We smell a set-up. The most important job for the Illinois Legislature in the next five weeks is to take tough votes on essential legislation to move the state forward after years of stagnation — beginning with a vote in favor of a graduated income tax. Yet opponents of the fairer tax, more interested in protecting the bank accounts of the wealthiest people in Illinois, are doing their best to derail an honest vote by dirtying up Gov. J.B. Pritzker with old mud. Nobody should be fooled. And nobody should allow the mud to become an excuse for failing to do what’s best for Illinois. As WBEZ reported on Wednesday, Pritzker, his wife and a brother-in-law are under federal investigation for a $330,000 property tax break the Pritzkers received on a Gold Coast mansion. As the Sun-Times first reported in 2017, the Pritzkers had toilets removed from the mansion. That made the place uninhabitable, reducing its value for tax purposes. If the feds are looking into the matter, so be it. … [Read more...] about EDITORIAL: Muddying up Pritzker to derail an honest vote on a better income tax
Corporate income tax definition
Arkansas got no slice of income tax windfall; some states that conformed with 2017 federal tax code reaped benefits
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks at a news conference at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019 about his revised proposal to cut the state's top marginal income tax rate. Many states in the country last year received a windfall of state tax revenue, thanks to changes brought on by the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. But Arkansas wasn't one of them. "Some states have announced that they expect to experience a windfall in revenues as a result of the TCJA because those states' law conforms automatically to the Internal Revenue Code," said Paul Gehring, an assistant revenue commissioner for the state Department of Finance and Administration. "Arkansas is not an automatic conformity state," he said. And, according to a department spokesman, the Arkansas Constitution won't allow automatic conformity. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have rolling conformity with the Internal Revenue Code, meaning that they conform to relevant provisions of … [Read more...] about Arkansas got no slice of income tax windfall; some states that conformed with 2017 federal tax code reaped benefits
State got no slice of income tax windfall
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks at a news conference at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019 about his revised proposal to cut the state's top marginal income tax rate. Many states in the country last year received a windfall of state tax revenue, thanks to changes brought on by the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. But Arkansas wasn't one of them. "Some states have announced that they expect to experience a windfall in revenues as a result of the TCJA because those states' law conforms automatically to the Internal Revenue Code," said Paul Gehring, an assistant revenue commissioner for the state Department of Finance and Administration. "Arkansas is not an automatic conformity state," he said. And, according to a department spokesman, the Arkansas Constitution won't allow automatic conformity. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have rolling conformity with the Internal Revenue Code, meaning that they conform to relevant provisions of … [Read more...] about State got no slice of income tax windfall
Prop. 126 cuts short a necessary discussion about tax reform
opinion Robert Robb Arizona Republic Published 9:07 AM EDT Oct 10, 2018 Proposition 126 is intended to shut the door on an important discussion before it has a chance to get started. And it may have even more devastating consequences than that. Bankrolled by the realtors, Prop. 126 would amend the state Constitution to prohibit the imposition of a sales tax on services. For the most part, sales taxes in Arizona are limited to the final sale of a retail good. If you go to a barber shop, a sales tax isn’t charged on your haircut. But if you purchase some styling gel while there, a sale tax would be tacked on to that purchase. The haircut is considered a service. The styling gel is the final sale of a retail good. Consumption taxes are more compatible with economic growth than income or property taxes. But Arizona has increased the tax rate on retail goods to a troublingly high level. Big hikes in the sales tax on goods In 1980, the sales tax rate in Arizona was pretty … [Read more...] about Prop. 126 cuts short a necessary discussion about tax reform
Colorado teacher union plans October blitz for Amendment 73 school tax increase
Colorado’s largest teacher union is planning several events in October to rally support for the proposed statewide tax increase for schools as well as local school funding measures that will appear on ballots this fall. The Colorado Education Association’s #RedForED publicity blitz includes on-the-ground efforts and social-media campaigns aimed at getting voters to back Amendment 73, CEA president Amie Baca-Oehlert said Tuesday. The first “Day of Action” is scheduled for Friday, with teachers and community members from all over Colorado taking to local main streets and picketing for up to two hours for better school funding, Baca-Oehlert said. “We’re getting people from Denver to Colorado Springs, Craig to Salida, to come out to wave signs, get people honking and to get out that funding message,” she said. The picketing is scheduled to go from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday. Teachers and others will also walk through Colorado neighborhoods on Oct. 13 and … [Read more...] about Colorado teacher union plans October blitz for Amendment 73 school tax increase