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State Controller said without a state budget, California's government would be unable to pay its bills in late August. That means issuing IOUs to some people. Possible dates for IOUs could be either Aug. 27 or Aug. 31, when big payments to schools ar
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has state employees on the ropes. Growing public outrage over their pay, benefits and pensions has helped the Republican governor put state workers and their unions on their heels.
Lawmakers completed one of the latest budgets in New York State history on Tuesday night, passing a last piece of legislation that will raise an additional $1 billion — in part by increasing taxes on the sale of clothing and on a variety of businesse
New Jersey would close its centralized car inspection lanes and motorists would pay for their own emissions tests under a sweeping set of recommendations set to be released by the Christie administration today.New Jersey would close its centralized c
“This is what the state owes right now to schools, rehabilitation centers, child care, the state university — and it’s getting worse every single day,” he says in his downtown office. Mr. Hynes shakes his head. “This is not some esoteric budget is
Man, what better way to celebrate July 4th than with news like this?! Hell yeah, baby!
Thousands of Rhode Island income-tax refunds are being delayed longer than previously reported because of state cash-flow problems. Overall, the state has delayed payment of about 53,000 individual income-tax refunds — totaling about $36.3 million —
New York Governor David Paterson on Thursday proposed lifting the sales tax on diet soda, while adding a new "sugar tax" to full-calorie drinks, in a fresh bid to boost revenue for the cash-strapped state.
Today, Arizona politicians went crying to the masses of slaves, begging for an increase in the amount of money they are able to steal from each transaction. "MORE MONEY," they scream, after previous Gov. Napolitano ran the state into the groun
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During the past several years, Tom Jenney, the Arizona Director for Americans for Prosperity, and I have crossed paths in agreement on many critical issues involving money and our state.
It's hard to find a politician who isn't eager to "do something" about high unemployment. Turns out California has found one way to save and create certain kinds of jobs—spend like mad and raise taxes.
California, New York and other states are showing many of the same signs of debt overload that recently took Greece to the brink — budgets that will not balance, accounting that masks debt, the use of derivatives to plug holes, and armies of retired
The statewide sales-tax hike that goes before Arizona voters this spring is temporary, designed to expire in 3 years. Try telling that to Thayer Verschoor, or other tax opponents who are suspicious that a tax, once in place, can ever go away.
An Oklahoma State Senate Committee approved a bill that would repeal the state's tax on groceries once state tax revenues return to where they were before the economic downturn.
In an effort to close the state's budget gap, the Governor of Washington is proposing ending sales tax exemptions on gold and silver bullion sales.
CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, anticipating a $21 billion state budget deficit, plans to ask President Barack Obama to ease mandates and minimums on social programs to save as much as $8 billion. The Republican governor plans to seek the relief
Hawaii's meticulous tourism records are thick with minus symbols, the basis for a projected state budget gap of $1.23 billion that Governor Linda Lingle says is a "fiscal crisis" that cannot be closed with spending cuts alone.
U.S. state government collections fell 16 percent to almost $1.7 trillion in fiscal 2008 from a year earlier, while spending increased 6.2 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The biggest drop came in so-called insurance trust revenue, wh
Nebraska Tax Commissioner Doug Ewald says if the retailer does not collect sales tax for Nebraska, then the buyer becomes responsible for self-reporting the consumer's use tax at the same rate as the sales tax.
New York’s Legislature made the right decision in 2008 when it passed a law requiring Amazon.com and other Internet retailers to collect taxes on sales to New York customers. Amazon challenged the law in a lower court, and lost in January. A New York
Which 10 states are in the deepest financial trouble? They got that way through mismanagement, high taxes and irresponsible spending. Hint: NY is not among them, even though NY has said it will go broke within the next 30 days.
In Arizona, the budget has grown so gloomy that lawmakers are considering mortgaging Capitol buildings. In Michigan, state officials dealing with the nation's highest unemployment rate are slashing spending on schools and health care. Drastic financi
In its 190-year history, Jefferson County, Alabama, has endured a cholera epidemic, a pounding in the Civil War, gunslingers, labor riots and terrorism by the Ku Klux Klan. Now this namesake of Thomas Jefferson, anchored by Birmingham, is staring at
When David Paterson became governor of New York after Eliot Spitzer's hooker escapades, the former state senator from Harlem shocked New Yorkers by declaring that taxes were too high and that he had many friends who had left the state because there w
For a half-year, this editorial page has lamented the determination of President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to fast-track extraordinarily complex legislation overhauling the U.S. health care system.
The State of Illinois' pile of unpaid bills has grown to a record-breaking $3 billion. Comptroller Dan Hynes said. Some social service agencies that rely heavily on state reimbursement warn they will soon be forced out of business.
“We added personal income tax, which we thought would make the falloff 10 percent to 15 percent,” Paterson, a Democrat, said on CNBC today, As a reminder the state most reliant on the financial sector, is struggling with a $2.1 billion budget deficit
State tax revenue in the second quarter plunged 17% from a year earlier
Economically beleaguered Michigan faces a possible government shutdown — shuttering highway rest areas, state parks, construction projects and the state lottery — if lawmakers fail to reach a budget deal by next week. The state with the nation's h
The state of Maryland has recently received a crash-course in Macroeconomics 101. Amidst a budget deficit last year, the politicians in Annapolis created a new tax bracket for the wealthiest 0.3% of earners. The new millionaire tax bracket raised the top marginal income-tax rate for the state to 6.25%. Democrats praised the new tax, predicting that it would bring an additional $106 million to the state coffers. In true Marxist fashion, Governor Martin O’Malley declared that these taxpayers were "willing and able to pay their fair share." A funny thing happened this past tax season, however. According to the state comptroller’s office, million-dollar income tax returns have decreased from 3,000 to 2,000, down one-third! Naturally, some of this can be attributed to the economic downturn; but much of it is due to millionaires actually leaving the state. In this case, the grass really was greener on the other side. Instead of bringing in an extra $106 million, the st
