State Rundown 10/5: NJ’s rotten tax deal, KS Hides Bad Economic News, and Bayou State Tax Reform

This week we are bringing you news of a rotten tax deal in New Jersey, revelations in Kansas, a search for a sound and politically feasible tax reform package in Louisiana, and more state tax happenings. Thanks for reading the Rundown!

— Meg Wiehe, ITEP State Policy Director, @megwiehe

• New Jersey‘s roads department can soon get back to work as leaders have finally struck a deal to update the state’s badly outdated gas tax. But the final deal is a bad one for the people of New Jersey, as the net result of the package is a tax shift that is both regressive and damaging to important state priorities like schools and the state’s pension shortfall. Check the Tax Justice blog for more on the development in coming days. Check out this blog post from ITEP’s Dylan Grundman for a deeper dive into this no good, very bad deal.
• It’s been another newsworthy week in Kansas. Economic reports showing quarter after quarter of poor performance have been obscured and then scrapped. Revenues for the first quarter of FY 2017 miss the mark. And Gov. Brownback hints at a course reversal on tax policy in anticipation of a state Supreme Court ruling that could require hundreds of millions of new dollars to adequately fund public education.
• Louisiana‘s Task Force on Structural Changes in Budget and Tax Policy has delayed the release of recommendations for reform until November as it works to find the intersection between sound policy and political feasibility, rarely an easy task.
• The California Legislative Analyst’s Office released a new report of the state’s first film credit program. Similar to other film tax credit studies, findings include that the program had minimal impact on the economy, led to negative net revenue, and subsidized an otherwise profitable industry.
• Expect to see tax proposals debated this coming legislative session in Idaho to increase the gas tax, in Indiana to raise the cigarette tax, in New York to increase the child care tax credit, and in Texas to cap property tax growth.

What We’re Reading…

• The Pew Charitable Trusts reports on persistent budget pressures leading some cities and states to consider expanding taxes to previously exempt non-profits.
• Voluntary tax agreements between Airbnb and cities are under scrutiny as concerns rise regarding tax avoidance and unfair regulatory advantage.

If you like what you are seeing in the Rundown (or even if you don’t) please send any feedback or tips for future posts to Meg Wiehe at meg@itep.org. Click here to sign up to receive the Rundown via email.