State and local tax news — from state income tax quirks to property tax fights, because not all tax battles happen in Washington.
There’s rich and then there’s Bill Gates rich. And apparently, the two don’t see eye to eye. At last night’s election, Washington voters soundly rejected a plan to introduce a state income tax aimed at upper income taxpayers to pay for education and health initiatives. The Microsoft billionaire publicly endorsed the measure, known as Initiative…
So far this year, Ford Motor has earned an astounding $6.3 billion. That’s a pretty remarkable turnaround in a slow economy from the auto maker’s $14.8 billion loss in 2008. More profit means more tax revenue, right? Maybe not. The Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) is seeking tax cuts for the auto giant, as well…
Everyone has that moment when they get a bill and think, “Oh my gosh, how am I going to pay for this?” Just imagine how Amazon.com felt when it received a bill in August of this year for – wait for it – $269 million from the state of Texas. The bill represents what the…
My kids are budding entrepreneurs. The list of proposed businesses that my daughters, in particular, have created grows longer every day. My personal favorite – the cat owner finding business – mercifully didn’t get much interest after the initial suggestion. Their latest suggestion is an apple cider stand for the winter; they have to work…
New Jersey taxpayers bear one of the highest state and local tax burdens in the country, a fact that wasn’t lost on voters in the most recent gubernatorial election. Residents generally took some solace in the fact that they receive, on average, a significant amount of services from the government (including well-funded and high-performing public…
Oh Philly. It’s as if you really don’t *want* businesses to stick around. Yesterday, my colleague posted about her experience with the Philadelphia Tobacco and Tobacco-Related Tax. Didn’t know about it? She didn’t either before her husband got a notice. But if Philly Revenue has its way, it sounds like all taxpayers in the City…
As tax officials all over the country ramp up tax revenue collection efforts (the Philly “blogger tax” being a prime example), state tax officials in New York have officially crossed the line, according to many in the Empire State. The state Department of Taxation and Finance has targeted their beloved bagels. Okay, it’s not really…
On Sunday night, I got a text from a friend. It said simply, “Did you hear about the Philly blogger tax?” I hadn’t heard of such a thing and made a mental note to check the news later to see what she was talking about. Less than an hour later, I got the following message…
I’ve received an amazing number of emails, phone calls and Twitter DMs about the infamous “blog tax” story making the rounds in Philadelphia… I am aware of it and I’m working on a story. Earlier today, I spoke with some folks at the Philly Department of Revenue. I’ll have their comments – and mine –…
Despite the fact that Pennsylvania’s tax amnesty campaign was routinely cited as “mean” and “inappropriate”, the Department of Revenue (“DOR”) felt that it worked. The DOR collected $261 million, about 40% than they had hoped for, which, while impressive, is statistically not as successful as a state like New Jersey which collected more than 3…