Recent Articles

Nevada GOP Gubernatorial Candidate: Scrap the Caps

January 30, 2010 17:56

GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Montandon is making his views on Nevada property tax reform known-- and so far they all seem quite sensible.As reported by the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, Montandon thinks:(1) it's absurd that Nevada remains the only state that values real property for tax purposes...

Can Louisiana Double Its Gas Tax?

December 23, 2009 02:45

In January, Louisiana lawmakers will be hearing a lot about exactly how big that state's transportation funding shortfall is, as a committee releases the findings of a long-term study of this problem. But House Transportation Committee Vice-Chairman Hollis Downs (R) gave a sneak preview yesterday....

Hawaii: A Budgetary Shell Game, or Just Train Robbery?

December 22, 2009 21:53

This week Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle released the outline of her budget proposal for next year. It's not a pretty picture: the two most prominent tax policy changes in the Lingle plan are a money grab from county governments and a money grab from... the future.It's true: following up on a similar...

Study in House "Extenders" Bill Would Provide Valuable Info on Many Tax Breaks

December 09, 2009 23:16

Earlier today, the House of Representatives passed its most recent version of the "Tax Extenders" package (H.R. 4213). The "tax extenders" consist of about 50 temporary tax provisions that, as their name suggests, need to be extended every 1-2 years to prevent their expiration. While multiple...

Louisiana: Can Property Tax be Too Low?

December 09, 2009 14:15

In Louisiana, the answer is probably "yes, they could."An excellent editorial in the Daily Advocate notes that the ten lowest-property-tax counties in America in 2006-2008 (for residential property) were all in Louisiana. The main reason for this is pretty straightforward: every owner-occupied home...

Louisiana Tax Amnesty: A $303 Million Success?

November 30, 2009 14:10

The count is in: the recently-ended Louisiana tax amnesty brought in $303 million in revenue for the state.The lion's share of the money-- $277 million-- was paid by delinquent businesses, with individuals ponying up the remaining $26 million.This result raises three interesting policy questions.1)...

Federal Home-Buyer Tax Credit Prompts Cheating

August 08, 2009 04:21

In today's Washington Post, Kenneth Harney reports evidence that some people are falsely claiming the new federal income tax credit for first-time homeowners.Two quick thoughts.First, the question of whether incentives for first home purchases are a good idea. Gonna say no: The benefits aren't...

Why Won't the Obama Administration Accept Taxing Employer-Paid Health Premiums?

June 17, 2009 02:02

Barack Obama's fiscal policy platform as a presidential candidate was hardly a profile in courage, but he had his moments. This, however, was not one of them:"For the first time in American history, [John McCain] wants to tax your health benefits. Apparently, Senator McCain doesn’t think it’s...

Georgia: Perdue Vetoes Capital Gains Tax Cut

May 12, 2009 13:39

A big tax fairness gain in Georgia today: after thinking on it for a few weeks, Governor Sonny Perdue has decided to veto legislation that would have cut the state's income tax on capital gains. The proposed tax cut, which the legislature had approved at the same time as a bill ending state funding...

Illinois EITC Expansion: "Welfare?"

April 30, 2009 13:16

The debate over how to resolve Illinois' looming budget deficit has, so far, been an unusually gratifying one. A brand-new governor with little political capital to spend has made a gutsy (and, in our view, basically correct) decision to push for an increase in the state's personal income tax,...