Massachusetts
The City Wire: Some studies note impact of tax holiday promote spending
August 1, 2013
One back-to-school ritual designed to boost consumption will occur this weekend starting Saturday (Aug. 3) and ending Sunday (Aug. 4), as consumers may take advantage of a statewide tax-free holiday.
NPR: As Back-To-School Shopping Begins, Consumers May Turn Frugal
August 1, 2013
As August begins, retailers are stepping up sales promotions to attract back-to-school shoppers. And several states are offering tax-free shopping to encourage purchases.
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
July 24, 2013 • By Meg Wiehe
Sales taxes are an important revenue source, comprising close to half of all state revenues in 2012. 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.
McClatchy-Tribune: States expand sales tax holidays beyond back-to-school items
July 22, 2013
Many states with back-to-school sales tax “holidays” are expanding them to cover almost any purchase, in addition to the usual kids’ clothing, shoes, books and school supplies. As schools and students replace ink and paper with pixels, some states are expanding their holidays to cover sales taxes on low-cost computers and tablets. These electronics […]
Bloomberg BNA: Sales Tax Slice: Attention Shoppers – A Sales Tax Holiday is Occurring in a State Near You
July 15, 2013
(Original Post) Thursday, July 11, 2013 by Rebecca Helmes Your kids may have just finished school for the summer, but it’s time to start devising your back-to-school shopping plan. A break from sales taxes may come as a welcome respite for consumers and retailers. But these tax vacations have been consistently panned from a fiscal […]
Stateline: States Expand Sales Tax Holidays Beyond Back-to-School Items
July 10, 2013
(Original Post) By Elaine S. Povich, Staff Writer A crowd of about 100 line up outside of the Apple Store in the Saddle Creek shopping center in Germantown, Tenn., to get a head start on last year’s tax free weekend. (AP) Many states with back-to-school sales tax “holidays” are expanding them to cover almost […]
MSN Money: 8 states where the gas tax just went up
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 […]
The Barre Montpelier Times Argus: Kids count
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 […]
Boston Globe: Big seller Boston Beer asks for small-brewer tax break
May 17, 2013
(Original Post) By Noah Bierman| Globe Staff May 13, 2013 WASHINGTON — It’s early to be drinking, but just after 10:30 a.m. on a weekday, Jim Koch, the founder of Samuel Adams beer, pops open a bottle of lager and regales his audience with stories. It’s no barroom banter. Koch is standing behind a […]
Reuters: State tax reform efforts snarled by politics but backers persist
April 24, 2013
(Original Post) By Nanette Byrnes Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:19pm EDT (Reuters) – From Louisiana to Ohio, Massachusetts and Nebraska, bold proposals to upend state tax laws are losing momentum in the face of political squabbles and special interest opposition. Just a short time ago, it looked as if several state leaders would show gridlocked […]
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Strategies to Address the State Tax Volatility Problem
April 19, 2013
State revenues plummet in recessions, just when states can least afford the loss. Some proposals to address this flaw in state tax systems would change the systems’ structure — for instance, by replacing state personal income taxes with sales taxes — but wouldn’t solve the problem and would exacerbate others in state tax systems. States […]
WPRI: Labor, liberals push income tax hike on wealthy in RI
March 13, 2013
Paiva Weed, Fox, Chafee skeptical about 7.99% rate Updated: Tuesday, 12 Mar 2013, 10:07 PM EDT Published : Tuesday, 12 Mar 2013, 5:25 PM EDT By Ted Nesi, WPRI.com Reporter PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – A coalition of political progressives and labor leaders renewed their uphill battle to raise affluent Rhode Islanders’ taxes on Tuesday, arguing […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Effects of Raising Rates and Exemptions on the State Income Tax
March 12, 2013
This Facts At A Glance updates MassBudget’s analysis of a reform option that would make changes to the way the Commonwealth taxes wage and salary income as well as investment income. The Department of Revenue (DOR) recently examined this reform option and estimated that the proposal’s combined changes would generate between $1.99 billion and $2.11 […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Examining Tax Fairness
March 12, 2013
Taxes are the primary way we pay for the things that we do together through government. These include things like police and fire protection; public education; roads, bridges and public transportation; a safety net for when people face hard times; and more. Determining how much people at different income levels pay in taxes is important […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Possible Reforms to the Governor’s Tax Plan
March 12, 2013
In his FY 2014 budget, the Governor proposes making significant new investments in education and transportation, as well as limiting cuts to other program areas. He proposes paying for these investments with a tax increase, one that would raise an estimated $1.9 billion in new, annual revenue and would do so in a progressive manner […]
New York Times: The Alluring Myth of the Tax-Fleeing Millionaire
February 15, 2013
(Original Post) By JAMES B. STEWARTPublished: February 15, 2013 Last month, Vladimir V. Putin hugged his newly minted fellow Russian citizen, the actor Gerard Depardieu, posing for cameras at the Black Sea port of Sochi. “I adore your country,” Mr. Depardieu gushed — especially its 13 percent flat tax on personal income. Sochi may not […]
USA Today: Time to tweak gas taxes? States weigh options
January 25, 2013
(Original Post) Larry Copeland, USA TODAY7:47a.m. EST January 25, 2013 A great tax debate is breaking out in state capitals from Vermont to Texas: How do we maintain and expand our vital-but-aging networks of roads, bridges and urban transit systems? For nearly a century, the nation has funded projects primarily with revenue from gasoline taxes. […]
Politico: Ambitious governors dominate tax debate
January 23, 2013
(Original Post) By: Rachael BadeJanuary 22, 2013 04:41 PM EST Looking for the next big tax debate? Talk to a governor — preferably one with presidential ambitions. From Louisiana to New York, and Wisconsin to Massachusetts, some of the nation’s most prominent governors in both parties — more than a few of whom have grander […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Facts At A Glance – The Income Tax: Another Reform Option
January 14, 2013
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 […]
Campaign for Our Communities: Support Public Education and Other Vital Services!
January 14, 2013
“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 […]
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Wisconsin’s tax burden gets lighter but not for all
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) By Dave Umhoefer of the Journal SentinelPosted: April 12, 2010 | At the end of last year, one Midwestern state emerged carrying its lightest total tax burden since the early 1960s. Only six states nationwide saw a bigger drop in the percentage of taxpayer income taken for government spending over an […]
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 […]
Vermont Diggers: Truth Squad- Do Dubie’s tax plans help the rich?
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 […]
The Providence Journal: Study suggests eliminating R.I.’s capital gains tax break
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) 01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, March 21, 2009 By NEIL DOWNING Journal Staff Writer Rhode Island could save more than $49 million a year by eliminating the favorable tax treatment that the state currently allows on capital gains, a new report says. Rhode Island is one of only nine states […]
The Providence Journal: Protect income-tax progressivity in R.I.
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) 01:00 AM EST on Sunday, November 16, 2008JEFF McLYNCH WASHINGTON IT ISN’T VERY OFTEN that one of life’s maxims can be applied to state tax policy. Many hands make for . . . a lot of exemptions? A penny saved is a penny . . . deducted? Yet, judging from […]
