State and local tax news — from state income tax quirks to property tax fights, because not all tax battles happen in Washington.
Sodas. Tanning. Wine. Hookers. In the scramble to raise revenues, city, state and federal governments have considered slapping taxes on nearly everything they can figure that qualifies as a vice. While some of those efforts have been derided (remember criticisms of the fat tax?) and subsequently derailed, a few of these sin taxes have been…
The mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, Mayor Angel Taveras, made national headlines last week when details emerged about his plan to tax nine tax-exempt hospitals, colleges and universities in an effort to raise revenue. If the tax stands, the city could collect millions from previously untapped sources. Providence, like many U.S. cities, is struggling to…
It seems like most states these days are crying poor, claiming that lower revenues mean that taxes must be raised and cuts may be had. Apparently that is not the case in Texas. One day after I saw this CNN report about the $60 million high school football stadium being built outside of Texas (yes,…
So wow. Color me completely shocked. Okay, not completely. But shocked. South Carolina legislators said no to Amazon.com’s bid for a sales tax exemption. And it was a big no. The vote wasn’t even close: 71 no votes to 47 yes votes. It was a pretty sound denial. The plan, as outlined a few days…
Amazon.com is upping the stakes in its quest to avoid sales tax on online sales. The online sales giant has promised to build a distribution center in Cayce, South Carolina (just west of Columbia) that will reportedly create 1,200 jobs in the first year alone. But. And it’s a big but. The company wants assurances…
The N.C. Department of Revenue has announced on its website that it will waive late filing and late payment penalties for taxpayers who were affected by the April 16 storms. Penalties will be waived on state taxes and returns that are due between April 18 and May 1. According to the Department of Revenue, state…
In 140 characters (or less): Twitter is staying put in San Francisco. At least for now. A split Board approved a payroll tax exemption in San Francisco meant to keep Twitter and similar companies in the City by The Bay. The vote means that companies who agree to move to or remain in the less…
Two months ago, the internet was, er, a-twitter about a tax deal that San Francisco appeared to be making in order to keep hot tech companies inside the city. The deal, which was focused on the social media darling, Twitter, would grant a payroll tax exemption in exchange for a move to a long-neglected area…
In many states, governors are being faced with the difficult choice of cutting services or raising taxes on its residents. As you can imagine, it’s not a politically easy decision. In most cases, it’s a matter of taking from one pocket (cutting services) or another (raising income, sales or property taxes on individuals), both of…
I have a very distinct recollection of how Thursdays worked in my house when I was a kid. You see, Thursdays were sales flyers days. My mom would look them over, comparing them to her grocery list and a big, fat stack of coupons she had carefully cut out from the prior Sunday (as well…