Every now and again, something just strikes people the wrong way. This morning, my email box was blowing up about a little matter in Georgia: House Bill 385. The bill, which weighs in at an amazing 127 pages, is already generating heat for its plans to provide a “comprehensive revision of the revenue structure 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…
At a time when most states are looking for the next big thing to slap a tax on, Massachusetts is looking to cut back on those extras. Beginning this weekend, the state is eliminating the state sales tax on alcohol. Massachusetts imposed a sales tax of 6.25% on sales of alcohol, putting it pretty much…
According to retailers in Anderson, SC, more guns are sold in South Carolina in the weekend after Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year. No, it’s not that eating turkey at the holidays makes you want to run out and shoot up some more dinner. Or the thought of the Christmas loot coming…
When I first moved to Pennsylvania from North Carolina, I thought I had hit the lottery. I distinctly remember standing in Express buying some clothes on sale and waiting for the total. When the sales girl finished ringing me up, the total showed. It was the same as the subtotal. I stood there for a…
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…
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…
I can’t believe that folks are already talking about back to school… With all of the snow this year, I feel like my kids just got out of school! But my niece is reporting that she’s starting next week (early, I know) and my inbox is filled with emails from Lands End reminding me to…
The whole of Massachusetts – nay, the world – can issue a collective sigh of relief now: Yachtgate has finally come to an end. Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) has announced that he will “voluntarily” pay $500,000 to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue for the use of his yacht. Kerry’s luxury yacht is reportedly worth…
Remember Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell’s (D) gutsy move to avoid a “financial tsunami” (yes, his words) in the state? It’s not going to work. With little fanfare, he pulled the plug on the plan yesterday, calling it “very complex” (that’s government speak for: they’re onto us for cutting tax rates but expanding the tax base)…