Citations

Legislative leaders announced their intent to cut $592 million from the state’s health and human services budget next year, which is $372 million more than the $212 million in FY11-12 cuts proposed in the Governor’s budget. To put the legislature’s proposal in perspective, the state’s $4.9 billion health and human services budget is second only […]

State leaders must create a budget that meets the population’s needs and allows them to make the investments that will prepare North Carolina for future prosperity. But these goals are made more difficult to achieve by the state’s deteriorated revenue system, which even in the best of times cannot produce the resources required for education, […]

Everyone who gets a paycheck pays payroll taxes. Everyone who buys anything at a local store or fills up their car with gas pays taxes. Individuals and businesses alike, benefit from the public structures paid for by taxes. The figure below shows the estimated share of state and local taxes as a percentage of income […]

“This initial report examines a small portion of the many “economic development incentive” programs funded by the legislature that direct tens of millions of tax dollars each year to corporations under the guise of job creation. Whether the subsidies work often is open to question. Official state reports suggest that half or more of the […]

Former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once noted that, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” State and local taxes support our public schools, streets and highways, public hospitals that form the backbone of the state’s trauma care system, parks and beaches, the public health infrastructure that ensures that our food is safe […]

We remain concerned with House Bill 153 and the numerous and drastic cuts that it makes to education, local governments and a wide range of public services. While the committee has restored funding for some important services, others have been reduced. This will be a zero sum game unless the General Assembly takes the necessary […]

“North Dakota Legislators passed nearly a half billion dollars in tax cuts, reductions and exemptions this session. Some of those tax breaks may have been warranted, but they should have been targeted primarily to North Dakotans working to sustain or achieve a middle class life. One tax cut passed by the 2011 Legislature reduced the […]

With such a deficient, upside-down structure, it is no accident that Nevada, a state blessed with great natural and financial resources, has in fifteen years slipped from 7th to 14th in per capita income among all states (and from 17th to 20th in median household income), or that it currently has the nation’s highest unemployment […]

Previous MassBudget fact sheets have examined the Massachusetts personal income tax and a number of reform options (see “Facts At A Glance: The Income Tax”, available at http://www.massbudget.org/768). This Facts At A Glance examines another reform option (currently before the Legislature) that would make changes to the way the Commonwealth taxes wage and salary income […]

“We need to invest in our communities and keep middle-class families working and earning! An Act to Invest in Our Communities – HB 2553 / SB 1416 – does just that. This bill takes a balanced approach to the fiscal crisis by raising revenue to maintain the services we need and value. By asking more […]

Ten years ago, large federal tax cuts were signed into law by President Bush. Those cuts are now set to expire at the end of 2012. Extending them beyond that date would almost double the size of the federal budget deficit, and in Kentucky close to half of the tax cuts from an extension would […]

The $166 million in state revenues above projections for the fiscal year that just ended are helping prevent additional cuts to critical state services. They are also a reminder of the advantages of a broad-based tax system and in particular the importance of Kentucky’s individual and corporate income taxes. Read the Full Report (PDF)

Despite recent efforts to make the Connecticut tax system fairer, the wealthiest 1% of our residents will still pay only half as much of their income in state and local taxes as the poor and middle class, according to a new analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The state and local tax […]

As Connecticut works towards a plan for economic growth and job creation, it is essential that we understand our strengths and weaknesses. This brief fact sheet outlines several indicators — “benchmarks — that should inform our policy discussion about jobs, economic competitiveness, and shared prosperity for all Connecticut families. Read the Full Report (PDF)

To create jobs, spur long-term economic growth, and foster prosperity, Washington state desperately needs to rebuild its eroding education, public health, and community safety infrastructure. Our state has a powerful, but untapped resource to accomplish this: capital gains. A modest tax on some capital gains would help fuel economic recovery and opportunity for future generations […]

New York State is at a crossroads. Our tax structure is scheduled to change in a way that will render state revenues inadequate for the budget years ahead. Hundreds of thousands of households struggle to pay property tax bills that represent an inordinate share of their incomes. And, in the aftermath of the Great Recession, […]