Hawaii
Honolulu Star Advertiser: Hawaii among most regressive states for taxation
January 30, 2013
(Original Post) By Erika Engle POSTED: 08:07 a.m. HST, Jan 30, 2013LAST UPDATED: 08:07 a.m. HST, Jan 30, 2013 Hawaii has been declared one of the “Terrible Ten” most regressive states for tax laws, by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, based in Wash., D.C. An ITEP study released today found that Hawaii […]
Chicago Magazine: Illinois- The Fourth Most Regressive Taxes in America
January 30, 2013
(Original Post) Posted today at 11:21 a.m.By Whet Moser One of the ongoing complaints about Illinois’s tax system—besides general complaints about it being too high for everything—is its prairie flatness, which is unusual among states. One complaint is that it hits low-income taxpayers hardest (Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, has proposed a graduated tax); the other is […]
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. […]
Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice: Tax Policies That Will Help End Poverty for Hawai’i’s Lowest Income Families
January 15, 2013 • By ITEP Staff
THIS REPORT RECOMMENDS that the State of Hawai‘i adopt two tax measures to address the needs of low income individuals and families: 1. A refundable Hawai‘i Earned Income Tax Credit. We propose the Hawai‘i EITC be fixed at 20 percent of the taxpayer’s federal refundable earned income tax credit. 2. A non-refundable Hawai‘i Poverty Tax […]
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The Impact of Hawaii’s Income Tax on Low-Income Families
January 14, 2013 • By ITEP Staff
In the next few days, Hawaii’s legislature will consider the conference agreement on changes to Hawaii’s income tax, HB957. This agreement, which appears to have the support of legislative leadership and the governor, increases the standard deductions and expands the tax brackets beginning in tax year 2007. [1] The bill fails to remedy a well-documented […]
Richmond Times-Dispatch: States Taxing the Rich: A Very Bad or Good Idea
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) NEAL PEIRCE © WASHINGTON POST WRITERS GROUPPublished: September 20, 2009 WASHINGTON In a dramatic break from tax trends of recent decades, eight states have voted this year to push up the percentages of income that their wealthiest citizens must pay. Connecticut is the latest to take this step, following Delaware, Hawaii, […]
Williston Observer: Taxes and the wisdom of our forebears
January 7, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) July 16, 2009 BY BRIAN MILLER One hundred years ago, on July 17, 1909, Sen. William E. Borah, R-Idaho wrote the words, “The income tax is the fairest and most equitable of the taxes. It is the one tax which approaches us in the hour of prosperity and departs in the […]
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: Some tax exemptions in other states border on ludicrous
January 7, 2013
(PDF of the Original Post) By RANDAL EDGAR Journal State House Bureau The tone was somewhat glum as the Poverty Institute held its annual state budget conference on Friday, in anticipation of Governor Chafee’s budget address this week, but there were some moments of levity. One came during a presentation by Meg Wieghe, of the […]
Art Voice: How a lower sales tax can help Western New York
January 4, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) A scholarly conference held at Buffalo State College this past week brought distinguished historians from here and elsewhere together to discuss the political phenomenon of populism. Scholars mainly associate the term with William Jennings Bryan, who ran against William McKinley and gave voice to the frustrations of Midwestern farmers resentful of […]
MinnPost.com: Minnesota taxes- Where do we go from here?
January 4, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) By Sharon Schmickle | Wednesday, May 12, 2010 Sure, you’ve heard it before: Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoes yet another DFL bid to close the state’s budget chasm by raising income taxes on high earners. But the tax issue has many lives in this election year when the Independence Party’s gubernatorial endorsee, […]
Stateline: Md. ‘millionaire’s tax’ debate is back
January 4, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009 By Stateline.org Staff Reports A headline in this morning’s Baltimore Sun — “Maryland lost nearly 30% of millionaires last year” — is sure to revive a debate over the higher tax rates that Free State legislators imposed on millionaires in 2008. At least eight other states this […]
Hawaii Independent: Hawaii needs to keep the GET hike proposal on the table
January 4, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) Mar 31, 2011 – 04:26 PM | by Josh Frost A 2009 study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, it was found that in Hawaii, people among the lowest 20 percent of income pay a significantly higher percentage of their income on “Sales and Excise” taxes than the top […]
The Birmingham News: Our View: The nation’s lowest-tax state reaps the nation’s highest amount from its poorest taxpayers
December 21, 2012
(PDF of Original Post) Alabama stands atop two national rankings. Auburn fans should be upset. But so should fans of the Crimson Tide. Obviously, we’re not talking BCS and AP pre-season college football rankings. Instead, we’re talking about two seemingly contradictory rankings of the state’s tax system that expose just how screwy it is. Alabamians […]
Oregonian: TAXING THE RICH It’s not class warfare, it’s just common sense
December 21, 2012
(Original Post) The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) September 20, 2009 SundaySunrise Edition TAXING THE RICH It’s not class warfare, it’s just common sense NEAL PEIRCE In a dramatic break from tax trends of recent decades, eight states have voted this year to push up the percentages of income that their wealthiest citizens must pay. Connecticut […]
New Haven Advocate: Connecticut Can Still Raise Taxes on the Rich, Even if Washington Doesn’t
December 21, 2012
Original Post By Mark EnglerMay 24, 2011 In 2009, when then-New York Gov. David Paterson signed a temporary tax increase on the state’s wealthiest individuals — one of the so-called “millionaire’s taxes” that have passed in recent years in select states across the country — at least one multimillionaire was not happy. Rush Limbaugh proclaimed […]
Hawaii Reporter: Tax Commission To Weigh Elimination Of State Income Taxes
December 21, 2012
Original Post October 5, 2011 BY JIM DOOLEY The Hawaii Tax Review Commission is soliciting the services of a consultant to study the fairness of Hawaii’s tax system and recommend changes, including the possible elimination of personal and corporate income taxes. A national state-by-state analysis of taxes completed in 2009 and referenced on the Hawaii […]
Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice: How the Great Recession disproportionately impacted Hawai’i’s disadvantaged and policy recommendations to achieve fairness
December 17, 2012 • By ITEP Staff
“THE HAWAI‘I APPLESEED CENTER for Law and Economic Justice has compiled this report to illustrate the crisis facing those living in poverty in Hawai‘i and who are suffering severely as they bear the heaviest burden of the recession. We also propose solutions to address the crisis by increasing revenue and implementing policies that strengthen our […]
Chicago Tribune: The case for a graduated income tax in Illinois
December 17, 2012
(Original Post) Tuesday, February 28, 2012 If Illinois were to adopt the same graduated income tax rate structure as Iowa, Illinois would raise $6.3 billion more in revenue than it does from its current five percent flat rate, while 54 percent—over half—of all taxpayers would pay less in state income taxes…from The Case for Creating […]
Greenwich Times: ‘Buffet Rule’ would hit Connecticut hard
December 17, 2012
(Original Post) Charles J. LewisPublished 06:18 p.m., Saturday, April 14, 2012 WASHINGTON — Many well-heeled Connecticut taxpayers are likely to pay close attention to how the state’s two senators vote Monday when the U.S. Senate considers the “Buffet Rule,” President Barack Obama’s bid to raise taxes on millionaires. Senators will take up legislation, dubbed the […]
Bloomberg: States Lacking Income Tax Get No Boost in Growth
December 17, 2012
(Original Post) By Brian Chappatta on June 25, 2012 Governors seeking to expand their economies by eliminating income taxes find little support for the idea in the record of U.S. states that lack such a levy. The BGOV Barometer shows the nine states with the highest personal income taxes on residents outperformed or kept pace […]
Think Progress: Having No Income Tax Gives States No Economic Boost
December 17, 2012
(Original Post) By Pat Garofalo on Jun 26, 2012 at 10:30 am According to a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, states without an income tax received no discernible boost in growth over the last decade compared to states with relatively high income taxes. Lacking an income tax provided no boost to […]
NPR’s State Impact: Recent Study Questions “New Hampshire Advantage”
December 17, 2012
(Original Post) June 29, 2012 | 11:23 AMBy Emily Corwin A couple of weeks ago, Arthur Laffer — an economist made famous for his work in the Reagan administration — co-wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal warning that the expiration of federal tax cuts in January puts the country on the verge […]
Uncertain Benefits, Hidden Costs: The Perils of State-Sponsored Gambling
October 1, 2011 • By Meg Wiehe
The recent fiscal downturn forced cash-strapped, tax-averse state lawmakers to seek unconventional revenue-raising alternatives, for additional revenue-raising opportunities outside of the income, sales and property taxes that form the backbone of most state tax systems. One of the most popular alternatives to those major revenue sources is state sponsored gambling. As this policy brief points out, however, gambling revenues are rarely as lucrative, or as long-lasting, as supporters claim.
In 2011, thirty one states and the District of Columbia allow a group of income tax breaks known as "itemized deductions." Itemized deductions are designed to help defray a wide variety of personal expenditures that affect a taxpayer's ability to pay taxes, including charitable contributions, extraordinary medical expenses, mortgage interest payments and state and local taxes. But, these deductions cost states billions of dollars a year while providing little or no benefit to the middle- and low-income families hit hardest by the current economic downturn. This policy brief explains itemized deductions and explores options for reforming these upside down tax…
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