Opinion
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Cities, States Welcome Private Firms into Public Transportation Projects
Opinion -With highway transportation networks in dire need of investment, either to keep from crumbling or address congestion, promising developments that offer fresh thinking to address the challenges recently have appeared. -
Washington Judge Voids Tax Hikes
Opinion -Washington state's 2005-07 budget violates Washington's tax and expenditure limit, according to a ruling issued March 17 by Snohomish County Superior Court Judge James Allendoerfer. -
High Prices, Taxes a Drag on Airlines Nationally
Opinion -Higher oil prices, coupled with high state jet fuel taxes, have become a serious threat to the airline industry this summer. Politicians and industry leaders are looking for ways to ease the situation for the nation's air carriers. -
Michigan Governor Vetoes Repeal of ‘Jobs-Killing’ Tax
Opinion -On March 31, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) vetoed a bill that would have accelerated plans to repeal the state's Single Business Tax (SBT). -
Arizona Governor Proposes 23% Spending Hike
Opinion -Ever since state budgeters forecast a $1 billion surplus last fall, Arizona politicians have been debating how to use the money. -
Hospital Groups Blast New Jersey Bed Tax Plan
Opinion -As New Jersey's July 1 deadline to adopt a state budget looms, hospital groups and some legislators are fighting to stop a new tax that Gov. Jon Corzine (D) has proposed in an effort to reduce the state's $4 billion deficit. -
State of the Unions
Opinion -With the immigration debate raging across the nation, unions are mobilizing to exploit the immigrants' cause for political gain. -
Heartland Statement on Capital Gains Tax Cut Extension
Opinion -(Chicago, IL -- May 10, 2006) On Tuesday, Congressional Republicans passed a bill that would extend cuts in the capital gains tax and provide relief for middle-income taxpayers by stemming the growth of the alternative minimum tax. -
No Internet Tax? Don’t Be Too Sure
Opinion -In 2004 Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed into law a three-year extension of the Internet Tax Moratorium, which has been in effect almost continually since 1998. -
Rhode Island Democrats Seek Flat Tax
Opinion -Key Democrat lawmakers in Rhode Island have concluded that to keep the state competitive, they need to overhaul the state's tax system, including going from a progressive to a flat-rate income tax for high-income earners. -
IRS Policies Result in Unnecessary Taxpayer Harassment
Opinion -Each year since passage of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, the National Taxpayer Advocate (TA) has issued a report to Congress identifying the 20 most common problems people face in dealing with the IRS. -
Ill. Leaders Take Pension Reform Show on the Road
Opinion -Republican lawmakers in Illinois are making group appearances around the state to discuss what they say may be the worst state government pension system in the country. -
AMT Sending Tens of Thousands to Financial Ruin
Opinion -Tens of thousands of Americans face financial ruin because they voluntarily reported incentive stock options to the Internal Revenue Service. -
Analysis: Highway Tolling, Private Roadway Financing Gain Support in States
Opinion -According to author Malcom Gladwell, an idea can lie dormant for a long time and then suddenly catch on when the right stimulus comes along. -
Rising Revenues Spur State Tax Cuts, Higher Spending
Opinion -From Massachusetts to Hawaii, signs abound that the immense pressure placed on state budgets by the fiscal crisis early this decade has eased--and put tax cuts and new spending in the realm of possibility for the first time in several years. -
State Worker Ousted for Not Joining Union
Opinion -Pat Woodward, 64, of Olympia, Washington, was recently fired from her job as a financial analyst for the Washington state Department of Licensing. The reason? She refused to give a percentage of her paycheck to a union. -
Calif. Legislator Gives Pension Reform Another Try
Opinion -Despite strong opposition from unions and lukewarm support from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), California State Assemblyman Keith Richman (R-Northridge) hasn't given up on reforming the state's public employee pension systems. -
Table 2. State and Local Government Employment in 2004 as a Share of Total Employment in State
Opinion -Table 2. State and Local Government Employment in 2004 as a Share of Total Employment in State TotalEducationSafetyWelfareServicesOther All states11.3%6.1%1.7%1.5%1.3%0.8% Alaska16.6%8.3%1.8%1.6%2.7%2.2% D.C.16.2%4.5%3.3%2.3%4.6%1. -
Reforms Repeatedly Stalled
Opinion -Efforts to end the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) current treatment of incentive stock options (ISOs) under provisions of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) have moved through Congress several times, only to be stalled by outside events. -
Top Half of U.S. Income Earners See Tax Burdens Grow
Opinion -As the annual tax filing deadline approaches, many public officials traditionally use the occasion to launch into a debate about the airness of the nation tax laws. -
Bloated Budgets a Bipartisan Trend in Maryland, Study Shows
Opinion -Government growth in Maryland has continued unabated without regard to taxpayers' interests, according to a new study from the nonpartisan National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF). "Maryland is one of the richest states in the United States. -
Maine Voters Will Weigh in on TABOR
Opinion -Citizens of Maine will have the chance to limit taxes and spending when they go to the polls this November 7. -
A Conversation with the Senate’s ‘Most Dangerous Creature’
Opinion -There's a reason nationally syndicated columnist George Will recently wrote Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) is "the most dangerous creature that can come to the Senate." As Will noted, Coburn is "someone simply uninterested in being popular. -
Privatized Fire District Keeps Costs Low and Service High
Opinion -More than 40 years have passed since O'Hare International Airport in Chicago opened and caused a development boom that turned farm fields and wooded lots for miles around into shopping centers, industrial parks, and housing developments.
