Dennis Cauchon at USA Today highlights a report from the National Taxpayers Union (PDF), where they go over hundreds of 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. -related ballot initiatives being voted on early next month.
Nearly 100 statewide ballot measures on taxing and spending will dominate the list of ballot initiatives next month, reports the National Taxpayers Union, which advocates lower taxes. More than 450 local tax issues will be considered in 33 states, too.
Social issues will be nearly absent from the ballot in this time of economic turmoil. For the first time in a decade, gay marriage won’t be voted on. Only one abortion measure, in Colorado, will be decided.
Here are some key ones:
- WA Initiative 1098 (imposing a state income tax of 5% on individuals making more than $200,000 and 9% on individuals making more than $500,000)
- WA Initiative 1053 would reinstate the supermajority requirement for tax increases
- CO Amendment 60 would enact protections from property taxA property tax is primarily levied on immovable property like land and buildings, as well as on tangible personal property that is movable, like vehicles and equipment. Property taxes are the single largest source of state and local revenue in the U.S. and help fund schools, roads, police, and other services. increases
- CO Amendment 61 would curtail state debt and require local governments to obtain voter approval for their debt
- CO Proposition 101 would lower the state’s income tax to 4.5%, and eventually phase down to 3.5%
- MA Question 3 would reduce the 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. from 6.25% to 3%
- MO Proposition A would limit local income taxes and require voter approval to renew them
- CA Proposition 23 would suspend Assembly Bill 32, a global-warming initiative, from taking effect unless unemployment falls below 5.5%
- CA Proposition 26 would require a two-thirds vote of the legislature for several types of fees
- VA Question 3 would increase the state rainy day fund
- AZ, CO, and OK will consider proposals to protect the right to choose one’s health insurance
And here’s a cute one I wanted to throw in:
- CO: Denver Initiative 300 would set up a UFO study commission, but no tax dollars would be used.
Read the NTU report here (PDF).
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