Alabama
The Charleston Gazette: N.E. Editorial Roundup
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) November 30, 2009N.E. Editorial Roundup The Associated Press Rutland Herald, Rutland, Vt., Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009: The economic recovery is not occurring as quickly as previously hoped, according to the latest economic reports, which means that when legislators convene in January, the job before them will be daunting. Last week legislators […]
Rutland Herald: Tax inequities
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) The economic recovery is not occurring as quickly as previously hoped, according to the latest economic reports, which means that when legislators convene in January, the job before them will be daunting. Last week legislators acknowledged that state government faces an $88 million deficit in the coming budget cycle, even without […]
Salt Lake City Weekly: 9 Reasons the Rich Get Richer
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) A tax expert’s story on tax myths may not be sexy, but it could arouse you—and not in a good way. By David Cay Johnston Posted // April 13,2011 – For three decades, we have conducted a massive economic experiment, testing a theory known as supply-side economics. The theory goes like […]
The Commercial Appeal: A terrible decision
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) By Staff Reports Friday, November 20, 2009 Tennessee lawmakers who controlled the debate over state tax reform in 2002 can proudly point to Tennessee’s No. 3 ranking on the list of states with the lowest state and local taxes. Per person, Tennesseans paid an average of $3,005 in 2007, according to […]
The Commercial Appeal: Report says Tennessee’s tax system among nation’s most regressive
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) By Richard Locker Originally published 11:28 a.m., November 18, 2009Updated 12:07 a.m., November 19, 2009 NASHVILLE — The Tennessee tax system is the fourth most regressive among the states, with lower-income families paying a higher portion of their income in state and local taxes than do more affluent households, according to […]
Chattanooga Times Free Press: Liberal group raps state tax regressivity
January 7, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) By: Andy Sher Thursday, November 19, 2009 NASHVILLE — The Tennessee and Alabama tax systems are among the nation’s worst when it comes to favoring the rich over the poor and middle class, according to a study by a Washington-based research organization. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberalleaning […]
Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal: Pennsylvania among ‘Terrible 10’ most regressive tax states
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) STAFF REPORTPublished: November 19, 2009 Working families in Pennsylvania pay a far higher share of their income in state and local taxes than their wealthiest counterparts, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy (ITEP). In 2007, middle-class earners paid nearly double the share of […]
The Iowa Independent: Report: Iowa tax code favors wealthiest residents
January 4, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) By Jason Hancock 11/18/09 10:39 AM Moderate- and low-income Iowans pay a greater share of their income in state and local taxes than the rich do, according to a new report from two non-partisan research organizations. According the report, Iowa families earning less than $20,000 a year — the poorest fifth […]
Tallahassee Democrat: Tobacco tax, It’s a symptom of bad fiscal habits
January 3, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) November 22, 2009 It’s a symptom of bad fiscal habits When the Legislature was debating last spring whether to raise money by substantially boosting the taxes on tobacco, a couple of arguments were all that caused even a pause in enthusiasm for this “sin tax.” One was that it would likely […]
Montgomery Advertiser: James Evans: System perpetuates poverty
December 21, 2012
(PDF of Original Post) There is a constant refrain in the faith tradition shared by Jews and Christians. It begins with the Law of Moses, flows through the prophets, and finds perfect expression in the teaching of Jesus. This refrain is God’s concern for the poor. People of faith who take the Scriptures seriously are […]
The Birmingham News: Our View: Most Alabamians don’t get to celebrate having the nation’s lowest state and local taxes
December 21, 2012
(PDF of Original Post) By Birmingham News editorial boardNovember 08, 2009, 6:00AM Imagine that Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide wins the national championship this year, but only the special-team players — and not the majority of the team — get to celebrate. If you can imagine that, you get a better sense of what it […]
The Birmingham News: Our View: The time is right for the Legislature to grant sales tax relief to Alabama families struggling to make ends meet
December 21, 2012
(PDF of Original Post) By Birmingham News editorial boardFebruary 10, 2010, 5:30AM When the nation’s economy catches a cold, Alabama gets pneumonia, the saying goes. And when the nation’s economy catches pneumonia, as it has during the Great Recession? Let’s just say Alabama’s economy is gravely ill and struggling. In recent months, the state’s unemployment […]
The Birmingham News: Our View: Lawmakers should make Alabama’s tax system more fair and do away with the 4 percent state sales tax on food
December 21, 2012
(PDF of Original Post) By Birmingham News editorial board March 31, 2010, 5:45AM How does two weeks’ worth of free groceries sound? That’s what the great majority of Alabamians stand to gain if the Legislature removes the state’s 4 percent sales tax from food and over-the-counter drugs. Alabama Arise, a group that lobbies for the […]
The Birmingham News: Our View: The state House of Representatives should approve a bill ending the state’s 4 percent sales tax on groceries and nonprescription drugs
December 21, 2012
(PDF of Original Post) By Birmingham News editorial board April 08, 2010, 5:45AM When the Alabama House of Representatives debates a bill today that would remove the state sales tax on groceries, you can bet opponents utter these words, or some variation, more than once: “The whole bill is a redistribution of wealth.” (In fact, […]
The Birmingham News: Our View: The nation’s lowest-tax state reaps the nation’s highest amount from its poorest taxpayers
December 21, 2012
(PDF of Original Post) Alabama stands atop two national rankings. Auburn fans should be upset. But so should fans of the Crimson Tide. Obviously, we’re not talking BCS and AP pre-season college football rankings. Instead, we’re talking about two seemingly contradictory rankings of the state’s tax system that expose just how screwy it is. Alabamians […]
Montgomery Advertiser: Editorial: Are state’s taxes low? Not for all
December 21, 2012
(PDF of Original Post) August 15, 2010 Which statement is true? 1. Compared to the rest of the nation, Alabamians pay a low rate of state and local taxes. 2. Compared to the rest of the nation, Alabamians pay a high rate of state and local taxes. Actually, both statements can be true, or they […]
Birmingham News: OUR VIEW: It’s awful that Birmingham is tied for the highest sales tax rate in the nation among cities with more than 200,000 people
December 21, 2012
(PDF of Original Post) Published: Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 5:45 AM By Birmingham News editorial board If it’s possible to be No. 1 with a bullet, Birmingham is. It sits tied with Montgomery atop the charts. But it’s nothing you’d want to dance to. Birmingham and Montgomery have the highest general sales tax rate in […]
Ledger-Enquirer: Lobby for the poor won’t make any politician richer
December 21, 2012
(PDF of Original Post) Alabamians are being inundated, and almost certainly disgusted, by the tawdry details of a federal trial involving big money that lobbyists for gambling interests allegedly paid lawmakers for votes to legalize casino-style electronic bingo. Meanwhile, a far humbler lobbying effort of a very different kind quietly continues in Alabama, with hardly […]
Huffington Post: Poverty Is Rising, But State Tax Systems Burden The Poor, While Rich Get Off Easy
December 21, 2012
Original Post September 27, 2011 by Tyler Kingkade WASHINGTON — Newly released U.S. Census data reveal that poverty levels have skyrocketed, but in most states, the tax systems disproportionally burden the poor. Most states also impose tax structures similar to what current Republican presidential candidates are advocating, and experts warn these should serve as cautionary […]
Anniston (AL) Star: Alabama’s poverty problem: Economy will strengthen if poverty is addressed
December 21, 2012
Op-ed by Kimble Forrister October 7, 2011 “Anytime we create more jobs, we get more people off the unemployment rolls and out of poverty,” state Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said in a recent Birmingham News profile of Alabama Arise. We agree. That’s why many items on Arise’s agenda this year (and every year) are designed […]
Clarion Ledger: Corporations already evading Miss. state income tax
December 19, 2012
5:51 PM, Dec. 15, 2011 Written by Bill Minor Among the outlandish bills sponsored by Republican lawmakers I had mentioned a couple of weeks ago was one that would have repealed (yes, repealed) the state income tax on corporations. It didn’t pass. Now don’t be surprised if the bill resurfaces when the GOP takes over […]
Montgomery Advertiser: Rally calls for end to state tax on groceries
December 17, 2012
by Brian Lynn March 15, 2012 Speakers at a State House rally Thursday said repealing the state’s sales tax on groceries and a federal income tax deduction would create tax equity and address looming budget shortfalls. “Asking the richest Alabamians to pay the same share as the rest of us is common sense,” said Kimble […]
Birmingham News: Alabama’s tax system is unfair and immoral, but lawmakers have yet to ease the burden on most families
December 17, 2012
(Original Post) Once upon a time six years ago, the Legislature, prodded by a governor and shamed by a tax study, actually took a baby step toward tax fairness. Lawmakers raised the nation’s lowest income tax threshold — the point at which people begin paying state income tax — from an embarrassingly low $4,600 a […]
The Birmingham News: Funding for Alabama’s Northern Beltline uncertain
December 17, 2012
(Original Post) Published: Sunday, April 15, 2012, 9:00 AM Updated: Sunday, April 15, 2012, 4:56 PM By Thomas Spencer As the Alabama Department of Transportation prepares to embark on one of the most ambitious interstate building projects in the nation — the 52-mile, $4.7 billion Northern Beltline — both the state and the federal government […]
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Missouri can’t afford to leave $400 million on the table
December 17, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012 | 10:21 a.m. CDT BY St. Louis Post-Dispatch Forty-four of the 50 states in the nation don’t allow it. Missouri does, and in 2011, the practice denied state agencies nearly $400 million that Missourians desperately needed for health care, education, infrastructure and other essential services in every part of the state. […]
