Tax
Brits to Prepare for Tax Reforms
Originally intended to be presented during the fall of 2020, and postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new United Kingdom budget will finally be published on March 3. Although normally most tax rate changes come into effect on budget day or soon after, 2021’s tax reforms might need to wait. Consultations on policies that…
Read MoreA $6 Billion Tax Increase Proposal in Pennsylvania Would Yield the Nation’s Highest Combined Flat-Rate Income Taxes
Under the budget introduced by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D), taxes would go up more than $6 billion per year, with additional revenue from both individual and corporate income taxes. The state’s flat personal income tax rate would increase by 46 percent, partially offset by an outsized increase in the poverty credit, which would see…
Read MoreWhy States and Localities Need More Federal Aid
Opponents of additional federal aid to state and local governments have noted that overall state revenue declines have not been as bad as expected during…
Read MoreWhich States Are Taxing Forgiven PPP Loans?
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is providing an important lifeline to help keep millions of small businesses open and their workers employed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many borrowers will have these loans forgiven; eligibility for forgiveness requires using the loan for qualifying purposes (like payroll costs, mortgage interest payments, rent, and…
Read MoreAlabama Passes Tax Reform Aimed at Throwback, GILTI, and More
Lawmakers in Alabama introduced several tax-related provisions last session, but the pandemic cut short their efforts. This year, policymakers returned with HB 170, which passed both chambers unanimously, and which Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed into law as Public Act 2021-1 on February 11. The bill combines pandemic-era tax policy responses with broader tax policy…
Read MoreWhat We Are Learning About Firms That Received PPP Loans in 2020
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was considered essential to last year’s bipartisan COVID-19 relief packages, and many policymakers initially hailed the CARES Act version as…
Read MoreSugar Taxes Back on the Menu
After a few years without much attention, taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are back in the headlines, with at least four states—Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, and Washington—considering such statewide taxes. Today, only localities (10 at the time of writing) levy excise taxes on sugary drinks in the U.S., but that could change this year. In…
Read MoreSmoking High Excise Taxes on Vapor Products Could Be Coming to West Virginia
West Virginians would face extraordinarily high taxes on vapor products in state if Senate Bill 68 becomes law. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ron Stollings (D) and Sen. Richard Lindsay (D), would increase taxes on liquid used in vapor products from 7.5 cents per milliliter (ml) to $1 per ml—an increase of over 1,300 percent.…
Read MorePandemic-Era Unemployment Compensations Could Generate $78 Billion in Income Tax Collections
Since the start of last year, the federal and state governments have spent nearly $600 billion on unemployment compensation payments, compared to the prior level of about $30 billion a year. It’s a lot of money—and it’s taxable at the federal level and in many states. Through February 13th, the federal government has spent $441…
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