Tax
Alert
A bi-weekly Report by D.
Ansell
Volume 6 Issue
11
May 27th, 1999
Arkansas just says no to Bill
Clinton
In a stunning defeat in his own state, President
Clinton was slapped in the face by his own constituents. On May
25th, Arkansas defeated a proposed 1 cent sales tax
increase. Part of these funds were to be used to pay for the
site of the presidential library.
According to the Hotline, Skip Rutherford, a friend
of the president, said, “It’s the people who have not liked the
president all along. They dislike anyone associated with the
library.” Tax Alert notes that the vote to defeat the tax increase
was 69% in favor to 31% opposed. The vast right-wing conspiracy
strikes again!
California Democrats grant
“domestic partner” benefits
The Democratic leadership announced its support for
domestic partner benefits this week. This legislation would
guarantee taxpayer-paid benefits to the 2,000 legislative
employees, but, more importantly, open the door to the 300,000
state employees who are eager to join in the fun. These
benefits are estimated to cost the taxpayer as much as $340 a
month a person and pay for health care and maternity leave.
District of Columbia proves
Washington can cut taxes
The Catania-Evans tax cut plan, as adopted, will
provide $893 million in tax
relief over the next five years.
Key features of the tax cut would:
Reduce by one-third personal
income taxes for individuals with taxable
income of less than
$10,000 from the current rate of 6% to 4%;
Reduce the
middle-income tax rate by 25% from the current rate of 8% to 6%;
Reduce the marginal tax rate for the highest income bracket
from the current 9.5% to 8.5%;
Incrementally adjust the top
income tax bracket which currently begins at $20,000 to
$40,000;
Reduce the franchise business tax by
15%;
Residential property taxes will be reduced by
37%;
Commercial property taxes will be reduced by
14%;
Exempts the first 50,000 from personal property taxes
and
Exempts Internet access charges from the sales tax.
Hero and Villain
update
The May 1999 Villain was announced as Alaska
Democrat Gov. Tony Knowles. His proposed income tax
was killed with nary a vote. Not even one Democrat voted for the
legislation.
The Hero award was given jointly to State Sens. Joe
Bruno and Dean Skelos for successfully leading the opposition to
end the dreaded New York commuter tax.
Mississippi governor set to call
Special Session
Gov. Kirk Fordice (R-Miss.) is considering calling a
special session to consider an income tax cut plan. The
legislation, sponsored by Republican gubernatorial candidate
Charlie Williams (chairman of the House Ways and Means
Committee), passed the House with 90% of the vote. Interestingly,
Lt. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, a Democratic candidate for governor, led
the charge to squash the legislation in the Senate. His efforts
led to his nomination for the notorious “Villain of the Taxpayer”
award. The governor and fiscal conservatives are hoping a special
session will make it difficult to kill another tax cut, especially
since the state is enjoying a comfortable budget surplus. ATR and
Tax Alert will be monitoring these events.
Illinois Governor Breaks
Pledge
As reported in the last Tax Alert, Illinois Gov.
George Ryan will get his wish, a $12 billion bloated budget loaded
with tax increases and a budget surplus for dessert. The state
will raise taxes on distilled spirits and licenses and save over
$1 billion from a budget surplus last year. This was a sad day for
taxpayers in Illinois, and many activists and legislators are
already saying the elderly governor is contemplating a retirement
in Wisconsin. Hope the fishing is good guv!
To arrange an interview, on these issues,
contact Damon Ansell at
202-785-0266.
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