budget-tax-news
-
Millions in Federal Arts Spending Goes to Billionaire Organizations, Study Finds
Opinion -budget-tax-news -The National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities (NFA-H) sends millions of taxpayer dollars every year to organizations that already have billions of dollars in assets, a new study reports. -
Think Tanks, Commenters Urge ‘Net Neutrality’ Repeal
Opinion -budget-tax-news -The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) closed an extended commenting period on August 30 after soliciting the public’s input on plans to undo a 2015 decision by former chairman Tom Wheeler classifying broadband internet as a public utility. -
Seattle Taxpayers Challenge City’s ‘Millionaire Tax’
Opinion -budget-tax-news -With the help of a regional think tank, taxpayers are suing the City of Seattle over a recently approved “millionaire tax” targeting high-income people. -
Sales Tax Initiative Planned for 2018 Massachusetts Ballot
Opinion -budget-tax-news -A Massachusetts organization representing the interests of retail store owners filed four potential ballot questions with state Attorney General Maura Healy, proposing combinations of sales tax relief and sales tax exemptions. -
Treasury Dept. Calls for Public Comments on Volcker Rule Reforms
Opinion -budget-tax-news -The U.S. Department of the Treasury called for public comments on potential revisions to the Volcker Rule, a provision of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank). -
Federal Judge Blocks Wisconsin County’s ‘Pokémon Go’ Park Ordinance
Opinion -budget-tax-news -A Milwaukee County, Wisconsin ordinance requiring software developers to pay permit fees and security costs to allow people to play cell phone games in government parks is on hold after a federal judge blocked its enforcement. -
Oregon House Committee Shutters Zoning Reform Bill
Opinion -budget-tax-news -Time ran out for a proposed bill to require Oregon local governments to complete neighborhood zoning reviews in a timely manner. The Oregon House of Representatives Subcommittee on Natural Resources held up the bill until the legislature adjourned. -
Prince William County, Virginia Stadium Deal Called Off
Opinion -budget-tax-news -Before the Prince William County (Virginia) Board of County Supervisors lawmakers planned to vote on a financing deal between Potomac Nationals minor-league baseball team owner Art Silber and the county, the deal was called off. -
Attorney General Revokes Civil Asset Forfeiture Reforms
Opinion -budget-tax-news -U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reinstating a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) program enabling local law enforcement agencies to circumvent state laws restricting civil asset forfeiture by laundering forfeited assets and money. -
New Ridesharing Law Rolls Into Alaska
Opinion -budget-tax-news -After Alaska gov. Bill Walker signed House Bill 132 into law on June 15, standardizing the state’s transportation regulations on peer-to-peer economy transportation network companies (TNCs), a Denali man became his town’s first Uber driver. -
Steel Tariff Decision Coming ‘Fairly Soon,’ President Says
Opinion -budget-tax-news -A decision on whether to restrict how much steel U.S. companies may buy from businesses in other countries will come “fairly soon,” President Donald Trump told Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Gerard Baker in a July 26 White House interview. -
Worker-Freedom Ordinance Proposed in Sandoval County, New Mexico
Opinion -budget-tax-news -Two Sandoval County, New Mexico commissioners are proposing a county ordinance to prohibit some businesses from requiring union membership as a condition of employment. -
Facebook Founder Promotes Universal Basic Income
Opinion -budget-tax-news -Posting on social media, Facebook founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg promoted creating a national universal basic income (UBI) entitlement program. -
Alabama Margarita Ban Goes Down, Consumers Say ‘Bottoms Up’
Opinion -budget-tax-news -Alabama’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC), a government agency with the stated mission of maintaining “rigorous control” of the distribution and licensing of alcoholic beverages in the state, reversed a ban on restaurants’ margarita sales. -
IMF, CBO: Deficits, Entitlement Spending Slowing Economic Recovery
Opinion -budget-tax-news -The International Monetary Fund (IMF), an organization promoting global financial cooperation, predicts U.S. economic growth will be sluggish for the rest of 2017 and 2018, a forecast echoed by an official U.S. government forecast. -
Big Businesses Lobby Capitol Hill to Keep Interest Expense Deduction
Opinion -budget-tax-news -The Businesses United for Interest and Loan Deductibility (BUILD) Coalition, a lobbyist group representing large businesses and trade organizations, sent U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and other Senate Finance Committee members a letter. -
Donor Disclosure Question Won’t Be on 2018 South Dakota Ballot
Opinion -budget-tax-news -After announcing plans to begin collecting signatures for a ballot measure asking South Dakota voters to approve requiring out-of-state nonprofit organizations to disclose private donors, an out-of-state nonprofit organization is abandoning its plans -
Kansas Legislature Reverses Years of Tax Relief
Opinion -budget-tax-news -Kansans’ wallets are lighter than usual today, with the legislature having raised the state’s income tax rates across the board in July, reversing several years of tax relief led by Gov. Sam Brownback between 2012 and 2017. -
Massachusetts Tax Agency Proposes Online Sales Tax Mandate
Opinion -budget-tax-news -The Massachusetts Department of Revenue has issued a proposed regulation requiring online businesses located outside the state to collect and pay sales taxes to the state. The department withdrew a similar policy statement in June. -
House Budget Bill Blocks Funds for Religious Speech Enforcement
Opinion -budget-tax-news -A budget bill under consideration by Congress contains language blocking Internal Revenue Service enforcement of tax laws prohibiting political speech by religious organizations. -
Illinois Legislature Overrides Governor’s Budget Veto
Opinion -budget-tax-news -Illinois tax burdens got heavier in July when the state legislature overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of Senate Bill 6 to enact the state’s first full appropriations legislation in more than two years. -
Louisville, Kentucky City Council Boots Up Taxpayer-Funded Internet
Opinion -budget-tax-news -The Louisville Metro Council, the legislative council of Louisville, Kentucky and Jefferson County, approved a proposal to spend a one-time sum of $5.4 million to expand a taxpayer-funded broadband network in the metropolitan area. -
Oklahoma Gives Voters Power to Roll Back Blue Laws
Opinion -budget-tax-news -A new law will allow Oklahoma voters to vote to roll back local government restrictions preventing sales of wine and liquor on Sundays. -
Congressional Subcommittee Considers Welfare Reform Bill
Opinion -budget-tax-news -The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Nutrition is considering a bill to reform the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
