We retired Tax Justice Blog in April 2017. For new content on issues related to tax justice, go to www.justtaxesblog.org
Over the past few weeks we’ve written about a number of tax-related questions that voters will see on their ballots next week.
On income taxes, California voters will decide whether to continue the state’s progressive income tax rates on high earners enacted in 2012, while Maine may create a similar high-income tax bracket to help fund public schools. Colorado could implement the nation’s first universal healthcare plan, funded by a 10 percent payroll tax. Oregonians will cast their votes on a hotly debated corporate tax increase for education, health care, and senior services.
Regarding sales taxes, Oklahoma voters could approve a constitutional amendment to raise the state sales tax by a percentage point to give teachers a raise and fund other education priorities. Meanwhile, Missouri could amend its constitution to prohibit modernizing the sales tax to apply to the growing service sector.
Other tax questions on ballots this year include soda taxes in multiple cities, cigarette tax increases in four states (California, Colorado, Missouri, and North Dakota), and marijuana legalization and taxation initiatives in five states (Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada). And following years of state tax and funding cuts affecting cities, counties, and schools, many of these local jurisdictions are asking voters to approve new or higher local taxes to fill in for lost state funding.