Archives: Tax Reform / Articles

Archives: Tax Reform / Articles (page 17)

  • Trend of Tax Cuts in 2015 Show a National Appetite for Tax Reform image

    Trend of Tax Cuts in 2015 Show a National Appetite for Tax Reform

    Seventeen states substantially cut taxes during their 2015 legislative sessions, and their taxpayers are enjoying the benefits.

  • When It Comes To Kansas, What’s The Matter With Leftists? image

    When It Comes To Kansas, What’s The Matter With Leftists?

    On Friday, New York Magazine author Eric Levitz published a Left wing rant highly critical of tax reforms Kansas implemented in 2012.

  • State of the State: Oklahoma image

    State of the State: Oklahoma

    Governor Fallin has traditionally been an ally of limited government, free markets and federalism. However, given the difficult economic circumstances that her oil-dependent state is suffering, the governor and legislature are in a trying position.

  • State of the State: California image

    State of the State: California

    If the governor wants to actually avoid having to raise taxes, he should propose ways to shrink the scope of government, instead of pursuing the spendthrift polices that have dried up California’s funds.

  • State of the State: Missouri image

    State of the State: Missouri

    During his state of the state address, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon made his priorities very clear: he wants to expand Medicaid and spend more on education.

  • State of the State: South Carolina image

    State of the State: South Carolina

    Following a year of tragedy, Governor Nikki Haley’s State of the State address was full of rousing optimism and calls to action.

  • State of the State: Colorado image

    State of the State: Colorado

    While its growth comes from a friendly tax environment, Colorado’s budget woes come from an increase in spending.

  • First, Do No Harm: Improving Detroit’s Regulatory Climate image

    First, Do No Harm: Improving Detroit’s Regulatory Climate

    Detroit's rise and fall is now the stuff of legend, serving as a dark cautionary tale for cities everywhere.

  • Rich States, Poor States: 9th Edition Released image

    Rich States, Poor States: 9th Edition Released

    On Tuesday, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Center for State Fiscal Reform released the ninth edition of the Rich States, Poor States ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index rankings. The…

  • President Obama’s Regulatory Reform image

    President Obama’s Regulatory Reform

    In the President’s world paradigm, growing the U.S. economy comes from investing in public programs, while the private sector engages in “loopholes” intending to “game the system” that in reality were perfectly legal actions in a tax system that is in desperate need of reform.

  • Tune In: How Collective Bargaining Negatively Affects State and Local Finances image

    Tune In: How Collective Bargaining Negatively Affects State and Local Finances

    Collective bargaining by public employee unions has a major impact on a state’s budget. A new report from the Heritage Foundation and the Nevada Policy Research Institute highlights…

  • Cutting Cronyism and Taxes are a Maine Source of Opportunity image

    Cutting Cronyism and Taxes are a Maine Source of Opportunity

    Sad news struck Maine’s once-thriving paper industry recently. Only months after Verso Corp. was forced to file for bankruptcy, Madison Paper Mill reported that…

  • Filtering out the Myths Supporting Cigarette Taxes image

    Filtering out the Myths Supporting Cigarette Taxes

    If the concern of state officials is with the public welfare, the choice is clear. Based on the empirical data collected from other states, increasing cigarette taxes will chill commerce, burden small businesses, damage employment rates and do little for public health.

  • Jonathan Williams Interviews with Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association image

    Jonathan Williams Interviews with Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association

    Jonathan Williams, vice president of the ALEC Center for State Fiscal Reform, had the opportunity to join Carl Marrara of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association on PMA Perspectives to discuss state economic…

  • Keeping State Governments Open and Accountable to Taxpayers image

    Keeping State Governments Open and Accountable to Taxpayers

    “We might hope to see the finances of the Union as clear and intelligible as a merchant’s books, so that every member of Congress and every man of any mind…

  • ALEC Alumni Address Taxpayers’ $310 Billion Unauthorized Appropriations Problem image

    ALEC Alumni Address Taxpayers’ $310 Billion Unauthorized Appropriations Problem

    Recently, ALEC alumnus and House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (GA) joined ALEC members on a conference call to discuss free market solutions to federal budget challenges. Congressman Price discussed…

  • A National Race to Government Transparency image

    A National Race to Government Transparency

    As Treasurer of Ohio, I believe taxpayers have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. So in December 2014, I launched OhioCheckbook.com which for the first time in Ohio history puts every single state expenditure online.

  • The New Hampshire Primary Results Project Little Hope in Economic Growth image

    The New Hampshire Primary Results Project Little Hope in Economic Growth

    Because of its varying policies, New Hampshire’s economic priorities are difficult to gauge, which some pundits might suggest make the state a good testing ground for presidential candidates’ platforms. The state’s inherent fiscal inconsistencies might also explain the seemingly irreconcilable gulf between voters’ concerns about the economy and their support for Sanders and Trump.

  • The New York Times Doesn’t Understand Kansas image

    The New York Times Doesn’t Understand Kansas

    We join the story of Kansas in January 2011, when former U.S. Senator Sam Brownback takes office as Kansas’ 46th Governor along with a Republican-controlled House (92 Rs and 33 Ds) and Senate (32 Rs and 8 Ds) to have his back. The Kansas economy, while far from being a catastrophe, had been underperforming for a long time. The unemployment rate was 6.8%.

  • A Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act image

    A Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act

    It only took 18 painstaking years, but the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) is close to becoming a permanent reality. By an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 75-20, the U.S. Senate…