Lunch Links: Illinois’s 11.25 Percent Income Tax Proposal, Michael Jackson’s Estate vs. IRS, Krugman Likes Soda Taxes

Today is April 26, the day of the “Acela Primary” – voting in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

• Illinois Considers an 11.25 Percent Tax on Small Businesses: The proposal would convert the state’s single-rate individual income tax to a four-rate income tax with a top rate of 9.75 percent, but small businesses would pay an additional 1.5 percent for a total of 11.25 percent, the highest in the country except for California and New York City. We released our analysis of this proposal at a press conference this morning in Springfield.
• McConnell Fast-Tracks House IRS Bills: The Senate will likely take up bills to require the IRS to certify none of its employees are tax delinquents, and to block the agency from spending user fees without congressional approval.
• Michael Jackson’s $1 Billion Tax Court Thriller: IRS Values His Name at $434 Million; Estate Says $2,105: This might end up being the biggest tax case in history, if criminal evasion charges against the estate end up happening.
• Ecuador Earthquake: Government to Tax Millionaires to Pay for Reconstruction: “Using authority granted by the state of emergency he declared after the natural disaster, Mr Correa said value added tax would rise from 12 to 14 per cent for the coming year. People with more than $1million in assets would have to pay a one-time tax consisting of 0.9 per cent of their wealth, he added.”
• A Note on the Soda Tax Controversy: New York Times columnist Paul Krugman weighs in with his support: “[I]t does seem worth pointing out that progressivity of taxes is not the most important thing, even when your concern is inequality. [In Europe, the regressive VAT is used] to pay for a strong social safety net, which is much more important.” Since most government spending is progressive and distributive, I guess that makes all taxes progressive?
• Why tax relief — and sick leave — died in Annapolis this year: The Washington Post provides a post-mortem analysis.
• D.C. Paid More in Federal Taxes Than 22 States Last Year: District officials calculated federal collections from D.C. at $26 billion. Vermont came in last on the list at just over $4 billion; Californians gave $369 billion.
• Tax Records You Should Keep After Tax Day (And How Long To Keep Them): Kelly Phillips Erb runs through what you should keep for three years, what you should keep for longer, and what you can throw out.