Recharacterizing a rather simple repayment transaction as a tax rebate is concerning, not just for sound tax policy, but also for the future of public-private financing partnerships.
Montana Policymakers should pursue principled property tax reform that benefits all property owners without creating market distortions or unfairly shifting the tax burden.
Adopting the sound tax reforms still pending in Santa Fe is an opportunity for New Mexico to keep up with the pack or risk falling further behind.
If your state issued tax rebates last year, you might have to pay federal income tax on the rebate you received. Maybe. Who knows? Unfortunately, not the IRS—at least not yet.
At the end of 2022, prices were 14.6 percent higher than they were two years prior. That’s the fastest inflation rate over any two calendar years since the stagflation era of the late 1970s. State policymakers are understandably interested in bringing any tools at their disposal to bear on the problem. And many of them are reaching for tax policy solutions.
As Idaho attempts to further solidify its position as a growth-oriented, taxpayer-friendly state this special session, other states should look to its example and pursue similar reforms.
If Sooner State policymakers want to use a portion of their higher revenues to make the economy work better for all Oklahomans, they should consider repealing the franchise tax, trimming the income tax, or both—paired, if desired, with targeted aid to those in the greatest need—not writing a single round of gimmicky checks.
After a whirlwind of cuts and reforms in 2021, it looks like 2022 might be an even bigger year for state tax codes. Republican and Democratic governors alike used their annual State of the State addresses to call for tax reform, and there is already serious momentum from state lawmakers nationwide to get the job done.
States are flush with cash, but taxpayers’ purchasing power is being eroded by high inflation. Tax rebates, gas tax holidays, and other temporary tax expedients have the potential to add to existing inflation—but good intentions do not always make for good policy.
A gas tax holiday may be good politics, but it’s unlikely to achieve its aims. There are far better ways to provide tax relief—short- or long-term—than an inefficient gas tax suspension.