Nebraska
Open Sky Policy Institute: A golden opportunity for tax changes
September 23, 2013
After analyzing options for tax changes put forth by the Tax Modernization Committee, we believe some present a real opportunity to strengthen Nebraska and its economy. Ideas that the committee will discuss at upcoming public hearings that start Monday in Scottsbluff would bolster investments in education, health care and public safety as well as […]
New Census Bureau data released this month show that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high, despite other signs of economic recovery. The national 2012 poverty rate of 15 percent is essentially unchanged since 2010 , but still 2.5 percentage points higher than pre-recession levels. This means that in 2012, 46.5 million, or about 1 in 6 Americans, lived in poverty.1 The poverty rate in most states also held steady with five states experiencing an increase in either the number or share of residents living in poverty while only two states saw a decline.2
Open Sky Policy Institute: Analysis shows large chunk of income-tax cut would leave Nebraska
August 12, 2013
Ahead of Tuesday’s Tax Modernization Committee meeting on the state’s corporate and personal individual income taxes, OpenSky commissioned the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) to forecast a hypothetical scenario in which the state cuts its top income tax rate to 5 percent. The analysis showed about 40 percent of the tax cut […]
KHAS TV: Nebraska Tax Committee reviews policy
August 7, 2013
The Nebraska Tax Committee continued their 6-month review of tax policy Tuesday. Some senators feel the state could be on the verge of major reform.
PBS: How Low Can They Go? Arthur Laffer Defends Slashing State Income Taxes
August 1, 2013
In this 2012 Making Sen$e report, former Reagan White House economic adviser Arthur Laffer drew his famous curve on a napkin -- just the way he did for the Ford administration -- and explained how it works.
Off the Charts: Getting the Whole Story in State Tax Debates
July 10, 2013
(Original Post) July 8, 2013 at 9:02 am Posted by: Nicholas Johnson This year’s state tax debates have revealed a very important flaw in how states typically make tax policy. Fortunately, it’s a flaw that can be fixed. In most states, policymakers lack sufficient information on how tax changes will affect the after-tax distribution of […]
Gulf Coast News Today: We are conservative, Republican, religious
July 8, 2013
Steve Flowers Inside the Statehouse A recent survey rated Alabama as the most conservative state in the Union. More than half of our residents describe themselves as politically conservative. The poll was done by the vaunted Princeton, New Jersey Gallup polling firm. Four of our sister states, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana and Arkansas, also […]
The Philadelphia Inquirer: N.J. highways cost most, study says
July 8, 2013
(Original Post) By Paul Nussbaum, Inquirer Staff Writer POSTED: July 05, 2013 New Jersey’s roads may not be paved with gold, but they certainly are expensive. The state ranks highest in the nation in the cost of maintaining its roads, spending almost twice as much per mile as the number-two state, California, according to a […]
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 […]
CNN Money: Just in Time for the Holiday, 8 States Raise Gas Taxes
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 […]
Triangle Business Journal: N.C. gas tax rises to 37.6 cents a gallon
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 […]
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 […]
The Progressive Pulse: ‘Modest’ or ‘Bold,’ Nebraska Tax Cuts Could Not Be Sold
May 17, 2013
(Original Post) This is an additional contribution to the blog series that presents voices from other states that have unsuccessfully pursued comprehensive tax reform. (See Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3) Commentary provided by Renee Fry, Executive Director of the OpenSky Policy Institute in Lincoln, NE. Nebraska’s 2013 legislative session kicked off with Gov. […]
Chattanooga Times Free Press: Some lawmakers say they may kill Georgia’s income tax next year, but there would be a cost
May 6, 2013
(Original Post) published Sunday, May 5th, 2013 by Tim Omarzu A group of Republican lawmakers in Atlanta wants to do away with Georgia’s 6 percent income tax and replace it — mainly by increasing taxes on sales and services. State Rep. Tom Kirby, R-Loganville, set the stage for what could be a sweeping change to […]
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 […]
The Wichita Eagle: Brownback ‘tax swap’ plan facing stiff opposition
April 22, 2013
(Original Post) By Brad CooperKansas City Star Published Sunday, April 21, 2013, at 6:54 a.m. Eliminating or slashing the income tax is a romantic idea for many politicians. Getting there is much less dreamy. Just ask Republican Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and a handful of other GOP governors who want income tax cuts but propose […]
The Times-Picayune: Behind Jindal’s tax plan, an old debate that still rages
April 8, 2013
(Original Post) By Andrew Vanacore, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune In pushing for an end to income taxes in Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal is calling upon an economic theory about taxes and economic growth that is almost four decades old. So you might assume the case for or against “supply-side” or “trickle-down” economics would be about […]
Charlotte Observer: State Sen. Bob Rucho says North Carolina tax system needs an overhaul
February 21, 2013
By Jim Morrill [email protected] Posted: Saturday, Feb. 02, 2013 RALEIGH Republican state Sen. Bob Rucho is screening his PowerPoint to yet another audience, watching slide after slide build a case for changing North Carolina tax law. All the charts and numbers add up to one conclusion: A tax system built during the Great Depression doesn’t […]
The Star-Ledger: Sticking to the Republican playbook
February 21, 2013
(Original Post) By Star-Ledger Editorial Boardon February 15, 2013 at 6:30 AM, updated February 15, 2013 at 10:58 AM New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (left) with then-Ohio gubernatorial candidate John Kasich as they sit at a lunch counter during a live webcast Q&A session at a campaign stop for Kasich outside Cincinnati. Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger […]
The Daily Nebraskan: Legislators stall Gov. Heineman’s tax reform plans
February 14, 2013
(Original Post) Posted: Thursday, February 14, 2013 12:00 am Daniel Wheaton Gov. Dave Heineman thought tax reform could be realized by the end of this year’s legislative session. Now, legislators aren’t so sure. Heineman announced in January his plans to overhaul the Nebraska tax system by cutting billions of dollars of tax exemptions, with the […]
NP Telegraph: Neb. tax overhaul- Who wins?
February 11, 2013
(Original Post) Posted: Sunday, February 10, 2013 12:00 am | Updated: 9:30 am, Mon Feb 11, 2013. By Martha Stoddard World-Herald News Service LINCOLN – Gov. Dave Heineman has pitched his tax overhaul proposal as a way to make Nebraska a winner and help out ordinary taxpayers. But his proposal wouldn’t make all Nebraskans winners. […]
Open Sky Policy Institute: 80 percent of Nebraskans would see tax increases if income taxes are cut
February 4, 2013
A move to cut income taxes in favor of higher sales taxes will lead to tax increases for 80 percent of Nebraskans, a report by the OpenSky Policy Institute shows. “State economies flourish when policies are enacted that strengthen the middle class. LB 405 and LB 406 don’t work in that way,” said Renee Fry, […]
The Kansas City Star: With state tax reform, first do no harm
February 1, 2013
February 1 By MATTHEW GARDNER After a presidential election campaign during which tax fairness debates figured prominently, the battle has now emphatically shifted to the states. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, for instance, recently announced his support for a “flatter, fairer” tax code, and lawmakers in more than a dozen other states are poised to grapple […]
New York Times: Kansas’ Governor and G.O.P. Seek to End Income Tax
January 25, 2013
(Original Post) By JOHN ELIGONPublished: January 23, 2013 TOPEKA, Kan. — President Obama stood on the steps of the Capitol in Washington on Monday afternoon and laid out an expansive liberal agenda for the nation. Inside the Kansas State Capitol here this week, Gov. Sam Brownback and Republican legislators have been drafting what could be […]
