Small business tax cuts

It's part of the "Walnut Creek Rebound" program, which will be enacted over the next few weeks to not only create additional space for outdoor dining and outdoor display for retail merchants, but also for making more space for curbside pickup for both restaurants and retail businesses; allowing more flexibility for temporary signs; beefing up marketing efforts to let people know Walnut Creek businesses are open (albeit with current coronavirus-related restrictions); speeding up the city permit processes for walk-up windows, temporary kiosks and expanded outdoor offerings; and - in the downtown - bringing more public art, live music and other performances to open spaces. … [Read more...] about Walnut Creek Takes Steps To Help Businesses Rebound

Public Works cares for 32,000 of the city’s trees — the other 73,000 are privately owned. But the agency only has 11 arborists on staff, down from 18 in 2005, which means trees get pruned only once every 10 to 12 years. It would take $20 million — 10 times the Public Works’ current tree maintenance budget — to shear the city’s trees every three to five years, the recommended service schedule. … [Read more...] about SF Supervisor Wiener proposes parcel tax to pay for tree care

The manufacturers reduced or eliminated their operations in Puerto Rico, moving them to China, India and Ireland, which welcomed their presence with favorable economic policies. Puerto Rico's economy slid into a 14-year recession from which it has yet to recover. With Puerto Rico’s bond rating at junk status, Congress passed a special law in 2017 permitting it to file for bankruptcy, where it has remained ever since.  … [Read more...] about The island that can save America

Answer: Over the last decade, Congress has cut the IRS’ budget by more than 20% after factoring in inflation, even as the population grew and tax law got ever more complicated. The agency was limping along with ancient technology and too few people to help the public even before the pandemic sent most of its workers home, without the ability to telecommute. … [Read more...] about Good news about your coronavirus stimulus money: It doesn’t count as income or an asset

One of the signature results of the COVID-19 recovery may be substantial migration. As American industry restructures, business and investment will gravitate toward states that managed their policies sensibly and their financial affairs responsibly. As big-spending states (largely blue) try to cover their huge budgets through higher taxes on the remaining struggling businesses, capital will shift to states with more reasonable governments and lower taxes (largely red states). As the capital flows, the jobs flow, the people flow and the tax revenue flows, leaving the high-tax blue states in a death spiral. If you were to pick the craziest year to have a census, 2020 would be it, because population and demographics are about to radically change. The census will be nonsense. … [Read more...] about Coronavirus and America’s economic miracle