Florida
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Axing Ohio’s Income Tax
October 3, 2014
In 2011, the state of Florida spent $8,887 per-pupil, ranking it 38th among the states, according to a report by Governing magazine based on Census data. Ohio ranked 18th that year, spending $11,223 per pupil. That same report showed that Ohio’s graduation rate for all students was nine percentage points higher than Florida. The rate […]
Read the Report in PDF Form The Census Bureau released data in September showing that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high. In 2013, the national poverty rate was 14.5 percent, a slight drop from last years’ rate of 15 percent and the first decline since 2006.1 However, the poverty rate remains 2.0 […]
USA Today: Shrinking Revenue Spurs Gas Tax Alternative
August 14, 2014
By Elaine S. Povich It was the potholes that convinced real estate broker Lester Friedman that there’s got to be a better way to pay for road construction and repairs. Friedman, who lives in Bend, Oregon, drives about 8,000 miles a year in his 1999 Chevrolet Suburban, ferrying clients throughout central Oregon. He sees roads […]
Politifact: Nan Rich Makes Claims about State’s Economy, Taxes
August 6, 2014
In response to questions, Rich said Florida’s tax structure was too regressive. Rich cited a 2013 report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which partners with Citizens for Tax Justice, a group that advocates for middle- and low-income families. The report concluded that all states have regressive tax systems. It means that state […]
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
August 5, 2014 • By Meg Wiehe
Sales taxes are an important revenue source, comprising close to half of all state revenues in 2013. But sales taxes are also inherently regressive because the lower a family's income, the more of its income the family must spend on things subject to the tax.
St. Augustine Record: Tax Holiday, It’s How You Handle It
August 1, 2014
By the Editorial Board Florida touts these holidays — in which the 6 percent tax is temporarily lifted — as breaks for the average family, and says that Floridians will save $40 million this weekend alone. That may not be the whole story. We don’t argue the state numbers, but the truth is that the […]
Politifact: Nan Rich says Florida has 3rd most-regressive tax structure
July 23, 2014
“Rich told PolitiFact Florida in an interview, “don’t hold me to ‘third regressive.’ …. I did not say ‘third’ definitively. … We are one of the most regressive.” Rich cited a 2013 report by The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which partners with Citizens for Tax Justice, a group that advocates for fair taxation of […]
South Florida Times: State Policies Affect the Middle Class
June 5, 2014
By David Madland and Keith Miller, June 5, 2014 The past 30 years has not been kind to Florida’s middle class which now ranks among the weakest in the nation. While the state enjoyed significant economic growth over this period, few of the benefits ever trickled down to the families who were not among the […]
The Christian Science Monitor: Hurricane Season Is Here, and Preparation Is Tax-Free
June 2, 2014
By Renu Zaretsky, June 2, 2014 Hurricane season began yesterday, and millionaires or not, Floridians can purchase hurricane supplies sales-tax free until June 8. Eligible items include ice packs, flashlights, portable radios, portable generators, Tiki torches, and certain batteries (AAs are tax-free, AAAs are not). Sales tax holidays grew more popular as states carried budget surpluses: They were seen as a way […]
The gasoline tax is the single largest source of funding for transportation infrastructure in the United States, but the tax is on an unsustainable course. Sluggish gas tax revenue growth has put strain on transportation budgets at the federal and state levels, and has led to countless debates around the country about how best to pay for America's infrastructure.
An updated version of this brief was published on February 9, 2017. Read this report in pdf. Every state levies taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, usually just called “gas taxes.” These taxes are an important source of state revenue—particularly for transportation—but their poor design has resulted in sluggish revenue growth that fails to […]
Buenos Aires Herald: The US – the poorest rich country on earth
March 10, 2014
(Original Post) By Gabriela Esquivada For The Herald in US The United States is often referred to as the “land of opportunity.” But an increasing number of US citizens are feeling the pinch, struggling to makes ends meet as inequality in the country rises. From New York, Gabriela Esquivada looks at how the richest nation […]
Article 3: Will Georgia Go Blue?
March 6, 2014
(Original Post) By Eric Bates | March 6, 2014 If you had told me last year that a red state in the Deep South could possibly turn blue within two or three election cycles, I probably would’ve laughed at you and then dismissed everything you had to say about politics ever again. But to my […]
Politico: Tax Cuts MVP in Scott’s State of the State
March 6, 2014
(Original Post) Florida Gov. Rick Scott used his State of the State address yesterday to encourage state lawmakers to move forward with $560 million in proposed tax cuts, including a $100 million cut to commercial rental taxes, a roll-back of $400 million in state vehicle-registration fees and a freeze on tuition rates. Scott also boasted […]
WFSU: Florida Retail Federation Backing Tax Holidays, Proposals To Expand Pharmacist Duties
January 30, 2014
(Original Post) Health & Science 4:32 PM TUE JANUARY 28, 2014 By LYNN HATTER The Florida Retail Federation is gearing up for the 2014 legislative session by throwing its support behind a series of proposed sales tax holidays and proposals to expand the duties of pharmacists. Vice President Randy Miller says the group is behind […]
Marshfield News-Herald: Tax reform dominating early 2014 political discussions
January 6, 2014
Logan T. Carlson Central Wisconsin Sunday As the calendar flips to another year, there are rumblings in the State Capitol of Gov. Scott Walker considering idea of eliminating the state’s income tax in favor of shifting the state’s revenue toward a sales tax. No official proposal has been developed or released by Walker, but […]
Los Angeles Times: Corporations lead taxpayers to the shearing
January 6, 2014
(Original Post) By Michael Hiltzik January 5, 2014, 5:00 a.m. Here’s a business practice likely to keep booming in 2014: corporate extortion. We don’t mean extortion of corporations, as is practiced by Somali pirates or entrepreneurial Russians. We mean extortion by corporations. In this field the victims are taxpayers, and what makes it a beautiful […]
Mint Press News: Expiring Tax Deductions Prompt Talk Of Reform For State, Federal Tax System
December 30, 2013
(Original Post) Without congressional action to extend state and federal tax deductions, 11 million taxpayers will lose $17 billion. By Jo Erickson | December 26, 2013 As the year ends nine federal tax provisions will expire, causing some to pay more in state and local sales taxes. Most critics agree that state and federal taxes […]
The Cap Times: What do states with no income tax do for revenue?
December 30, 2013
(Original Post) December 27, 2013 10:25 am • STEVEN ELBOW | The Capital Times | [email protected] Gov. Scott Walker raised a lot of eyebrows earlier this month when he broached the idea of scrapping the state income tax, joining seven other states. So what do Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming do […]
Chicago Tribune: ADM’s decision delivers a lesson in corporate strategy
December 19, 2013
Now we have proof that Chicago doesn’t need gimmicks to win a major corporation Phil Rosenthal December 19, 2013 Any out-of-towner can fall in love with Chicago when it’s warm. Commit in December to making it your home and, beyond affection, it’s likely you’ve simply decided this is somewhere you need to be. Three […]
Financial Times: US states trade tax offers in battle to host Boeing
December 13, 2013
(Original Post) Excerpt States and localities devote an estimated $50bn to tax incentives every year as they jockey for the promise of jobs related to new company operations or the threat of relocation, according to the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) think-tank. Recent examples include Archer Daniels Midland, an agribusiness group, that […]
Fox Business: Income Analysis Shows Widening Gap
December 11, 2013
(Original Post) By Judy Martel Published December 10, 2013 Bankrate.com As Americans continue to climb out of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, many experts are taking note of a widening gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” Federal income data over the past 20 years show a growing divide in income among […]
The Orlando Sentinel: Disney triples offshore profits, saving on U.S. taxes
December 10, 2013
(Original Post) December 9, 2013|By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel The Walt Disney Co. has nearly tripled the amount of profit it is keeping in offshore subsidiaries, saving the company $315 million in U.S. income taxes, new regulatory filings show. The move helped Disney, one of the largest taxpayers in Florida, cut its reported effective tax […]
Miami Herald: Gov. Rick Scott’s ‘jobs, jobs jobs’ is just talk, talk, talk
December 10, 2013
BY FRED GRIMM [email protected] Rick Scott talks jobs, jobs, jobs for Florida. But Nicolás Maduro delivers. Gov. Scott, the candy man of come-to-Florida corporate incentives, has been doling out state tax breaks, tax credits and other goodies, in a frantic attempt to fulfill his gaudy 2010 campaign promise to deliver 700,000 new jobs. Unhappily, […]
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota County’s growth report, the KKK and Stephen Colbert
November 21, 2013
(Original Post) By Tom Lyons Published: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 at 5:08 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 at 5:08 p.m. Ironic is the kindest description I can think of for the way Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Barbetta is blaming Randall Reid for a consultant’s report all agree was an embarrassing waste of time […]
