July 18, 2012 01:41 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | A new poll from the Pew Research Center reports that Americans believe eliminating the Bush tax cuts for the rich would be both beneficial to the economy and make the tax system more fair. By a two-to-one margin, the public says […]
July 17, 2012 01:45 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | A report from the conservative Heritage Foundation uses data from the Treasury Department to make the claim that President Obama’s approach to the Bush tax cuts will “hurt job creation.” Once again, the Heritage Foundation is wrong. The Heritage report focuses […]
July 17, 2012 01:35 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | The Michigan government is facing an unprecedented lawsuit charging that some of its public schools are inadequate to the point that they violate state law. You might think this would make lawmakers revisit the wisdom of their tax-cutting compulsion, but you […]
July 17, 2012 10:15 AM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | Call both your Senators and your Representative today and tell them:Support President Obama’s proposal to allow most of the Bush tax cuts for the richest 2 percent — couples making more than $250,000 and singles making more than $200,000 — to […]
July 16, 2012 02:04 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | Figures from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) are cited in this editorial explaining why making Kansas’ tax structure more like Texas’ is public policy at its worst. Dan Carpenter’s column in the Indianapolis Star explains who’s […]
July 13, 2012 04:56 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | Many residents of Washington, D.C. have found a good restaurant or shopping deal through an online facilitator like LivingSocial. These websites work by putting consumers in touch with local retailers looking to entice new customers with appealing discounts. But recent action […]
July 12, 2012 03:14 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | As the nation’s governors gather in Williamsburg, Virginia this week, their focus is on their Chairman’s initiative, Growing State Economies. Too often, however, a governor’s knee-jerk response to a lagging economy is to start cutting taxes, even though state […]
July 12, 2012 11:21 AM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | The National Governors Association is meeting this week and our clickable yearbook of 22 governors is assigning honors to some and detention to others for the tax policies they pushed in 2011 and 2012. (Single Infographic Version) Jan Brewer (R-AZ) […]
July 10, 2012 05:35 PM By Richard Phillips, Senior Policy Analyst at ITEP | Permalink | Recent evidence has lead Citizens for Tax Justice to wonder: do the “experts” over at Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform intentionally lie, or are they just sloppy? Here’s what we’re looking at: In their recent policy brief, Americans […]
July 9, 2012 06:26 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | The Orlando Sentinel’s editorial board explains the “slow-motion disaster” that is Florida’s tax system, cataloging the lack of sales taxes on services (PDF) and online shopping taxes (PDF), and gasoline tax shortfalls (PDF), among others. Special tax breaks for […]
July 6, 2012 11:27 AM By Richard Phillips, Senior Policy Analyst at ITEP | Permalink | Every year the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) produces reports about each of its 34 member countries’ economic prospects. The one they just published about the United States points out the “disproportionate income growth for top earners […]
July 6, 2012 10:34 AM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | Good news: Wisconsin appears to be gearing up for serious income tax reform. Bad news: the legislator heading up the effort is a flat tax proponent. Illinois Governor Quinn began the legislative session in February proposing a variety of […]
July 5, 2012 05:25 PM By Meg Wiehe, Deputy Director at ITEP | Permalink | Seems New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will do or say just about anything to deliver on his reckless promise to cut personal income taxes. His latest strategy is grandstanding in a very public spotlight (he’s enjoying all sorts of media […]
July 3, 2012 01:46 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | Interested in knowing how much it costs to fund (or not) local firework shows this 4th of July? Read this. Meantime, 46 states now allow sales of high powered consumer fireworks rather than lose the revenues to other states […]
July 3, 2012 12:48 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | According to official estimates, once the Affordable Health Care Act takes effect, it will provide about $26 billion a year in tax credits to help middle-income families lacking health insurance to purchase it. At the same time, the act will impose […]
June 29, 2012 01:43 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | So the modest fee that the Affordable Health Care Act will impose on people who choose not to have health insurance is a “tax,” according to a majority of Supreme Court justices. Hooray! That characterization made the Act pass constitutional muster […]
June 28, 2012 06:09 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | While Kansas recently repealed its only form of grocery tax relief (a credit for low-income families), West Virginia is moving in the opposite direction. That state’s sales tax rate on groceries will drop by one percentage point starting on […]
June 27, 2012 06:12 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | After 40 years, the most important mechanism for helping low-income Illinois seniors and the disabled pay their property tax bills is no more. As of July 1, the Illinois Property Tax Circuit Breaker will no longer be offered despite its relatively […]
June 25, 2012 05:07 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | Politifact highlights an increasingly common complication for those who sign Grover Norquist’s “no tax” pledge. On July 31, Georgia voters will decide on a referendum to increase the sales tax to fund transportation, a measure that’s backed by Republican […]
June 22, 2012 12:38 PM By Richard Phillips, Senior Policy Analyst at ITEP | Permalink | Iowa Governor Terry Branstad recently joined with a dozen other Republican governors in calling for Congress to pass a measure that would allow states to require the largest online retailers to collect sales taxes. In pushing for the measure, […]
June 21, 2012 03:47 PM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | Months after cutting the state income tax for wealthy taxpayers, Idaho’s budget situation isn’t looking good. The Associated Press reports that “earlier this year it looked like the state had sufficient revenue to provide a $36 million tax cut, […]
June 20, 2012 06:04 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | A new report from the National Governors Association (NGA) and National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) explains that an uptick in revenues from modest economic growth is not enough to undo the damage from years of cuts to state governments […]
June 20, 2012 08:38 AM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | New Analysis Finds GOP Approach to Bush Tax Cuts would Give Richest One Percent of Americans $50,660 Per Year More and Give Poorest 20 Percent $150 Less on Average than Obama’s Approach Citizens for Tax Justice Compares the Two Approaches to […]
June 19, 2012 11:00 AM By Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Staff | Permalink | The Detroit News’ editorial board recently criticized a plan to cut Michigan’s personal income tax rates which, despite its hefty $800 million price tag, managed to pass the state’s House. The editors called it risky election year pandering. Oregon […]
June 15, 2012 12:59 PM By Citizens for Tax Justice Staff | Permalink | New Jersey and Ohio don’t have much in common when it comes to their gambling industries. New Jersey’s Atlantic City is home to a dozen different casinos, the oldest of which has been in operation for over three decades. Ohio, on […]