Published 2019)
(Published 2019)
Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free
Using lobbying, the revolving door and “dark pattern” customer tricks, Intuit fended off the government’s attempts to make tax filing free and easy, and created its multi-billion-dollar franchise.
www.propublica.org
April 17, 2025 at 12:00 AM
With Trump reportedly planning to end the IRS Direct File program, there's no better time to remember how TurboTax owner Intuit spent two decades fighting to prevent Americans from filing their taxes online for free.
(Published 2019)
(Published 2019)
“I heard it from everybody,” said a consultant for undocumented small-business entrepreneurs in Southern California. “They come to me and they say, ‘Hey, should I do my taxes this year? Because they’re going to come find me.’” www.latimes.com/politics/sto...
IRS plan to give data to ICE could wallop California, where many immigrants pay taxes
A Trump administration plan to begin targeting undocumented immigrants using IRS data has sparked fear, anger and economic concern in California, where undocumented taxpayers contribute billions in lo...
www.latimes.com
April 12, 2025 at 3:16 PM
“I heard it from everybody,” said a consultant for undocumented small-business entrepreneurs in Southern California. “They come to me and they say, ‘Hey, should I do my taxes this year? Because they’re going to come find me.’” www.latimes.com/politics/sto...
Reposted by Jon Whiten
TurboTax and H&R Block have spent millions lobbying against the IRS' free, online filing tool.
Dozens of Republicans are now trying to kill the tool.
But it's still available and helping millions of taxpayers in 25 states right now.
See if you qualify: directfile.irs.gov
Dozens of Republicans are now trying to kill the tool.
But it's still available and helping millions of taxpayers in 25 states right now.
See if you qualify: directfile.irs.gov
directfile.irs.gov
April 11, 2025 at 6:51 PM
TurboTax and H&R Block have spent millions lobbying against the IRS' free, online filing tool.
Dozens of Republicans are now trying to kill the tool.
But it's still available and helping millions of taxpayers in 25 states right now.
See if you qualify: directfile.irs.gov
Dozens of Republicans are now trying to kill the tool.
But it's still available and helping millions of taxpayers in 25 states right now.
See if you qualify: directfile.irs.gov