We retired Tax Justice Blog in April 2017. For new content on issues related to tax justice, go to www.justtaxesblog.org
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley announced that he will call a special legislative session to start next week. Lawmakers are widely expected to pass a progressive income tax package in order to avoid massive “doomsday” budget cuts.
Tennessee’s inheritance tax will be eliminated beginning in 2016. Legislators recently sent Governor Haslam a bill repealing the tax, seduced by bogus claims about the economic benefits of repeal. Lawmakers also passed two other notable tax cuts: one repealing the gift tax (which The Commercial Appeal says will benefit Gov. Haslam himself, along with other wealthy taxpayers), and another cutting the state sales tax on groceries by a quarter of a percent.
The gubernatorial race in Washington State is heating up and costly tax expenditures are getting long overdue attention from the candidates. But as this piece in the Seattle Times highlights, eliminating spending programs embedded in the tax code is easier said than done. Read CTJ’s advice for how to do it here.
Finally, check out this timely column describing why Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton should veto a bill passed by the legislature under the guise of job creation. (Hint – it’s really a massive tax cut for business.)
