Opinion
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ALEC Offers Friendly Advice for Arnold
Opinion -The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)--the nation’s largest bipartisan, individual membership organization for state legislators--responded to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s election with a little friendly advice on restoring the stability and -
Dealing with Uncle Sam
Opinion -All taxpayers know that the federal government uses tax and spending policy to redistribute income from citizens with high incomes to those who earn little. -
Pennsylvanians Oppose New Sales Tax on Beer
Opinion -The Pennsylvania General Assembly returned to Harrisburg on November 17 to take up, among other items, a proposal to extend the state’s 6 percent sales tax to beer, wine, and liquor sold by the glass--not only in bars, taverns, and restaurants, but -
Federal Study Finds Lighter Vehicles Cause More Deaths
Opinion -Reducing the weight of cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) results in significantly higher death rates among American motorists, concluded an October 14 study by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). -
Economics Says Wilmette Smoking Ban Is Bad Idea
Opinion -Many people don’t like the smell of cigarette smoke, and they seem to believe it is therefore appropriate and necessary that smoking be banned in places they like to be. -
Proposed Wilmette Smoking Ban Ignores Latest Medical Research
Opinion -My hometown of Wilmette, Illinois is considering an ordinance that would ban smoking in nearly all public places and restaurants. I am not a smoker myself, but I believe such a ban would be bad public policy. -
What Should Arnold Do?
Opinion -California’s budget crisis dominated the recall campaign, and Gov. Schwarzenegger has promised to deal with the budget before turning to any other issues. -
Taxes, Education Clash in Nevada
Opinion -The state of Nevada is in the midst of a constitutional tug-of-war pitting Silver State taxpayers against the state’s education bureaucracy. For the moment, the state’s top court has given the edge to the bureaucracy. -
Taxpayer Group Recognizes Top-Ranked Governors
Opinion -Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a Washington, DC-based taxpayer advocacy group, awarded 17 governors with high ranks this year, and seven of those were given special “Gold Star” recognition. -
H.R. 49–the Internet Tax Non-Discrimination Act
Opinion -H.R. 49, the Internet Tax Non-Discrimination Act, makes permanent a tax moratorium first enacted in 1998 as the Internet Tax Freedom Act. The original measure expired in October 2001, and Congress approved an extension until November 2003. -
Higher Beer Taxes Unfair, Regressive
Opinion -You probably didn’t know this, but a staggering 44 percent of the cost of the average beer is taxes. And the situation is getting worse. The problem is the government spending binge that’s still underway in many states. -
Federal Deficit Still Smaller than the 1980s
Opinion -If current federal laws and policies do not change, the federal government will incur a total budget deficit of $374 billion in 2003 and $480 billion in 2004, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected in its August and October Updates. -
Alternative Minimum Tax Stalks Millions of Taxpayers
Opinion -There is certainly some ironic justice in recent revelations that millionaire columnist-turned-politician Arianna Huffington paid no income tax to the state of California and only $771 in federal taxes in 2001 and 2002. -
Tax Officials Use Sleight-of-Hand to Help Balance State Budgets
Opinion -In an effort to avoid cutting programs and raising taxes, officials in a handful of cash-strapped states used bureaucratic sleight-of-hand to shift revenue into fiscal year 2004 by moving forward the date on which tax payments are due. -
State Deficits Remain High While Taxes Surge
Opinion -Last year’s elections produced nearly two dozen new governors--the largest turnover in years. But they didn’t have long to celebrate their victories. -
Alabama Voters Defeat Tax Hike Plan
Opinion -By a 68 to 32 percent margin, Alabama voters overwhelmingly rejected Governor Bob Riley’s $1.2 billion tax increase plan in a September 9 referendum. -
Streamlined Sales Tax Stumbles in Kansas
Opinion -Kansas retailers will get a reprieve from the provisions of a new sales tax law as a result of a “grace period” issued by Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. -
Private Prisons Save Money, Boost Productivity, Studies Find
Opinion -In a get-tough-on-crime move nearly a decade ago, Florida passed in 1995 a law requiring all prison inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences. -
The Terrible Cost of Government
Opinion -According to Americans for Tax Reform, Americans worked until mid-July this year to pay their whopping bills to the government. -
Internet Tax Neither Fair Nor Lucrative
Opinion -The Internet tax debate is filled with misperceptions, rhetoric, and even a bit of old-fashioned betrayal. Perhaps the greatest misperception is that the Internet isn’t taxed at all. -
What is the AMT?
Opinion -The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is an extra tax system for individuals, joint filers, partnerships, and corporations deemed by the federal government to have too many deductions or credits. -
How to Cut State Spending
Opinion -Facing record budget deficits and taxpayer opposition to higher taxes, many state legislators are turning for help to a 2002 report from the American Legislative Exchange Council and Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. -
Adam Smith: Economist and Philosopher (1723 – 1790)
Opinion -Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland in 1723. In 1751 he was appointed professor of logic at Glasgow University, delivering lectures in ethics, rhetoric, jurisprudence, and political economy. -
Adam Smith on Taxes
Opinion -Although he lived in the 1700s, Adam Smith is still known and revered today for his work on free-market economics, including taxation.