Interesting articles I came across today:
- Newly elected Republican governors meet to discuss budget cut strategies.
- Colorado raises $2.2 million with its sales taxA sales tax is levied on retail sales of goods and services and, ideally, should apply to all final consumption with few exemptions. Many governments exempt goods like groceries; base broadening, such as including groceries, could keep rates lower. A sales tax should exempt business-to-business transactions which, when taxed, cause tax pyramiding. on medical marijuana.
- Rhode Island Governor-elect Lincoln Chafee's plan to impose a 1% sales taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. on currently exempt items would raise $121 million, much more than originally expected.
- Michael Barone at National Review (subscribe) argues that the federal bankruptcy code should be amended to allow states to reorganize their finances under its "cram-down" provisions.
- We're about a month away from the estate taxAn estate tax is imposed on the net value of an individual’s taxable estate, after any exclusions or credits, at the time of death. The tax is paid by the estate itself before assets are distributed to heirs. coming back to life, and the macabre incentive it gives to relatives of the dying.