Tax News Jan. 17 - 21

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News
FRIDAY
Administration officials and House Lawmakers Eye Corporate Tax Reform
Much interest in both parties, but tremendous obstacles would lie ahead.
Tax Reform Hearing Spurs Deep Congressional Rift
As the House Ways and Means Committee kicks off its first hearing on overhauling the tax code, the focus is on business taxes and the push to lower the corporate tax rate.

THURSDAY
Tech firms tie repatriation to job growth
Tech companies are urging Congress this year to consider a tax break designed to entice corporations into bringing billions of dollars in offshore earnings back to the United States.

WEDNESDAY
Sweeteners added to recession-battling tax breaks
Congress in December also approved a patch for the alternative minimum tax that will protect about 20 million middle-income families from an additional tax bill of $3,900 or so.

TUESDAY
States eye 'sin' taxation as salvation for budgets
Cash-strapped state lawmakers across the country are looking at raising "sin" taxes on everything from traditional vices, like smoking cigarettes and imbibing alcohol, to more recently vilified habits like drinking sugary sodas and hitting the tanning salon.
Average tax refund in 2010: $3,003
Taxpayers received an average refund of about $3,000 last year -- a 5% boost from the previous year.

Economist Comments
FRIDAY
MINTON: Assault on alcohol
Proposed Maryland tax would cost drinkers and nondrinkers alike.

THURSDAY
Tax reform: Spur jobs, reduce deficit
Today, the House Ways and Means Committee is meeting to discuss reforming the U.S. tax code. Though in its early stages, I believe tax reform can be one of the most promising areas for bipartisan cooperation in this new Congress. Members of both parties can agree that a tax code that unleashes economic productivity, creates middle-class jobs and reduces the deficit would be a major boost to our economic future.
Will Idaho Inch Away From Gov's "No New Taxes" Pledge?
For anyone still trying to get the taste of the Illinois tax hikes out of their mouth, the case of Idaho may prove a welcome palate cleanser. The state, which balanced its budget last fiscal year without raising taxes, may actually begin to reduce income tax rates starting in 2013.

WEDNESDAY
FEULNER: Restoring economic freedom
Taxes are at burdensome levels, and the corporate rate here is one of the highest among developed nations.
The Anti-Illinois
Georgia debates a tax reform with lower rates.
RAHN: Corporate taxes are self-defeating
America's anti-business taxes have put it at a competitive disadvantage.

TUESDAY
New Health-Care Reform: Taxing Us All to Death
Starting this month, the $5 billion medicine cabinet tax goes into effect. This means Americans can't use pre-tax accounts - such as HSAs, or FSAs for over-the-counter meds.

Blogs
FRIDAY
State, Local Government Revenue Growth Poised to Accelerate
State and local tax revenues, which have resumed growing after a long slide, are poised to accelerate as consumer spending recovers and the job market continues to mend, according to a research note by Joseph A. LaVorgna at Deutsche Bank.
America's Most Bizarre Taxes
The one thing that is safe to assume, is that there are a number of taxes in America (typically unique to just one State) that tend to be on the weirder side. From pets to bagels, to candy to crack, here’s a look at some of America’s slightly bizarre taxes...
Taxes May Go Up This Year for Higher-Income Households and Businesses
State government officials, recently deprived of the huge transfers to their coffers under the first Obama stimulus plan, are now exploring legislative changes to permit them to declare bankruptcy, which they are now prohibited from doing.

THURSDAY
Reid: Taxes, spending and immigration reform top Senate agenda
Taxes, spending and immigration reform top Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) goals for this Congress, he said Tuesday night.

WEDNESDAY
Revisiting Bush 2008 Stimulus: Maybe It Did Spur Spending After All
...on average, households spent between 12% and 30% of their rebates on nondurables — things that don’t last for more than three years — and another chunk on cars and other durables, bringing the amount spent (as opposed to saved or used to pay down debt) to between 50% and 90% in the six months following receipt of the stimulus.
How About Tax Reparations For The Rich?
The predominant attitude has been: let a person make as much money as he can, provided he earns it. The reason class warfare rhetoric has been effective of late is because the practitioners of class warfare have largely succeeded in painting the rich as unproductive parasites.

TUESDAY
On “Tax Expenditures”
Given that in this world we are cursed with the necessity to suffer the existence of government, it is certainly the case that some patterns of taxation are morally better – or “fairer” – than others. It is also certainly the case that some patterns of taxation have worse consequences on the private economy than do others.
The IRS Run Amok
On January 7, the tax-collection bureaucracy proposed a regulation that, if implemented, would force American financial institutions to put foreign tax law above US tax law.

Reports
FRIDAY
Obamacare and New Taxes: Destroying Jobs and the Economy
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)[1] imposes numerous tax hikes that transfer more than $500 billion over 10 years—and more in the future—from hardworking American families and businesses to Congress for spending on new entitlements and subsidies.