State Rundown 7/22: The Dog Days of Summer

The Illinois budget saga continues as Gov. Bruce Rauner and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan remain at odds. After Rauner vetoed the FY15-17 spending plan passed by the legislature, lawmakers were unable to override it – resulting in a one-month stop-gap state budget passed last week. However, the governor insists that he won’t sign these piecemeal measures, and demands that Madigan embrace his reforms. Any new revenues will have to be passed with a veto-proof majority, as Rauner has pledged not to raise taxes.

Impasse continues in Michigan as well, where the House lacks the votes to pass the roads funding bill that barely passed the Senate. The Senate plan would have increased the gas tax by 15 cents, raised diesel taxes and cut non-transportation areas of the state budget by $700 million. Legislators are wary of enacting gas tax increases after a ballot proposal that would have raised revenue for transportation was defeated by the voters in May. The state legislature will adjourn until mid-August, when new proposals could be offered.

The Maine Republican Party has signed on to help fund and promote Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to put a proposal to phase out and eliminate the state’s income tax before voters. GOP Chairman Rick Bennett said the party would help collect the tens of thousands of signatures required to put the measure on the 2016 ballot. The deadline for gathering signatures is in January.

An Arizona personal income tax credit for contributions to public schools is drawing attention from citizens concerned that it exacerbates inequality. According to The Arizona Republic, a small number of schools in wealthy areas receive most of the donations eligible for the dollar-for-dollar credit – on average nearly $400 per student. One school received almost $900,000 in one year. The average per-pupil expenditure statewide is just $45 in state income tax revenue. The donations were restricted to extracurricular spending, but the legislature approved a change this session that will allow the money to be spent on SAT and AP tests – worsening academic inequality between rich and poor districts. Coupled with proposed K-12 budget cuts at the state level, this income tax credit funnels resources from lower-income to upper-income school districts.

Ohio legislators inadvertently raised taxes on businesses despite attempting to enact deep cuts for them in the recently passed budget. Under the terms of the budget, business income above $250,000 was to be taxed at a reduced rate of 3 percent under the personal income tax. Instead, the legislative language omitted the $250,000 cutoff, saying that all business income would be taxed at a rate of 3 percent. And under Ohio’s graduated income tax structure, most business owners paid a rate lower than 3 percent on their business income. Lawmakers trying to give businesses a break through a flat tax and mistakenly taxing them more is the height of irony. State Senate President Keith Faber says the legislature will fix the error in the fall. For more on how this mishap highlights the need for a graduated income tax, check out this piece from Policy Matters Ohio.

New Jersey officials are considering an increase in the state’s tax on wholesale petroleum (currently at 4 cents a gallon) in the wake of a transit fare hike.  Lawmakers failed to pass an increase in the gasoline tax during the session – at 10.5 cents a gallon, New Jersey’s gas tax is among the lowest in the nation. The wholesale petroleum tax and gasoline excise tax support the state’s transportation fund, which is dangerously close to running out of money.