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Tax
Alert
A bi-weekly Report by
Damon B. Ansell and Kate Meerstein
Volume 6 Issue 32
June 22,
2000
Arizona governor’s efforts to raise
taxes stumble
The special session, called
by Gov. Jane Dee Hull (R), is on its 16th day costing
taxpayers $5,200 a day.
Jeff Groscost, speaker of the House, has an idea on how to end
the impasse. Groscost
is blaming Hull for the lack of action in this special session
because she called it without lining up enough support for her
plan. Even Hull's
allies are admitting that she never had enough votes to back her
plan.
Groscost is letting Hull's
plan move forward, but it has been completely gutted eliminating a
sales tax increase. He
is rounding up the 31 votes needed to get the plan passed in the
House. He thinks he can
bring the measure to the floor of the House this week for a
vote.
Tennessee
governor/legislature recovering after being kicked in the teeth,
left dazed and confused
After failing three times to pass an income tax,
vetoing a smaller excise tax package and failing to pass a tax on
radio shows, Gov. Don Sundquist (R-Tenn.) is beaten but not into
submission. He
continues to dream of an income tax although he campaigned against
it when seeking office.
Meanwhile, the State Assembly
leadership, in order to continue state services at current spending
levels should the budget impasse not be resolved, has worked out a
plan. Gov. Sundquist,
not to be outdone, continues to push for an income tax, but is
preparing to submit legislation on how he plans to keep the state
running if the budget is not passed by July 1. House and Senate Joint
Budget Conference Committee members are meeting to try to close the
$325 million gap between the House and Senate plans. Tax proposals are still
being considered, such as a tax on services, a gross receipts tax,
or taxing untaxed goods such as newspapers and magazines.
Louisiana governor finds out he has
few friends
Per Gov. Mike Foster’s
(R-La.) request, the legislature is back for a 10 day special
session to approve the budget that would go into effect on July
1. So far it looks like
it is going to go through rather quickly as opposed to the regular
session that included increasing taxes by $211 million and cutting
the budget gap by $100 million. The state is projecting an
increase in oil revenue to be $38 million, which would cut the $250
million gap. Other
bills up for consideration are a proposal to increase hunting
license fees to cover a shortfall in the Wildlife and Fisheries
Department and a bill to increase tuition to public
universities.
The governor’s popularity has
fallen quite a bit over the past two months as well as the
legislature’s according to a poll by several television
stations. This should
not be surprising to anyone seeing how he has proposed taxing almost
every corporation or person in his own state, just so he can keep
spending and spending.
First the VAT (value-added tax), then telecomm taxes, were
targeted, then excise taxes, and finally oil and gas, you name it he
has tried to raise them.
Corporate welfare gift close to
passage in Pa.
For more information,
contact Chad Cowan at 202-785-0266.
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