Let’s Go Places: Toyota Workers Could Save Big Tax Dollars With Move
Toyota has announced today that it would move its headquarters to Plano, Texas. Was the move driven by taxes?
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How Will Your State Be Impacted By Sequestration?
Five days. That’s how long until the sequestration goes into effect. Sequestration, painted as one half of the worst thing ever, is a series of across the board federal cuts that are scheduled to occur if Congress doesn’t act to cut spending. And Congress hasn’t acted on spending since 2011 (when they voted not to…
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Judge Wants Tax Increase To Defend Against A Potential Civil War
In Lubbock County, Texas, there’s talk of a tax increase. The increase is to be 1.7 cents per $100 for the next fiscal year, boosting the rate to 34.6 cents from the current rate of 32.9458 cents. The increases have been touted for a number of reasons. This week, on Fox TV, Lubbock County Judge…
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Time To Stock Up On Guns & School Supplies: States Announce Sales Tax Holidays
It’s that time of year again! Despite evidence that state sales tax holidays actually cost taxpayers money, many states have renewed their temporary reprieve on state sales tax collections for certain back-to-school and hurricane preparedness items – oh, and guns (let’s not forget the guns). Politically, sales tax holidays are “feel good” legislative acts: they…
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Proponents Of California Tobacco Tax Increase Concede Defeat
Light up, California! You have no worries. It turns out that, with just a few days left to count and certify ballots, proponents of Proposition 29 are officially conceding that the measure will not pass. The measure, which landed on ballots this month, would have increased the state tax on tobacco in the Golden State…
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12 Days Of Charitable Giving: Texas Wildfire Relief
Our eighth charitable organization is Texas Wildfire Relief. The mission of the organization is listed on its website as “committed to generating awareness and garnering support for Texas volunteer firefighters.” According to the National Fire Protection Association, just over 70% of the firefighters in America are volunteers. In Texas, the percentage is over 80. As…
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Death & Taxes: The Real Cost Of The Death Penalty
On September 21, 2011, at exactly 11:08 p.m. EST, Troy Davis was put to death by the state of Georgia after the U.S. Supreme Court failed to grant him a stay. His execution by legal injection became the 1,268th recorded execution in the United States since 1976. Later that same day, Lawrence Brewer of Texas…
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Texas Rules Tax On Strip Clubs Constitutional
You can leave your hat on. But bring your wallet. The Texas Supreme Court has determined that a $5 entrance fee to strip clubs in the Lone Star State is constitutional. The ruling comes after a protracted fight between strippers (I’m sorry, I meant “adult entertainers”) and the state. Three years ago, a Texas court…
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Texas Sized Tax Break for Yacht Owners
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,…
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Even Sales Tax Bills Are Bigger In Texas
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…