Tax Foundation's Tax Policy Podcast

The Hawaii Legislature forced through several tax increases near the end of the legislative session, including raising the income tax as well as excise taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products. With the exception of the cigarette tax increase, all these tax hikes were vetoed by Governor Linda Lingle on May 7 in Hawaii's first-ever public veto ceremony attended by nearly a thousand taxpayers and citizens. However, on May 11 the state legislature was able to override each of...

Fiscal policy in the Garden State reads like a "what not to do" for policymakers and stakeholders. The corporate income tax combines a high rate, onerous rules, and lavish subsidies for the politically connected. The sales tax is one of the highest in the country. The state is one of five in the country to adopt a heavy individual income tax on high-income earners, which has reduced economic activity in the state. New Jersey residents also pay more property tax per capita than...

President Obama has recently proposed to raise more than $100 billion in new tax revenues from U.S. businesses by restricting their ability to defer paying taxes on profits earned abroad. The Obama administration has also fused the issue of tax deferral with the unrelated issues of bank secrecy and tax havens. In this edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, Tax Foundation Manager of Media Relations Matt Moon talks with Senior Research...

An issue that taxpayers and officials across the country are following this year is state budgets. In January, the Tax Foundation released a report on the issue, looking at the 45 states with budget shortfalls. In this edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, Director of State Projects Joseph Henchman talks with Ron Snell of the National Conference of State Legislatures...

Taxes are a very important part of how different states fare economically, but it's not the only important variable. In this edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, Staff Economist Josh Barro talks with Jonathan Williams, Director of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Williams discusses a new report from ALEC which he, along...

Forty-five states currently face budget shortfalls totaling approximately $132 billion through fiscal year 2010. As was pointed out by Director of State Projects, Joseph Henchman, these budget shortfalls have also created opportunities for tax reform in many states. In this week's edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, Manager of State Relations Tonya Barr talks...

Congress is currently in recess, but issues of taxes, government spending and economic growth continue to be on the minds of Americans. Monday, April 13 was Tax Freedom Day, the date on which Americans will have worked long enough to have earned enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels. The Tax Foundation also recently released a poll showing that 56% of Americans...

Just recently, the Democratic controlled House approved its version of the budget, 233 voting yes and 196 voting no. The Democratic controlled Senate approved its version, 55 voting yes and 43 voting no. Republicans in the minority have also come out with alternative versions of the budget. In this edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, Tax Foundation Manager of Media Relations Matt Moon talks with Congressman...

The Tax Foundation recently did an analysis of a tax proposal from Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) that would raise the personal income tax rate from 3 percent to 4.5 percent and the corporate income tax rate from 7.3 percent to 9.7 percent. Staff Economist Josh Barro, author of the 2009 State Business Tax Climate Index (a study that measures how well a state's...

From the March 17, 2009 edition of the Wall Street Journal: "If the government suddenly said you would incur more onerous and expensive tax regulations and reporting requirements if you moved your business to a low-tax state such as Texas or Florida from a high-tax state such as New York or California, you would be justifiably outraged. Now substitute Switzerland and...

The Obama administration has recently presented its budget in the midst of a recession. Denver Post columnist David Harsanyi believes that while most "presidents helped ease us out of these tough spots by easing the burden on Americans," the tax provisions within the budget show that "Obama has engaged in the opposite." In this edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, Tax...

Outside of the short term policies that have been presented, from the stimulus to the budget, the Obama Administration has indicated that it plans to include fundamental tax reform as part of its long term agenda. In this edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, Matt Moon moderates a discussion between Tax Foundation Vice President for Economic Policy Robert Carroll and...

On the heels of President Barack Obama's recent release of his fiscal year 2010 budget, Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI 1st District), ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, is pushing for major reform in the areas of tax, monetary and entitlement policy, criticizing the new administration's budget as having the practical effect of taxing "work, savings, investment, capital and risk-taking far more than we are today" and "hurting our...

In this edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, we turn to the recently passed federal stimulus package. Tax Foundation Vice President for Economic Policy Robert Carroll, PhD, talks with Robert Barro, the Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Professor Barro is also a senior fellow of the Hoover...

In this edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, we continue our discussion of state budget shortfalls. Tax Foundation Manager of Media Relations Matt Moon talks with Peter Nelson, Policy Fellow with the Center of the American Experiment in Minneapolis, a nonpartisan, tax-exempt public policy organization focusing on free market ideas for Minnesota and the nation. Peter discusses Governor Tim Pawlenty's...

Many states are going through budget shortfalls this year due to the economic downturn. Different states have reacted in a variety of ways to balance their budgets, including lobbying for federal bailouts, proposing tax increases, and calling for hiring freezes. In this edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, Tax Foundation Tax Counsel and Director of State Projects Joseph Henchman discusses the opportunity for tax reform in many states amidst these...

With a new Congress and a new administration focused on a short term stimulus proposal to get America out of the current economic downturn, others are focused on long term plans involving taxes to spur investment, create jobs and increase our standard of living. In this edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge discusses corporate tax reform proposals and global tax competition with...

Like many states this year, California is going through a fiscal crisis, measured by some as a $40 billion deficit with current spending proposals. In this edition of the Tax Foundation's Tax Policy Podcast, Tax Counsel and Director of State Projects Joseph Henchman interviews Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. They discuss HJTA’s recent lawsuit over the rushed majority-vote “...

The new year brings new legislative sessions in every state. And almost every state is going through tough fiscal times in the midst of this economic downturn. While every state legislature and governor is figuring out what to tax, how to spend and where to cut, there are some who see state fiscal crises as an opportunity for government reform. Staff Economist Josh Barro talks with David Yepsen, columnist from the...

As the 111th Congress starts, the Democratic majority is proposing to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which might include increased funding and expanded coverage, from children in families making twice the poverty level to possibly three or four times the poverty level. All of this would be paid for by an increase in the federal cigarette tax from 39 cents for $1 per pack. Phil Kerpen, Director of Policy...