
July 3, 2013
(Original Post) From Connecticut to Wyoming, lawmakers are turning to these hikes to fund long overdue road and infrastructure projects. By Bruce Kennedy It’s the summer driving season, and while gas prices traditionally rise this time of year, they’ve been falling of late. But July 1 was the start of a new fiscal year for […]
July 2, 2013
(Original Post) POSTED BY RYAN HOLEYWELL | JULY 1, 2013 Drivers hitting the road for the Independence Day holiday will encounter higher gas taxes in eight states, according to data compiled by Citizens For Tax Justice. While the changes could frustrate drivers — if they notice the slight hikes — there’s a silver lining: many […]
July 1, 2013
(Original Post) Jul 1, 2013, 3:57pm EDT Logistics & Transportation Chris Bagley Staff Writer- Triangle Business Journal North Carolina increased its motor fuels tax to its second-highest level in history on Monday. The increase was small, just one-tenth of a cent per gallon, but the 37.6-cents-per-gallon level is second only to the 38.9 cents per […]
June 28, 2013
June 28,2013 Once again Vermont finished high in the ranking of children’s well-being released earlier this week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The foundation’s Kids Count survey of the states measures children’s well-being in 16 categories relating to economic well-being, health, education and family and community. These include categories such as the number […]
May 16, 2013
This brief finds that Connecticut’s wealthiest residents pay a smaller share of their income in state and local taxes than middle-income and low-income residents. Read the Full Report
May 16, 2013
One sometimes hears that recent state income tax increases on the rich could cause them to leave Connecticut for New York and points south. Academic research has shown that taxes are simply not a significant factor in families’ moving decisions. Nonetheless, some believe they are, and so it is important for policymakers to understand how […]
April 22, 2013
(Original Post) The price of gasoline is constantly on people’s minds. The prices you see on those gas-station signs everywhere you drive are tough enough to swallow, but what you may not know is the extent to which gas taxes contribute to those prices. The federal tax is $0.184 per gallon, and states add their […]
April 22, 2013
(Original Post) April 19, 2013|By WADE GIBSON | COMMENTARY, The Hartford Courant Most people would agree that Connecticut’s wealthiest residents should pay a greater share of their income in taxes than middle- and working-class residents. With 100, 1,000 or even 10,000 times more disposable income than the average resident, the state’s richest individuals can afford […]
March 13, 2013
(Original Post) March 11, 2013|By JIM HORAN | OP-ED, The Hartford Courant Just two years ago, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed, and Connecticut adopted, a state Earned Income Tax Credit, known as EITC, to help hard-working parents meet their basic needs and keep their families out of poverty. In its first year, that credit helped […]
January 30, 2013
(Original Post) Posted today at 11:21 a.m.By Whet Moser One of the ongoing complaints about Illinois’s tax system—besides general complaints about it being too high for everything—is its prairie flatness, which is unusual among states. One complaint is that it hits low-income taxpayers hardest (Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, has proposed a graduated tax); the other is […]
January 18, 2013
By Paul Hammel WORLD-HERALD BUREAU LINCOLN — Nebraska isn’t the only state looking to eliminate state income taxes. Republican leaders in both Louisiana and North Carolina are pushing plans similar to Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman’s pitch — elimination of income taxes on individuals and on corporations to boost their local economies. Other states, including Oklahoma, […]
January 18, 2013
By Jonathan D. Salant on January 18, 2013 Congress should seize on a rare area of agreement between President Barack Obama and the National Rifle Association in the gun-violence debate and provide funds to hire more police officers, the mayor of New Orleans said. “If Congress can do anything, it can do the thing that […]
January 14, 2013
Connecticut’s revenue system is falling short of providing the revenues we need to maintain the public structures that keep Connecticut strong and vibrant, including our education, health, public safety, environmental protection, and transportation systems. This candidate brief reviews problems with Connecticut’s state revenue system. In Connecticut, wealthy residents pay a smaller share of their income […]
January 14, 2013
While intended to spark a home-grown entertainment industry in Connecticut, Connecticut Voices’ analysis of recently-released data from the Commission on Culture and Tourism shows that the tax credits have largely been subsidizing out-of-state personnel and businesses. Data in a spreadsheet provided to a General Assembly subcommittee looking at tax credits showed that only 11% of […]
January 14, 2013
The Governor has proposed eliminating the unified gift and estate tax. As part of her most recent package of proposed budget changes to balance the State Fiscal Year 2010-2011 (SFY 10-11) budgets, the Governor has proposed eliminating the “inheritance tax” effective January 2010. 1 This repeal not only would reduce General Fund revenues by $85 […]
January 14, 2013
“Today I submit testimony regarding Senate Bill 1007 An Act Concerning the Governor’s Recommendations on Revenue, in particular, regarding components of the act which concern the personal income tax. Specifically, this testimony makes three broad points: 1) The Governor’s personal income tax proposals generally represent an improvement to Connecticut’s current income tax. 2) The total […]
January 14, 2013
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 […]
January 14, 2013
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)
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 […]
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) NEAL PEIRCE © WASHINGTON POST WRITERS GROUPPublished: September 20, 2009 WASHINGTON In a dramatic break from tax trends of recent decades, eight states have voted this year to push up the percentages of income that their wealthiest citizens must pay. Connecticut is the latest to take this step, following Delaware, Hawaii, […]
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) By Anne Galloway on October 21, 2010 Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, Vermont‘s Republican candidate for governor, has said reducing taxes is his No. 1 priority. To do that, Dubie has proposed capping state spending at 2 percent – after he reduces next year‘s budget by $112 million. Once the caps are […]
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) By William Hamilton PBN Staff Writer The General Assembly leadership may have sunk Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee’s controversial sales tax expansion – at least how he initially recommended it. But legislators have been mum on two other Chafee proposals opposed by business groups, to implement combined reporting and to restructure […]
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) April 1, 2011 Flat income tax may have cushioned recession’s blow By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — One of only seven states with a flat personal income tax system may have spared Pennsylvania from some of the pain of the recent economic downturn. It may be hard to […]
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) Gov. Andrew Cuomo has rightly argued that painful spending cuts will be needed to close New York’s projected $10 billion deficit. The hard truth is that it is impossible to cut spending deeply without cutting the state’s huge outlays for education and health care. That means that New York’s most […]
January 4, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009 By Stateline.org Staff Reports A headline in this morning’s Baltimore Sun — “Maryland lost nearly 30% of millionaires last year” — is sure to revive a debate over the higher tax rates that Free State legislators imposed on millionaires in 2008. At least eight other states this […]