Federal-State Issues
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Senate’s Balanced Budget Amendment Could Force Deep Cuts in Aid to States
December 14, 2011
The Republican-sponsored version of a constitutional balanced budget amendment, which the Senate voted on today, would require enormous federal budget cuts, very likely resulting in dramatic reductions in federal grants to states and localities for services ranging from education to highway maintenance to public safety. The attached … -
New School Year Brings Steep Cuts in State Funding for Schools
Updated October 7, 2011
To view the updated paper see: New School Year Brings More Cuts in State Funding for Schools Elementary and high schools are receiving less state funding than last year in at least 37 states, and in at least 30 states school funding now stands below 2008 levels – often far below. These cuts are attributable, in part, to the failure of the federal … -
Raising Medicare’s Eligibility Age Would Increase Overall Health Spending and Shift Costs to Seniors, States, and Employers
August 23, 2011
Raising Medicare's eligibility age from 65 to 67, which the new Joint Select Committee will likely consider this fall as a deficit-reduction measure, would not only fail to constrain health care costs across the economy; it would increase them. While this proposal would save the federal government money, it would do so by shifting costs … -
Proposed “Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act” Likely to do More Harm Than Good In Current Form
August 11, 2011
The Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2011 (S. 971/H.R. 1860) would regulate state and local taxation of downloaded music and movies and online services like photo storage and payroll processing. One section of the legislation — a set of so-called "sourcing rules" specifying which … -
Case for Regulating State and Local Taxation of Digital Goods and Services has Little Merit
August 11, 2011
A bill before Congress, the Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2011 or DGSTFA (S. 971/H.R. 1860), would regulate states' and localities' taxation of downloaded music, movies and online services like photo storage and payroll processing. Though proponents of the legislation claim that it is needed to … -
Camp-Hatch Proposal Would Harm Long-Term Unemployed and Weaken Recovery
June 13, 2011
Legislation from House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch would rescind the federal government’s commitment to provide unemployment insurance (UI) benefits through 2011 to Americans who have been out of work for more than half a year and are still looking for a job. Their bill … -
Federal “Business Activity Tax Nexus” Legislation: Half of a Two-Pronged Strategy to Gut State Corporate Income Taxes
Updated May 13, 2011
Major multistate corporations are engaged in a two-pronged lobbying strategy aimed at substantially increasing the share of their nationwide profit that is not taxed by any state. The strategy involves the enactment of complementary state and federal legislation. The state legislation — which corporations have already … -
Proponents' Case for a Federally-Imposed Business Activity Tax Nexus Threshold Has Little Merit
Updated April 27, 2011
A bill under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives would strip states of their current authority to tax a fair share of the profits of many corporations that are based out-of-state but do business within their borders. The Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law of the House Judiciary Committee held a … -
States Can Avert New Revenue Loss And Protect Their Economies by Decoupling From Federal Expensing Provision
Updated April 14, 2011
A recent change in federal tax law regarding business investment in machinery and equipment could be very costly for many states and hurt their economies. Eighteen states are on track to lose $4.6 billion in state corporate and individual income tax revenues during the current and next two state fiscal years: some … -
Proposed “Business Activity Tax Nexus” Legislation Would Seriously Undermine State Taxes on Corporate Profits And Harm the Economy
Updated April 13, 2011
A bill recently reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would strip states of their current authority to tax a fair share of the profits of many corporations that are based out-of-state but do business within their borders. Representative Bob Goodlatte reintroduced the “Business Activity Tax Simplification Act” … -
State and Local Governments Should Close Online Hotel Tax Loophole and Collect Taxes Owed
April 12, 2011
State and local governments throughout the United States are losing roughly $275 million to $400 million in revenue each year because of their failure to ensure that online travel companies like Expedia, Orbitz, and Priceline collect and remit the appropriate amount of tax on hotel room bookings. Online travel companies (OTCs) typically pay applicable … -
What if Ryan's Medicaid Block Grant Had Taken Effect in 2000?
April 12, 2011
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s radical proposal to convert Medicaid to a block grant, which the House will consider this week as part of Ryan’s sweeping budget plan, would have cut federal Medicaid funds to most states by more than 25 percent by 2009 and to several of them by more than 40 percent if it … -
Proposed Public Employee Pension Reporting Requirements Are Unnecessary
March 15, 2011
In February, Congressmen Devin Nunes and Darrell Issa (both California Republicans) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis) introduced legislation (H.R. 567) to require states and local governments to report their pension liabilities to the federal government using what is known as a “riskless rate” — an interest rate tied to … -
Press Release: State Unemployment Insurance Systems Need Major Reforms to Avoid Employer Tax Increases, Deep Benefit Cuts for Jobless Workers
February 9, 2011
Issued Jointly With Many states’ systems for financing unemployment insurance (UI) are broken and, without major reforms, will remain broken, requiring years of high federal taxes on employers and threatening UI’s role as a key economic stabilizer during recessions, according to a major new report … -
An Update on State Budget Cuts
Updated February 9, 2011
See the following reports for more up-to-date data: State Budget Cuts in the New Fiscal Year Are Unnecessarily Harmful, July 28, 2011 New School Year Brings Steep Cuts in State Funding for Schools, October 7, 2011 With tax revenue still declining as a result of the recession and budget reserves largely drained, the vast majority of states have … -
Rebuilding the Unemployment Insurance System: A Deficit-Neutral Plan That Limits Tax Increases and Maintains Benefits
February 8, 2011
Issued Jointly With The systems for financing unemployment insurance (UI) in many states are broken and, without major reforms, they will remain broken through this decade and beyond, requiring years of high federal taxes on employers and threatening the system’s role as a key economic stabilizer during …
