Washington
The Capitol Hill Times: Raise the wage? Seattle’s income battle is a quagmire with options
December 12, 2013
12:06 am December 12th, 2013 by Tyler Mangrum – The Capitol Hill Times – Following the slim victory of a SeaTac measure raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, the labor organizations that helped push forward the initiative took aim at northern King County and the City of Seattle in a march from SeaTac […]
The Huffington Post: Biggest Tax Break In U.S. History May Not Be Enough For Boeing
November 18, 2013
(Original Post) Posted: 11/15/2013 3:56 pm EST | Updated: 11/17/2013 5:40 pm EST Jillian Berman Earlier this week, the legislature in Washington state agreed to give Boeing $8.7 billion in tax breaks through 2040 in an attempt to convince the company to locate production of a new jetliner fleet in the state. It’s believed to […]
CNN Money: Who gets the most federal spending for their tax dollars?
November 13, 2013
(Original Post) By Jeanne Sahadi @CNNMoney November 13, 2013: 3:14 AM ET In a report this week, the Tax Foundation attempts to answer the question. It compares how different income groups benefit from federal spending — directly and indirectly — for every tax dollar they pay. The broad takeaway: The bottom 60% of Americans receive […]
Toledo Blade: Another tax spin
November 13, 2013
(Original Post) Ohio Sen. Chris Widener (R., Springfield) deserves credit for his key vote to expand Medicaid in Ohio. But his second act — turning the expansion’s estimated savings into an income tax break for Ohioans — is another matter. It represents a spin for his conservative base and another unnecessary measure to reward the […]
The Seattle Times: Lawmakers at packed hearing told to pass transportation plan
October 15, 2013
By Mike Lindblom Seattle Times transportation reporter A spectrum of transit riders, construction workers, business owners, pedestrians, bicyclists, freight carriers and government officials on Monday night urged state lawmakers to pass a multibillion-dollar transportation package. The hearing, at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Seattle, drew 450 people, including yellow-shirted transit activists and orange-shirted construction […]
Politico: Arthur Laffer is back as GOP tax man
October 15, 2013
By RACHAEL BADE | 10/14/13 11:03 PM EDT Four decades ago at the Washington Hotel, a quirky economist made a pitch on the back of a napkin to Ford administration officials Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld: Cutting taxes would create an economic boom. Back then, many Republicans opposed tax cuts, but that famous “Laffer […]
The Hill: Paying the price for 20 years of duct-taping our infrastructure
October 9, 2013
(Original Post) By Terry O’Sullivan – 10/08/13 05:32 PM ET With much of the focus on the government shutdown and its potential impact on the economy, a critical cost of congressional polarization and paralysis has been overshadowed: Our nation is literally falling apart. Leaders in Congress received a roll of duct tape from the Laborers’ […]
Real Change: Study finds Washington’s tax system is the nation’s most regressive
October 3, 2013
(Original Post) October 2, 2013 Vol: 20 No: 40 by: Aaron Burkhalter , Staff Reporter Washington’s poorest people pay the highest taxes in the entire country. According to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Washington state’s least affluent residents pay 16.9 percent of their income in state and local […]
PR Newswire: Congress, Not Fuel-Efficient Cars, to Blame for Transportation Funding Shortfall
September 24, 2013
(Original Post) Sept. 24, 2013, 8:15 a.m. EDT WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — New ITEP Report Shows Obsolete Gas Tax Has Cost $215 Billion, Undermined Infrastructure and Added to Deficit On October 1, the federal gas tax will mark exactly twenty years stuck at the rate of 18.4 cents per gallon. Against […]
The Fiscal Times: You Won’t Believe Which State Taxes Its Poor the Most
September 24, 2013
(Original Post) BETH BRAVERMAN The Fiscal Times September 23, 2013 Washington State may have one of the lowest overall tax burdens in the country, but its poorest citizens pay more than residents of any other state. The poorest 20 percent of Washington residents pay 16.9 percent of their income in taxes, while the top 1 […]
Washington Post: The state that taxes the poor the most is… a blue one
September 23, 2013
(Original Post) By Niraj Chokshi, Published: September 21 at 10:00 am The state that easily handed President Obama a victory last November while passing voter-approved referendums legalizing same-sex marriage and marijuana consumption also happens to have the nation’s highest tax burden on the poor. Poor families in Washington state pay 16.9 percent of their total […]
Washington is a “Low Tax State” Overall, But Not for Families Living in Poverty
September 19, 2013 • By Meg Wiehe
Read the Report in PDF Form See all “Low Tax for Who?” states New data from the Census Bureau appear to lend support to Washington’s reputation as a “low tax state,” ranking it 36th nationally in taxes collected as a share of personal income.1 But focusing on the state’s overall tax revenues has led many […]
Card Hub: Should Uncle Sam Take a Toke to Fill His Coffers?
August 28, 2013
(Original Post) by John Kiernan on August 27, 2013 When in doubt, look to the founding fathers. That’s what we do in this country, isn’t it? We reference the Constitution in order to rationalize legal disputes, questions of fundamental rights, the role of the military, etc. We hold our leaders up to the standards […]
Huron County View: Immigration reform would boost revenue by $35 million
August 23, 2013
(Original Post) WASHINGTON — A new analysis estimates that unauthorized immigrants pay Michigan $126 million in state, local taxes. The study also estimates that Michigan would gain $35 million in increased revenue should undocumented immigrants in the U.S. be allowed to work legally. The analysis, from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, assumes a […]
Fox & Hounds: Immigration Reformers Must Tell a Better Story
August 21, 2013
(Original Post) By Joe Rodota CEO and founder of Forward Observer, a research and strategy firm Monday, August 19th, 2013 In a recent column, Washington Post Wonkblog writers Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas ask: “Why hasn’t this been immigration August?” Five years ago, they write, individual members of Congress were “engulfed by tea-partiers” protesting […]
The Daily Camera: What’s at stake for Colorado in immigration reform?
August 21, 2013
As Congress takes a summer respite to figure out how to move immigration reform forward in the House, mounting evidence shows that reform would be a plus to the national economy. For instance, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently estimated that the immigration reform bill which passed the Senate in June (S. 744) would reduce the federal deficit by roughly $1 trillion over 20 years and would boost the U.S. economy as a whole without negatively affecting U.S. workers in the long run. In addition, an April report from the conservative American Action Forum, authored by a former director of…
Yakima Herald Republic: Advocates press economic argument for immigration reform
August 16, 2013
Echoing a host of recent reports, a coalition of grower and labor interests presented a new study Tuesday that concludes comprehensive immigration reform would create jobs and pump billions of dollars into the state and national economies.
The Patriot-News: Green energy’s unintended consequences: As I See It
August 16, 2013
The green energy movement -- the effort to switch from fossil fuels to cleaner, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, but also biofuels such as ethanol-is driven by good intentions ... mostly. But it is also riddled with unintended, even ridiculous, consequences that often outweigh the good the movement hopes to achieve.
Ballard News-Tribune: Tarleton addresses transportation, environment, revenue
August 14, 2013
"It is absolutelly regressive, in every which way, with any economist," she said of Washington's tax system. At the beginning of this year, The Washington D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released a report crowning Washington state with the most regressive tax system.
Tax Expenditure Reports: A Vital Tool with Room for Improvement
August 14, 2013 • By Carl Davis
State and local tax codes include a huge array of special tax breaks designed to accomplish almost every goal imaginable: from encouraging homeownership and scientific research, to building radioactive fallout shelters and caring for "exceptional" trees. Despite being embedded in the tax code, these programs are typically enacted with tax policy issues like fairness, efficiency, and sustainability only as secondary considerations. Accordingly, these programs have long been called "tax expenditures." They are essentially government spending programs that happen to be housed in the tax code for ease of administration, political expedience, or both.
Portland Press Herald: Immigration reform, a boon for all, should be embraced, not feared
August 12, 2013
(Original Post) By TOM GAWARKIEWICZ Special to the Press Herald AUGUSTA — Historically, immigrants from Canada came to Maine seeking better job opportunities in the mills. Now Canada is the country attracting immigrants, luring entrepreneurs and high-skill workers to enhance its economic competitiveness. Canada recently unveiled a new startup visa program, which offers foreign entrepreneurs […]
Stateline: MA Joins Sales Tax Holiday Parade
August 2, 2013
Massachusetts is the 18th state to join the back-to-school tax holiday parade this year. The legislature has authorized a tax-free weekend to begin Aug. 10.
The Record: Report sees tax benefits, jobs for N.J. from immigration reform
August 2, 2013
New Jersey's tax revenue and housing market would get a boost, and its technology and agricultural industry would gain jobs if Congress passes comprehensive immigration reform, according to economic projections released by the White House on Thursday.
The Davis Enterprise: Snippets of energy news
August 1, 2013
Back in the old days, when you went to the movies, theaters often would show a double feature, and these two movies would be preceded by a cartoon and a newsreel. The double feature is long gone, as is the cartoon, and the newsreel has been replaced with about 20 minutes of previews of coming attractions and, if you get there early enough, a bunch of advertisements.
Arizona Daily Star: Legalizing undocumented immigrants makes economic sense
July 29, 2013
(Original Post) July 28, 2013 12:00 am • Ben Johnson Special To The Arizona Daily Star3 As Congress takes a summer respite to figure out how to move immigration reform forward in the House, mounting evidence shows that reform would be a plus to the national economy. For instance, the Congressional Budget Office recently estimated […]
