[6][7] CTJ was founded in 1979 by labor unions and public interest groups[8] in response to the growing anti-tax movement's recent passage of California's Proposition 13.

[9] Shortly thereafter, CTJ's sister organization, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), was created as its 501(c)(3) charitable partner.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, CTJ was closely involved with the Tobacco Institute and other labor groups to oppose excise taxes on cigarettes as regressive and harmful to the poor.

[12][13][14][15] Additionally, CTJ analysts have frequently testified before Congress and other bodies, such as President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

"[25] The Tax Foundation, a group generally considered to be on the opposite end of the political spectrum from CTJ, has described the Act as "one of the most significant pieces of legislation ever passed.

The magazine described CTJ's work as having "helped set the stage for one of the most dramatic defeats that special interest groups have ever suffered: the 1986 overhaul of the federal tax code.

The New York Times described CTJ's Director, Bob McIntyre, as having "no doubt ... exerted more influence on the tax debate this year than any lobbyist in town.

During the 2009 debates over President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act proposal, CTJ produced a series of reports detailing the revenue and distributional effects of a number of potential options for financing those reforms.