Feb 28

State finances are enjoying flush times and some states are sending that bounty back to taxpayers.

Some States, Flush With Cash, Are Sending Money to Taxpayers

Ten years after the recession, many states have revenue surpluses and plan to boost spending or cut taxes

State finances are enjoying flush times and some states are sending that bounty back to taxpayers.
 
Arkansas this month lowered its top personal income-tax rate by 1 percentage point to 5.9% and South Carolina has proposed an income tax rebate to all residents who file returns. In Florida, the governor has proposed lowering property and sales taxes. The givebacks come even as all three states proposed increased spending on education and other priorities.
 
Ten years after the recession, many states have the choice of what to spend revenues on rather than what programs to cut. The National Conference of State Legislatures found in a fall survey that 48 states expected to meet or exceed their revenue expectations.
 
“States have come off of a strong last fiscal year, and the economy is strong so they’re expecting it to continue,” said Kim Rueben, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center. “It could mean more spending or cutting taxes.”

Continue reading

Feb 26

Why TABOR Matters on February 26

Why #TABOR matters:

The TABOR Foundation’s legal counsel has been instrumental in the challenge of the arbitrary mandate on hospitals requiring payment of an annual “fee” for the privilege of providing service to the residents of Colorado. The Hospital Provider lawsuit is ongoing and asks the courts to determine a critical question: What is a tax, and what is a fee?