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May 15, 2012 4:38 PM
- Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is voicing support for federal legislation that would allow states to collect sales taxes owed on purchases made over the Internet, but he has little interest in pursuing a state-level law that would allow Michigan to begin chipping away at the problem.
- The Gazette has an article about the failure of Maryland legislators to raise the gas tax during their recently concluded regular session. It cites research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) showing that the state’s gas tax rate would need to rise by 15.8 cents just to offset the last two decades of construction cost inflation. In the article, Governor O’Malley explains the obvious: high gas prices caused lawmakers to delay this overdue reform, again.
- Legislators in New Hampshire were well on the way to eliminating a tax on internet access, until a flap between the House and Senate over other provisions in the legislation derailed it. Still, leadership in both chambers remain committed to eliminating the tax that appears on consumers’ broadband and wireless bills. But the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI) warns against eliminating the tax in a recent report which explains that $12 million in annual revenues are a stake, and that better, more targeted options for reducing taxes on New Hampshire families are available.
- This week, New Hampshire gubernatorial candidate Bill Kennedy came out with his own proposal to reduce property and businesses taxes and make up for the loss of those revenues by introducing a personal income tax in the state, which is one of nine states that doesn’t levy one. At the same time, the Granite State’s Senate is about to take up a radical and constraining proposal to amend their constitution to make sure no personal income tax can ever be levied. Stay tuned.