
February 21, 2013
While the Senate’s version of Governor McDonnell’s transportation bill looks very different from the bill passed by the House – and it is – the two versions have one major problem in common: they rely on regressive tax increases that will have low-income Virginians paying a greater share of their income towards funding transportation. As […]
February 7, 2013
(Original Post) Katherine Toran11:55 AM ET I recently had a conversation with a friend who was moving and said she preferred to live in Maryland than in D.C. because D.C. residents pay higher taxes. She wasn’t the first local to tell me that. But is this claim true? It appears in this case, conventional wisdom […]
January 31, 2013
(Original Post) When everybody comes out to vote, (i.e. presidential elections) Pennsylvania’s a blue state. And at least in certain pockets, it behaves much like the northeastern liberal states the surround it, like New Jersey, Maryland, and New York. When it comes to taxation, however, it looks a lot more like Texas or Alabama. According […]
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. […]
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 […]
January 17, 2013
The tax and fee hikes proposed by Governor McDonnell to fund transportation will take a far larger share of income from Virginians at the low end of the income spectrum than those with higher incomes who are better able to pay. The governor proposes to increase the state sales tax to 5.8 percent, eliminate the […]
January 16, 2013
(Original Post) By Pat Garofalo on Jan 14, 2013 at 5:30 pm Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA)Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) was on Fox News today to discuss his new plan to shift the cost of highway construction from drivers to the poor, which he will accomplish by eliminating his state’s gas tax and replacing it […]
January 16, 2013
(Original Post) By Pat Garofalo on Jan 15, 2013 at 3:10 pm Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) recently rolled out a plan to replace his state’s personal income and corporate taxes with an increased sales tax. Such a move would shift taxes from the rich to the poor, who are disproportionately hit by the sales […]
January 15, 2013
In the face of a funding crisis, Governor Kaine and the General Assembly face a difficult choice: Raise taxes and fees or enter into the next biennium with little money for the state’s expansive transportation system. A repeal of abusive driver fees and the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling that regional components of the Transportation Funding […]
January 14, 2013
Due to the EITC’s overwhelming success, 24 states have their own SEITC programs modeled after the federal credit. A West Virginia SEITC would increase tax fairness and provide families with additional income to help them close the gap between what they earn and what they need to meet basic expenses. Read the Full Report (PDF)
January 14, 2013
Power Point Presentation before 80th West Virgina Legislature House Health and Human Resources Committee Chairman Perdue Read the Full Report (PDF)
January 10, 2013
Original Post (by subscription only) January 10, 2013 by Heather Caygle Key Development: Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell proposes eliminating state’s gas tax and using additional dedicated sales tax revenue to fund transportation programs. Next Steps: Federal and state governments will examine funding solutions for surface transportation programs in 2013. A recent proposal by Virginia Gov. […]
January 8, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) November 18, 2009 by chrisgrahamStory by Chris Graham If you believe the partisan rhetoric, it’s the wealthy who bear the tax burden, and who are deserving of tax breaks to get the economy moving. A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Virginia Organizing Project puts […]
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, […]
January 4, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) 02.11.2010 11:41 am By Virginia Young Post-Dispatch Jefferson City Bureau JEFFERSON CITY — A Senate committee set the stage this morning for debate on major changes in the state’s tax structure. On a party-line vote of 4-2, the Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment (SJR29) eliminating […]
January 4, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) By TOM ASWELL During the 1988 presidential race, Vice President George H.W. Bush proclaimed, “Read my lips: no new taxes!” That famous line helped him defeat Michael Dukakis but when he was forced to back-track on that promise, it was his eventual undoing. Bill Clinton’s own pithy campaign slogan “It’s the […]
January 3, 2013
(PDF of Original Post) by Kathryn Baer November 18, 2010 12:56 PM (PT) Like state and local governments across the country, the District of Columbia is facing a budget shortfall. We’ve got a $175 million gap that’s got to be closed right now. And our total local budget (pdf) is only somewhat over $6.1 billion. […]
January 3, 2013
(Original Post) By Amy Roberts, CNN Libraryupdated 11:14 AM EST, Thu January 3, 2013 (CNN) — Two-thousand-thirteen promises to be an interesting political year — with two governors races that will be closely watched, the very real possibility of another special Senate election in Massachusetts, a possible debate in Washington over immigration reform as the […]
December 21, 2012
Original Post August 6, 2011 by Carolyn Shapiro Rich Tourville stopped Friday morning at JCPenney at Greenbrier Mall to pick up a birthday present and back-to-school clothes for his son, who will turn 5 on Sunday. The Chesapeake dad didn’t realize he would save the 5 percent Virginia sales tax on those items. The state’s […]
December 21, 2012
by Len Lazarick August 12, 2011 Professor Roy Meyers, the government budgeting expert at UMBC, says the focus of our ongoing stories and comment strings “on the flight/plight of the millionaires is a bit one-sided.” Meyers is afraid that the discussion of Maryland’s tax structure will go down the sorry path of the national debate, […]
December 21, 2012
Original Post August 17, 2011 by Kathryn Glass There are very few situations in life that are truly a win-win, but the idea of a week of shopping sans sales tax seems like a scenario with little downside. On the surface, it is difficult to devise a disadvantage for a tax break on back-to-school shopping. […]
December 21, 2012
Original Post September 26, 2011 by Virginia Young JEFFERSON CITY • Wrestling with your state income tax return? Missouri legislators are weighing a plan that would do away with that chore. But before you celebrate, be aware that it’s not a tax cut. While state individual and corporate income taxes would be eliminated, the lost […]
December 21, 2012
10:27 PM, Nov. 3, 2011 Written by Spencer Dennis OLIVUE — It wasn’t a strike, and it wasn’t a protest. As the Occupy movement seems to gain steam, local supporters are branching out and digging in. “This is a barbecue,” said Donald Bush, a supporter of Occupy Staunton who, along with Verizon union workers, was […]
December 19, 2012
(Original Post) Posted on December 9, 2011 by Chris Otts A new report names Louisville-based Yum! Brands as one of 68 Fortune 500 companies that paid no state corporate income taxes in at least one year between 2008-2010, despite earning profits for shareholders. The report doesn’t say that Yum! has been shorting the state of […]
December 19, 2012
(Original Post) By Danielle Douglas, Published: December 11 Some of the Washington area’s biggest public companies paid little to no state income taxes by using a myriad of tax breaks and other tactics, according to a research report released last week. Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy examined 265 […]