We retired Tax Justice Blog in April 2017. For new content on issues related to tax justice, go to www.justtaxesblog.org
Results from Governor Brownback’s “real live experiment” (the passage of two rounds of extreme tax cuts under the guise of stimulating the economy) are trickling in and they aren’t good. The Kansas City Star is reporting that the state’s “plummeting revenues” and increased need are some of the reasons why the state’s bond rating is now down from the firm’s second highest rating of Aa1 to Aa2.
Regrettably, Florida lawmakers just approved those “super-sized” sales sales tax holidays we told you about a few weeks ago. Read why sales tax holidays are a bad deal for both consumers and the Sunshine State in the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s (ITEP) policy brief.
We offer our congratulations to former President George H.W. Bush on being awarded the Profile in Courage Award for raising taxes in 1990 despite his “Read my lips: no new taxes” pledge. John Sununu, the President’s chief of staff, said, “George Bush did the right thing for the country, and it’s nice to see people are beginning to appreciate it.”
Calls for the Texas legislature to remedy a state tax law that has allowed commercial properties to be assessed at an (often large) discount are still being heard, loud and clear. An opinion piece in the Dallas News calls the lower property tax bills that many businesses have been receiving “unfair,” and cites examples of some of the state’s largest commercial buildings being assessed at a 35-40% discount.