New York
New York Times: The State-by-State Revival of the Right
October 10, 2014
In an analysis of how the Indiana cuts are distributed by income groups, the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the bottom 20 percent are getting an average cut of $10, those in the middle are getting $56, while the top 1 percent get $1,181. Read more
New York Times: Apple’s Irish Luck
October 6, 2014
Here then is one difference between what transpires in the U.S. and what transpires in Europe: The E.U. has rules intended to prevent nations from giving unjustified tax breaks to companies. “In Europe there is now a mechanism to prevent the most harmful abuses” of the tax code, said Matthew Gardner, the executive director of […]
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 […]
Greenfield Daily Reporter: NY Tax Receipts Keep Rising Despite Growing Gap Between the Rich and the Rest
September 17, 2014
New York tax collections have continued rising despite a growing income gap between its richest residents and everyone else, even as a national study shows overall growth in state tax receipts slowing as the income gap widens across the U.S. While declining to immediately comment on the S&P analysis, Cuomo administration officials pointed to a […]
The Spectrum: Solution Possible for the Corporate Tax Issue
August 20, 2014
By Della Lowe: A week ago, Walgreen’s reversed its decision to move its corporate headquarters out of the United States, a move that would have been in name only but would have allowed the drugstore chain to save billions of dollars over the next five years in taxes. It appears from the news reports that […]
Politico: Craft Beer Tastes Great, Less Taxes
August 14, 2014
By Kelsey Snell Trendy craft beer sales are booming, and cities and states are hoping tax breaks will help them elbow their way into a seat at the bar. Targeted tax breaks are a favorite tool for states looking to capitalize on a growing industry, and states from California to New York are all hoping […]
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.
Streetsblog: Unlike Toll Reform, A Sale Tax Is a Really Regressive Way to Fund Transit
August 1, 2014
By Stephen Miller But a sales tax is one of the most regressive revenue-raisers out there. Of the types of taxes states typically levy — on property, income, and sales — “sales and excise taxes are the most regressive, with poor families paying eight times more of their income in these taxes than wealthy families, and […]
Fiscal Policy Institute: NYS Can Help Low-income Working Families with Children by Increasing its Earned Income Tax Credit
August 1, 2014 • By ITEP Staff
It comes as no surprise to working families that New York State’s tax system is fundamentally unfair. Low- and middle-income workers pay, on average, a much higher share of their income in state and local taxes than the highest income earners. According to analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the […]
For much of the last century, estate and inheritance taxes have played an important role in helping states to adequately fund public services in a way that improves the progressivity of state tax systems. While many of the taxes levied by state and local governments fall most heavily on low-income families, only the very wealthy pay estate and inheritance taxes. Recent changes in the federal estate tax, however, culminating in the "fiscal cliff " deal of early 2013, have forced states to reevaluate the structure of their estate and inheritance taxes. Unfortunately, the trend of late has tended toward weakening…
Los Angeles Times: Hypocrite Watch: Texas Gov. Rick Perry Says He May Move to Calif.
June 19, 2014
But Texas has sales and property taxes that make its overall burden of taxation on low-wage families much heavier than the national average, while the state also taxes the middle class at rates as high or higher than in California. For instance, non-elderly Californians with family income in the middle 20 percent of the income distribution pay combined state and local taxes amounting to 8.2 percent of their income, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy; by contrast, their counterparts in Texas pay 8.6 percent.
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.
Associated Press: Missouri lawmakers pass tax cut; veto possible
April 17, 2014
(Original Post) Thursday, April 17, 2014 By DAVID A. LIEB ~ The Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Setting up a likely veto showdown, the Republican-led Missouri Legislature gave final approval Wednesday to an income-tax cut for millions of individuals and thousands of business owners that Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon warned could imperil funding for […]
The Transylvania Times: No True Tax Reform
April 16, 2014
(Original Post) Within the past few days, thousands of North Carolinians have been scurrying to complete and file their state and federal income tax returns. As always, there is a call for a simpler and more equitable tax code. As usual, very little is done to make taxes simpler or achieve a more equitable system. […]
AM New York: Tax day – NY-based corporates that pay the least taxes
April 16, 2014
(Original Post) By AMNY.COM April 15, 2014 Paying taxes can be a painful experience. But that pain is not necessarily felt by some corporations that pay little to no taxes due to loopholes (and plenty of high-price consulting help). In fact, 26 Fortune 500 corporations reported negative taxes due to rebates. The nonprofits Citizens for […]
Fiscal Policy Center: Corning and MasterCard Paid .6% in State Taxes
April 15, 2014 • By ITEP Staff
As New York struggles with tough budget decisions about essential public services, profitable Fortunate 500 companies like Corning, MasterCard, Lowes and Consolidated Edison are paying 2% or less in state income taxes for 2012 thanks to copious loopholes, lavish giveaways and crafty accounting. The recently passed state budget did nothing to close these loopholes and […]
Life of the Law Podcast: Episode 31 – People and Their Taxes
April 9, 2014
(Original Post) Written by Alisa Roth & LOTL Staff on Tuesday, April 8th, 2014 Clara Orozco got her first job, waiting tables, three days after she arrived in New York from Mexico. Since then, she’s worked as a cashier at McDonald’s, painted nails, and cleaned houses. And every year, whether she’s been paid by cash […]
Wall Street Journal: States Raise Gas Taxes to Pay for Infrastructure
April 7, 2014
(Original Post) As Congress Only Takes Short-Term Steps, Governors Seek More Funds for Roads By JOSH MITCHELL Updated April 4, 2014 7:32 p.m. ET GEORGETOWN, Del.—States and cities desperate to build and repair roads and other infrastructure—but frustrated by inertia in Congress—are raising their own levies and turning to private companies for funding. Six states […]
The Record: The 5-cent solution – gas tax for New Jersey
March 24, 2014
(Original Post) MARCH 21, 2014, 4:53 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014, 4:53 PM BY CARL DAVIS THE RECORD Carl Davis is senior policy analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that works on federal, state and local tax policy issues. IF YOU WERE to ask five […]
Accounting Today: Big Corporations Dodge Billions in State Taxes
March 21, 2014
(Original Post) WASHINGTON, D.C. (MARCH 21, 2014) BY MICHAEL COHN Some of the largest and most profitable Fortune 500 companies are paying little or nothing in state income taxes, according to a new study. The study, by the advocacy groups Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, examined 269 Fortune […]
The Hill: Our great nation of immigrants
March 20, 2014
(Original Post) March 17, 2014, 09:00 am By Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) This month I, along with 34.5 million Americans of Irish descent, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It was Irish immigrant Annie Moore who was the first to pass through Ellis Island when it officially opened on New Year’s Day 1892. Today, Irish is the […]
Kansas Supreme Court Case Shows Public Services Suffer When Tax Breaks for Wealthy Take Priority
March 11, 2014 • By Jenice Robinson
Far too often, lawmakers use tax cuts to score political points and throw around phrases such as “more effective government” to gloss over the lasting, negative effects of starving public investments. In the case of Kansas, public schools are paying the price. The state Supreme Court ruled last Friday that the state Legislature hasn’t allocated […]
The Huffington Post: Why Rick Perry Is So Wrong About California And New York
March 10, 2014
(Original Post) Posted: 03/08/2014 10:20 am EST Updated: 03/08/2014 10:59 am EST Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) was the standout star at the Conservative Political Action Conference this year, in no small part because of his impassioned plea for Americans to recognize that the fate of the U.S. comes down to a battle of visions […]
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 […]
The Buffalo News: Democrats ought to embrace budget
March 10, 2014
(Original Post) By Douglas Turner | News Washington Columnist on March 10, 2014 – 6:17 AM WASHINGTON – Sophisticates speaking for the real power here have already blown off President Obama’s 2015 budget. The group includes almost the entire Congress and sadly, the corps of journalists, some who are world weary, but include all who […]
