Taxes and Budget Testimony in Opposition to Gov. LePage's Federal Tax Conformity Proposal (LD 138) “The governor’s proposal to extend the bonus depreciation tax break for 2014 would be costly: $10 million in the current budget year.[5] Previously conservative revenue forecasting, a […] Posted January 29, 2015 Tags Taxes
Taxes and Budget The Maine Capital Investment Credit (“bonus depreciation”) is an Ineffective and Unnecessary Giveaway to Large Businesses Maine lawmakers should reject Governor LePage’s new plan to extend ineffective and unnecessary retroactive tax breaks to big businesses. As part of his tax “conformity” bill, Governor […] Joel Johnson Posted January 28, 2015 Tags Tax Breaks, Taxes
Taxes and Budget The Sunday Telegram Analysis of LePage’s Tax Plan is Fatally Flawed. Ignore it. The table that appeared on Page 10 of this week’s Maine Sunday Telegram is fatally flawed due to a variety of calculation errors and faulty methodology. It […] Joel Johnson Posted January 26, 2015 Tags Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Migration Mythologists Flee Facts Maine has gained more taxpayers and income than it has lost going back to the early 1990s, according to IRS tax records. In other words, for every […] Joel Johnson Posted November 24, 2014 Tags Economy, Income Tax, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Maine’s Highway Fund is in Serious Trouble Maine’s highway fund has nowhere near enough money coming into it to meet the state’s basic transportation needs, according to the biennial revenue and expenditure projection released […] Joel Johnson Posted November 10, 2014 Tags Revenue, Taxes
Taxes and Budget State revenue in FY 2014 was slightly higher than expected but 2011 tax cuts keep revenues well below pre-recession levels Total General Fund revenue for the state fiscal year ending in June 2014 was $3,113,496,933, which was $39 million (1.3%) more than expected, according to the revenue […] Joel Johnson Posted August 1, 2014 Tags Revenue, Tax Breaks, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Property tax relief falls short in 2013, major policy changes still needed The amount of property tax relief Maine residents claimed under a new state tax credit will fall $9-12 million short of the $34 million forecast, according to […] Joel Johnson Posted June 27, 2014 Tags Property Tax, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget State Income Tax Revenue Falls as Bill for 2011 Income Tax Cuts Comes Due Four years after Maine Revenue Services (MRS) and the Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal office put a $166 million price tag on Governor LePage’s income tax cut, an enormous […] Joel Johnson Posted June 11, 2014 Tags Budget, Revenue, Taxes
Jobs and Income Much of New Hampshire is a Bedroom of Massachusetts Yesterday’s report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities briefly touches on another fact about New Hampshire that anti-tax activists never mention: much of the state […] Joel Johnson Posted May 9, 2014 Tags Incomes, Jobs, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Taxes Have Little Effect on People’s Decisions about What State to Live In A lengthy and exhaustive new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities confirms what reality-based analysts have known for a long time: state taxes do […] Joel Johnson Posted May 8, 2014 Tags Taxes