June 13, 2013 12:50 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | Some observers have asked why we need a corporate income tax in addition to a personal income tax. The argument often made is that corporate profits eventually make their way into the hands of individuals (in the form of stock dividends […]
June 11, 2013 01:51 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | Congress hasn’t even granted states the power to collect sales taxes owed on online shopping, but already Tennessee lawmakers are discussing how they might squander the money. On the heels of inheritance tax, gift tax, sales tax, and interest […]
June 7, 2013 03:02 PM By Carl Davis, Research Director at ITEP | Permalink | Washington State lawmakers are continuing to debate raising the state’s gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon, as they have for much of this year, but with perhaps a renewed sense of urgency following the collapse of the Skagit River […]
June 6, 2013 04:53 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | Thirty-five years ago today, California voters passed an initiative that would change the fiscal trajectory of their great state for decades: Proposition 13. Championed by two citizen-activists with a politically popular message, but ill-conceived vision for California’s fiscal future, Proposition 13 […]
June 6, 2013 04:34 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | The tax reform debate is heating up in North Carolina. Three competing plans have emerged from the House and Senate, and Governor McCrory has publicly endorsed what he considers to be the more “moderate” of the plans. While there are certainly […]
June 6, 2013 01:54 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | Last week we wrote about Governor Cuomo’s ill-conceived Tax-Free NY initiative. We reserve judgment as to whether it’s politically motivated ( a New York Post column called him “Gov $uck-up”, for instance, and this column also questions the motivation) but we […]
June 5, 2013 03:50 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | Recent Congressional hearings on the international tax-avoidance strategies pursued by the Apple Corporation documented the company’s strategy of shifting U.S. profits to offshore tax havens. But a new report from Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) documents seventeen other Fortune 500 corporations […]
June 5, 2013 03:11 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | The damage that austerity budgets have done to economies in Europe and elsewhere poses a problem for proponents of smaller government and lower taxes. How can they argue that cutting spending and shrinking government is such a good thing when it […]
June 4, 2013 04:40 PM By Kelly Davis, Assistant Director of Communications | Permalink | During the tax cut debate last year in Kansas, Governor Sam Brownback characterized his own radical tax cuts as a “real live experiment.” Now, following the actions of the legislature this past weekend, the experiment continues. To fully understand the […]
June 4, 2013 12:48 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | In Arizona, The Republic explains the “mixed legacy” left by the temporary, 1 percent sales tax increase that expired last week. Rather than using the revenue for education, as voters expected when they approved the increase, “the tax revenue […]
May 30, 2013 03:53 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | First it was the ill-advised TV campaign to lure new business to his state by bragging about tax cuts, and now New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has launched his “Tax-Free NY” initiative which would turn many of the state’s public universities, […]
May 30, 2013 03:40 PM By Kelly Davis, Assistant Director of Communications | Permalink | Wednesday, June 5, 2013 Update: The Wisconsin legislature’s Joint Finance Committee approved a budget early this morning that included an income tax cut that reduced income tax rates from 4.6%, 6.15%, 6.5%, 6.75%, and 7.75% to 4.4%, 5.84%, 6.27%, and […]
May 29, 2013 01:53 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | The Ohio Senate is considering a fiscal 2014-15 budget that includes a $1.4 billion business tax cut. The cut – which would exempt a full $375,000 in business income from the income tax – is similar to a widely-criticized […]
May 24, 2013 01:31 PM By Kelly Davis, Assistant Director of Communications | Permalink | At 2:00am on Monday morning, Minnesota House members passed groundbreaking tax legislation that raises $2.1 billion over two years. The Senate then approved the legislation and Governor Dayton, long a champion of progressive tax reform, signed it yesterday. The bill […]
May 22, 2013 03:47 PM By Kelly Davis, Assistant Director of Communications | Permalink | Governor Terry Branstad has made “reforming” (cutting) the property taxes paid by Iowa businesses a top priority since taking office. We described the latest attempts to reduce commercial property taxes here. But Senator Joe Bolkcom (chair of the Ways and […]
May 22, 2013 02:19 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | Kentucky’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform released its very useful findings in December, but regrettably little action has resulted from the comprehensive document. Many of the Commission’s recommendations were bold and forward-looking, like the proposal to expand the […]
May 22, 2013 01:41 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | What Rand Paul Fails to Understand about Apple’s Tax Dodging During the May 21 Senate hearing on Apple’s tax practices, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said lawmakers should apologize for “bullying” the company and holding a “show trial,” and says he’s “offended […]
May 22, 2013 01:36 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | On May 21, top executives of Apple Inc attempted but failed to explain to a Senate committee why Congress should maintain or expand the tax loopholes that allow them to avoid U.S. taxes on billions of dollars in profits. The Senate […]
May 20, 2013 05:18 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | More than a month after Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal “parked” his widely-panned proposal to repeal the state’s income tax, state policymakers now are returning to what should be a more straightforward tax reform issue. A new report (PDF) from the Louisiana […]
May 20, 2013 03:39 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | Virtually None of Its $102 Billion Offshore Stash Has Been Taxed By Any Government Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook is scheduled to testify on May 21 before a Congressional committee on the $102 billion in profits that the company holds offshore. […]
May 16, 2013 04:02 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | First it was Mitt Romney, and now two more aspiring public servants are in the spotlight for questionable tax maneuvers – Penny Pritzker, President Obama’s Commerce Secretary Nominee, and Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate, Gabriel Gomez. The complex tax avoidance strategies exercised […]
May 16, 2013 11:27 AM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | It’s a remarkable thing to see somebody propose $2.3 billion in state and local tax cuts in a single press conference, with absolutely no ideas for paying for them. That’s exactly what Virginia’s Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, recently did at a […]
May 15, 2013 12:50 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | Colorado lawmakers recently decided to enact a pair of poverty-fighting tax policies: an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and a Child Tax Credit (CTC). Both had been on the state’s books at some point but had either been eliminated […]
May 15, 2013 10:54 AM By Kelly Davis, Assistant Director of Communications | Permalink | The Missouri House and Senate have hammered out a hybrid version of the tax bills each chamber recently passed, but with luck, it will never become law. When the Senate passed its version in March, we wrote: This package is […]
May 13, 2013 05:41 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, an opponent of efforts to crack down on offshore tax havens, is stepping up his efforts by introducing FATCA repeal, and is extending his help to tax-dodging corporations by proposing a repatriation amnesty. Senator Paul’s Campaign […]