Publications
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Research & Commentary: Kansas Income Tax Elimination
Publication -Research and Commentaries -State of Kansas Budget Director Steve Anderson has expressed hope the state legislature will approve a bill to eliminate the state’s personal income tax over time. -
Research & Commentary: Pennsylvania Liquor Privatization
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai recently introduced House Bill 11, which would privatize the state’s liquor sales. -
Five Things to Consider Before Raising Tobacco Taxes: A Review of the Research
Publication -Policy Briefs -Tobacco use poses well-known health risks. Smokers, on average, die earlier than nonsmokers. Estimates of lost life expectancy range from two or three years to 14 years; most researchers agree on six to eight years. -
Research & Commentary: Florida’s Online Travel Agent Tax
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Florida’s tourism industry brings in more than $60 billion each year and is the state’s most profitable industry. -
Games Legislators Play: Tricks, gimmicks, and fuzzy accounting in the 2011-2012 budget
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Using money that’s only available for one year to fund ongoing functions of government Legislators are taking $150 million from various earmarked/restricted funds to pay for ongoing obligations at the Department of Education and the Department of Health -
Research & Commentary: Weight-Based Smokeless Tobacco Taxes in Wisconsin
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Wisconsin is considering a revenue neutral tax proposal that would change the tax structure for smokeless tobacco from an ad valorem tax to a weight-based tax. -
Research & Commentary: Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Fees
Publication -Research and Commentaries -State Rep. Mark Mustio (R) has introduced a bill that would prevent Pennsylvania’s Liquor Control Board (LCB) from increasing handling “fees” on alcohol without prior approval from the legislature and governor. -
Why Some Cities Are Growing and Others Shrinking
Publication -Policy Studies -Florida Gulf Coast University Associate Professor of Economics Dean Stansel studies migration and taxation data for 100 American metropolitian areas, finding statistically significant correlations between rates of taxation and individuals' choices to -
Research & Commentary: Contracting Out Prison Services
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The cost of incarceration, rehabilitation, and security in state, local, and federal prisons has become a serious budget problem. -
Policy Tip Sheet No. 6 – Alcohol Taxes
Publication -Policy Tip Sheets -ProblemSome states are looking to balance their budgets by increasing taxes on specific products, such as alcohol. These taxes should be avoided: They distort the market, are highly regressive, and unsustainably prop-up spending. -
Research & Commentary: Louisiana Shouldn’t Concede Its Tobacco Tax Advantage
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Louisiana is considering a proposal for a significant tax hike on cigarettes, smoking tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products. -
A Constitutional Solution to Runaway Federal Spending
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The protections for individual freedom in the Constitution of the United States have been significantly weakened since the 1930s. -
Research & Commentary: Wireless Tax Fairness in the States
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011, currently pending in Congress, would put a moratorium on discriminatory state wireless phone and data service tax increases. -
Research & Commentary: Georgia Tax Reform
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Special Council on Tax Fairness for Georgians was established to conduct a study of the state’s revenue structure and make a report of its findings and recommendations for legislation. -
Tapping the Rainy Day Fund & School Fund Balances
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Balancing the 2010-11 Budget without Raising TaxesThe Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF): Appropriate Uses and Legislative HistoryThe language in the Texas Constitution governing the use of the ESF reads in part as follows:If an estimate of anticipated -
Tapping the Rainy Day Fund & School Fund Balances
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Balancing the 2010-11 Budget without Raising TaxesThe Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF): Appropriate Uses and Legislative HistoryThe language in the Texas Constitution governing the use of the ESF reads in part as follows:If an estimate of anticipated -
Research & Commentary: Airline Passenger Tax
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Congress is considering an increase in the airline passenger facility tax from $4.50 to $7.00 per takeoff and landing. In total this would be a massive $2 billion tax increase on consumers. -
Solutions to Restore Florida’s Property Insurance Marketplace to Protect Taxpayers and the Insured
Publication -Policy Briefs -The 2011 session of the Florida Legislature will convene in the midst of state budget worries, a lingering real estate crisis, and a still-sluggish national economy. -
Research & Commentary: Nebraska’s Telecommunication Taxes
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Nebraska state Sen. Deb Fischer (R) of Valentine is proposing a law to phase out the municipal service occupation tax on telecommunication services and require voter approval before municipalities can impose higher telecommunication taxes. -
Research & Commentary: Medicaid and State Budgets
Publication -Research and Commentaries -As many legislators are now learning, perhaps the greatest impact President Barack Obama’s health care regime will have on state budgets comes from the dramatic expansion of Medicaid to cover millions of additional Americans. -
Policy Tip Sheet No. 3 – Idaho Cigarette Tax
Publication -Policy Tip Sheets -ProblemIdaho is expected to face a budget deficit in fiscal year 2012 of approximately $350 million. Idaho House Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman Dennis Lake (R-Blackfoot) says he wants to increase the state’s cigarette tax by more than $1. -
Policy Tip Sheet No. 2 – Georgia Cigarette Tax
Publication -Policy Tip Sheets -ProblemGeorgia state Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) wants to raise the state’s cigarette tax by a dollar per pack in order to help close the state’s $1.5 billion budget deficit. -
Research & Commentary: Idaho’s Tobacco Tax Advantage
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Idaho is expected to face a budget deficit in fiscal year 2012 of approximately $350 million. Idaho House Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman Dennis Lake (R-Blackfoot) says he wants to increase the state’s cigarette tax by more than $1. -
Research & Commentary: Georgia’s Tobacco Tax Advantage
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Georgia state Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) wants to raise the state’s cigarette tax by a dollar per pack in order to help close the state’s $1.5 billion budget deficit.