Georgia
Chattanooga Times Free Press: She Still Struggles But Now She Has Hope
January 20, 2015
Georgia and Tennessee are not among the 29 states to pass legislation boosting the minimum wage above the federal rate of $7.25 per hour. A report released last week by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Tennessee’s tax rates are among the top 10 most regressive in the nation, meaning the poor […]
Peach Pundit: Georgia’s Working and Middle Class Face Nearly Double the Tax Rate of Top 1%
January 16, 2015
“A new study from the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy (ITEP) analyzes the tax structures of all 50 states and finds that Georgia’s richest contribute a much smaller share of their income to state and local budgets than the rest of the state. While the richest 1% of Georgians (those making over $432,000 annually) […]
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 […]
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.
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Fix Education, Other Vital Services With Viable State Revenue Options
June 27, 2014
Georgia continues to wrestle with the fallout of relying on a revenue system that can’t raise enough money to meet the needs of a modern, growing state. Hospitals are closing, traffic is gridlocked and local school districts are cutting calendar days and increasing class sizes. Public investments in education, transportation and other vital services are […]
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.
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Georgia Lawmakers Still Flirting With Dangerous Tax Shift Ideas
May 12, 2014
The debate over changing Georgia’s tax system is quieter than usual at the Georgia General Assembly this year. Still, some efforts are afoot to push Georgia in a radical tax direction over time. Two resolutions gaining traction would put new tax restrictions in the state constitution. Senate Resolutions 412 and 415, sponsored by Senate Pro […]
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 […]
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 […]
Shreveport Times: Taxes – Where is Louisiana?
November 18, 2013
Nov. 15, 2013 Written by Tommy Williams Special to The Times Right now, inflation is not meeting expectations — and that may be a good thing. Critics of the prevailing monetary policy and low interest rates have predicted inflation will rise. Martin Feldstein, president of the National Bureau for Economic Research, explained in 2012 that […]
Gas tax revenues are on an unsustainable course. Over the last five years, Congress has transferred more than $53 billion from the general fund to the transportation fund in order to compensate for lagging gas tax revenues. By 2015, the transportation fund will be insolvent unless an additional $15 billion transfer is made. Larger transfers will be needed in subsequent years.
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
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Tax Shift Plans Threaten Georgia’s Future
August 12, 2013
Despite support from powerful out-of-state interests, tax shift plans are misguided roadmaps for change. Georgia’s lawmakers should ignore the siren’s call and firmly reject the fringe, copycat idea during its likely appearance in the 2014 legislative session that begins in January. Read the Full Report (PDF)
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.
Jackson Clarion Ledger: A Mississippi sales-tax holiday primer
July 26, 2013
(Original Post) If you’re looking to save money on many kinds of clothing and footwear – but not school supplies – then the next two days are for you. Friday and Saturday will mark this year’s installment of Mississippi’s sales tax holiday, in which the state’s 7 percent sales tax will be generally waived on […]
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 […]
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute: Immigration Reform Would Bolster Georgia’s Strained Finances
July 10, 2013
Georgia would gain nearly $100 million in state and local tax revenue each year if Congress allows undocumented immigrants now living in the United States to work here legally, according to a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Comprehensive immigration reform is under debate in Washington and passing a forward-looking […]
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 […]
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 […]
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