Profitable Fortune 500 companies manage to pay state taxes on only half of their profits.
Resource Links
Recent Reports of Interest (non-MBPC)
Corporate Tax Dodging In the Fifty States, 2008–2010
Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers, 2008-2010
280 Most Profitable U.S. Corporations Shelter Half Their Profits from Taxes.
“These 280 corporations received a total of nearly $224 billion in tax subsidies,” said Robert McIntyre, Director at Citizens for Tax Justice and the report’s lead author. “This is wasted money that could have gone to protect Medicare, create jobs and cut the deficit.”
Hardship in America, Part 1: Majority of Poor Children Live in Households with Major Hardships
New CBPP analysis finds that more than half (52 percent) of poor children last year lived in households that faced one or more hardship.
Poverty and Financial Distress Would Have Been Substantially Worse in 2010 Without Government Action, New Census Data Show
Six temporary federal initiatives enacted in 2009 and 2010 to bolster the economy by lifting consumers’ incomes and purchases kept nearly 7 million Americans out of poverty in 2010, under an alternative measure of poverty that takes into account the impact of government benefit programs and taxes. These initiatives — three new or expanded tax credits, two enhancements of unemployment insurance, and an expansion of benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called food stamps) — were part of the 2009 Recovery Act. Congress subsequently extended or expanded some of them.
Recent Studies Find Raising Taxes on High-Income Households Would Not Harm the Economy
"The research in the field does not provide strong evidence that modestly raising tax rates at the top of the income scale would have significant growth-reducing effects on labor supply, taxable income, savings and investment, or entrepreneurship."
The Wrong Target: Public Sector Unions and State Budget Deficits
Following the 2010 elections, multiple states took action to curtail collective bargaining rights arguing that public sector unions were a major cause of state budget deficits. A close examination of the available evidence finds that the claim that public sector unionization leads to greater deficits does not withstand scrutiny. From the Institue for Research on Labor and Employment, UC Berkeley.
State Government
Legislative Fiscal Division
Find fiscal analysis of state government, estimates of state revenue collections, analysis of proposed executive budgets, and analysis of final legislative budgets.
Montana Department of Health and Human Services
DPHHS is the state agency responsible for improving and protecting the health, well-being, and self-reliance of all Montanans. On the DPHHS website you can find information about government programs and services such as Medicaid , Children’s Health Insurance, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps. Also find health data and statistical reports.
Montana Department of Revenue
In addition to forms and resources for taxpayers, the Department of Revenue produces comprehensive biennial reports that provide an overview of Montana’s various taxes.
Montana Legislature Homepage
Find legislators and bills by legislative session. Track the work of legislative interim committees.
Office of Public Instruction
Find data and statistics on Montana schools and student achievement.
State Reinvestment
The Montana Reinvestment site is the state website documenting the use of federal stimulus act (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funding in Montana. It includes a breakdown of spending allocated by the Montana Legislature and reports to the federal government.
Montana Economy and Demographics
Montana Kids Count
Find data and reports on the status of children in Montana. The Montana Kids Count Data Book includes an in-depth analysis of how children in Montana are doing in relation to health, social, economic, and education indicators. County specific data is also provided.
Montana Research & Analysis Bureau
The Montana Department of Labor & Industry’s Research & Analysis Bureau collects and analyzes labor market information about Montana. Find a number of reports on Montana’s labor market and supply, as well as state statistics on employment, unemployment, and wage information.
University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research
The Bureau of Business and Economic Research provides data and reports on economic and sector performance throughout Montana. The Bureau’s annual Outlook Book provides and economic forecast for the nation, state, and counties.
Research and Policies for Building Shared Prosperity
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Economic Policy Institute
Research and Policies for Fair and Adequate Taxes
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Important Reports
The ITEP Guide to Fair State and Local Taxes
State Capital Gains Tax Cuts and Economic Development
Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in all Fifty States
The Montana fact sheet can be found here:
The Zero-Sum Game: States Cannot Stimulate Their Economies by Cutting Taxes
Policymakers in a number of states are considering proposals to cut taxes and institute job-creation tax credits. While state policymakers are understandably eager to do something to improve their economies, such measures generally will not increase economic growth.