Taxes

June 17, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today signed into law a bill that rolls back a planned increase in the state gas tax and opens the door to more gasoline stations offering customers a discount for making purchases with cash.

Senate Bill 1000, An Act Concerning Adjustments to Certain Petroleum Products Taxes, Petroleum Franchise Agreements, Gasoline Discounts for Consumers, Home Heating Oil and Propane Gas Contract Deposits and the Fuel Conservation Account, was passed during the special session last week.    » read more »

June 12, 2008 -- John McCain says an important part of his economic plan is "cutting taxes for the middle class." But a new study by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center shows that a quarter of Senator McCain's tax cuts would go to households making $2.8 million or more and that Senator Obama's tax cuts would provide three times the middle class tax relief that Senator McCain's would. [johnmccain.com, accessed 6/12/08]    » read more »

June 12, 2008 -- Chicago, IL – Today, Senator Barack Obama will meet with Ryan and Jenny Micke of Appleton, WI, to discuss the economic challenges facing the middle class and how his tax plan will bring ease the strain that so many American families face.    » read more »

Union Members to Rally in More Than 25 Cities This Week to Call on Bush and McCain to Denounce Tax Giveaways for Big Oil, Support Real Path to Energy Independence

June 09, 2008 -- AFL-CIO working families will rally at gas stations in more than 25 cities across the country this week to protest record-high gas prices, which reached a national average of $4 a gallon over the weekend. The first protest will be today in Indianapolis.    » read more »

June 9, 2008 -- John McCain says he wants to cut taxes for middle class families. But the reality is Senator McCain would do even less for the middle class than President Bush, which is definitely not the change Americans are looking for.

McCain is masking a tax cut for the wealthy as a middle class tax break, saying that 100 million people have "something to do with capital gains." The truth is fewer than seven percent of families earning less than $100,000 received capital gains income in 2005. [CNN Live Feed, Town Hall (Charlotte, NC), 5/5/08; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1/30/2006]    » read more »

Tax Credit Aims to Help Stimulate Job Growth in the North Country

June 09, 2008 -- CONCORD - New Hampshire Governor John Lynch today signed into law the Coos County Tax Credit, an important new tool in the state’s efforts to attract jobs to the North Country.

“Today, we are investing in bringing new, good-paying jobs to the people of Coos County,” Gov. Lynch said. “It is very clear that Coos County is struggling, and struggling even more than other parts of New Hampshire. This new tax credit will help provide some much needed relief.”    » read more »

Governor’s Bill would Protect Taxpayers from Unsustainable Property Tax Growth; New York’s Local Tax Burden is the Highest in America - 79 Percent above the National Average

June 3, 2008 -- After receiving the preliminary report of the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief, New York Governor David A. Paterson announced today that he is accepting the Commission’s principal recommendation and plans to introduce school property tax cap legislation to address the unsustainable growth in property taxes.

The cap would apply to all school districts outside the “Big Five” cities (New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers).    » read more »

Widespread Practice Cheats Workers, Taxpayers and Companies That Play by the Rules

May, 2008 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – New legislation to prevent corporations from abusing workers and cheating taxpayers has the Teamsters’ strong support, General President Jim Hoffa said Thursday.

The Employee Misclassification Prevention Act of 2008 will make it harder for employers to improperly classify employees as “independent contractors.”

“This scam robs 10 million American workers of overtime and benefits,” Hoffa said. “Companies are forcing workers to pay for their own fuel, repairs and uniforms by illegally classifying them as independent contractors.    » read more »

05/22/2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Senators John Kerry and Barack Obama today announced that the Senate passed the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (The "HEART Act"). The Act would provide tax relief to the men and women in our nation's armed services and others volunteering service on behalf of the United States, including Peace Corps volunteers and AmeriCorps volunteers – and is paid for by the Kerry-Obama tax reform that closed the tax loophole that allowed defense contractor KBR to avoid paying its fair share of taxes.

Young Barack Obama supporter: Photo by Adam Lisagor (CC)    » read more »

Alternative Energy Tax Credits Renewed and Expanded; Individual Tax Relief Extended for Millions

May 21, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC - This week, as the price of oil soared past $130 per barrel, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) joined a majority in the U.S. House to approve two measures aimed at addressing America's immediate energy needs and investing in the nation's long-term energy future.

Wind farm, Texas: Photo by fieldsbh (CC)    » read more »

05/21/2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator John Kerry and Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D – Ill.) criticized the White House for opposing reform that would close a tax loophole that allows hedge fund managers and CEOs to defer compensation offshore. In a released statement on H.R. 6049, the Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008, the Administration says it “strongly opposes” the deferred compensation provision.

This provision is based on the Offshore Deferred Compensation Reform Act of 2007 introduced by Kerry and Emanuel on October 18, 2007. The legislation was introduced in response to news accounts of U.S. hedge fund managers being able to defer billions of dollars of compensation offshore. The closing of this loophole would raise $24 billion over 10 years.    » read more »

May 19, 2008 -- Editorial pages around the country are weighing on the McCain campaign's hypocrisy on tax returns and transparency. Despite his efforts to craft an image as a champion of transparency in government, Senator McCain refuses to apply those standards of accountability and openness to himself.

John and Cindy McCain: Photo by Steph (CC)

In addition to releasing just two years of his own tax returns--far less than any party nominee since Ronald Reagan in 1980--the McCain campaign is refusing to release Mrs. McCain's tax returns, even if she becomes First Lady.    » read more »

Governor also signs additional bills promoting Georgia industries

May 14, 2008 -- ATLANTA – Today Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed legislation capping the sales tax on energy used in the manufacturing process. HB 272 provides a cap for certain energy prices over which no additional state sales and use tax will be paid by manufacturers. Commodities subject to this partial exemption include natural gas, No. 2 fuel oil, No. 6 fuel oil, propane, petroleum coke, coal and the fuel cost recovery charge component of retail electricity rates.    » read more »

May 14, 2008 -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today, in an appeal filed with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is seeking to uphold a provision of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act that bars the federal government from imposing unreimbursed costs on towns and cities.

The appeal seeks to recover hundreds of millions of dollars that Connecticut towns and cities are being forced to spend - illegally, without federal reimbursement - in order to comply with NCLB.

Blumenthal is appealing from the U.S. District Court, which declined to rule on the actual merits of his case. Blumenthal has asked the court to uphold that the Unfunded Mandates Provision under NCLB means what it says it means:    » read more »

May 14, 2008 -- The John McCain campaign's decision to withhold Cindy McCain's tax returns is drawing criticism from across the political spectrum. This morning, editorials in both the Washington Post and Washington Times echoed calls for the McCain campaign to release Cindy McCain's tax returns.

John and Cindy McCain: Photo by Chris Dunn (CC)

This follows a column in yesterday's New York Observer that blasts McCain for his hypocrisy on disclosure, noting that Mrs. McCain's corporate jet "has been flying him and his entourage of lobbyists around the country at bargain rates."    » read more »