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Archive for the ‘Tax Policy’ Category

Property Taxes: Are Anchorage Commercial Properties Paying Their Fair Share?

In Tax Policy on October 28, 2009 at 1:22 pm

A couple of weeks ago Mayor Sullivan invited me to his office so that I could conduct an interview for Alaska Health Policy Review about his views on health policy.  At the end of that interview, I asked his permission to diverge to a completely different topic — property taxes.  He allowed the question…

I want to ask you one question that really comes from a completely different ball park. I want to talk about property taxes. I have only one question on this subject. I noticed in one of your press releases, I think you mentioned that property taxes were going up. Read the rest of this entry »

In General, Low-Income Families, Retirement Security, Tax Policy on November 21, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Cropped picture of Joseph Stiglitz, U.S. econo...

Joseph Stiglitz Image via Wikipedia

[This letter, signed by 387 economists, including Nobel Laureates Joseph Stiglitz, Robert Solow, and George Akerlof, urges Congress to move quickly and decisively to pass an effective new economic stimulus package.]

The Honorable Henry Reid           The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Senate Majority Leader                 Speaker of the House
Washington, DC 20510                 Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Mitch McConnell          The Honorable John Boehner
Senate Minority Leader                        House Minority Leader
Washington, DC 20510                       Washington, DC 20515

Dear Sen. Reid, Sen. McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, and Rep. Boehner:

We, the undersigned economists, urge Congress to pass a new stimulus package as quickly as possible. The need to deal with financial turmoil has directed attention away from the “real” economy. But the latest data clearly show that the economy is entering a serious recession, initiated by the collapse of homebuilding and intensified by the paralysis of credit markets. Without a fast an effective response by government, the economy could continue to spiral downward, leading to a large increase in unemployment and a sharp decline in GDP. Read the rest of this entry »

Commonwealth Fund Compares Candidate Health Plans

In General, Low-Income Families, Public Health Policy, Tax Policy on October 23, 2008 at 6:12 pm

The following is the executive summary of a longer analysis of Obama’s and McCain’s health plans. The analysis was conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, a widely respected foundation that analyzes national and international health plans. The full report is available on their website.

INTRODUCTION

With the 2008 presidential election just weeks away, health care reform is at the top of the nation’s domestic policy agenda. The soaring costs of health care, along with a faltering economy and lackluster wage growth, are leaving many working families without insurance or with medical expenses that consume a large share of their incomes. A recent Commonwealth Fund study found that nearly two-thirds of working-age adults—an estimated 116 million people—either were uninsured for a time during 2007, were insured but had such high medical costs compared with their incomes that they were underinsured, reported a problem paying medical bills, or did not get needed care because of its cost. Over the past seven years, such problems have crept up the income scale among people with and without health insurance. Consequently, voters are calling for change: eight of 10 adults said in a May survey that the health care system is in need of a major overhaul or fundamental reform. Read the rest of this entry »

How Vulnerable is Alaska's Economy to Reduced Federal Spending?

In General, Tax Policy on July 19, 2008 at 8:49 am

{{w|Ted Stevens}}, United States Senator. Offi...Image via WikipediaThe University of Alaska Anchorage Institute for Social and Economic Analysis (ISER) is a real powerhouse in terms of regularly generating important new Research with implications for public policy in Alaska. The latest is Research Matters No. 35. How Vulnerable is Alaska’s Economy to Reduced Federal Spending? An excerpt from a recent ISER communication summarizes this research:

The federal government spent $9.25 billion in Alaska in 2006, and about a third of all jobs in Alaska can be traced, in one way or another, to that spending. Big increases in federal spending drove much of the economic growth in Alaska over the past decade. But now federal spending has stopped growing, and many Alaskans are worried that Alaska is vulnerable to cuts in spending, as the federal budget tightens. Read the rest of this entry »

The ACLU and Public Policy

In General, Tax Policy on June 15, 2008 at 9:25 am

American Civil Liberties UnionImage via Wikipedia The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska and the ACLU of Alaska Foundation are non-partisan organizations dedicated to advancing the cause of civil liberties in Alaska. The former fulfills its mission through legislative advocacy, coalition building, and grassroots advocacy. The latter pursues the same mission through public education and legal action.

The ACLU is currently involved in four lawsuits which could have significant public policy implications: Read the rest of this entry »

Aiding States to Stimulate the National Economy

In General, Tax Policy on January 27, 2008 at 8:10 pm

As Congress debates a stimulus to the economy in the wake of the housing bust, many economists are urging federal leaders to make aid to state governments a core part of the package. While direct tax rebates for individuals can help, it will not do much for the economy if states are forced to cut back on critical spending on public works, health care, and education at the same time. As Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, who was also chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors in the 1990s, wrote this week in the New York Times:

The federal government should also provide some assistance to states and localities, which are already beginning to feel the pinch, as property values have fallen. Typically, they respond by cutting spending, and this acts as an automatic destabilizer.

What should go into that stimulus package for states? A few key components include spending on repairing our infrastructure, retrofitting buildings for energy savings, and funding SCHIP and Medicaid to cover families facing rising health costs.

See the rest of this article in a recent issue of Stateside Dispatch.

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Tax and Cash "Incentives" for Industry in Alaska

In General, Tax Policy on December 14, 2007 at 6:22 pm

The state of Alaska has a wide range of mechanisms to give tax and cash “incentives” to industry.  These range from state loans and loan guarantees to revenue bond financing and a variety of tax incentives.  See a summary of Alaska’s giveaways to industry and compare them with all the other state incentive plans in a chart prepared by Site Selection Online.  Do these giveaways of public dollars and resources result in the expected outcomes, and are they worth it?  I sure would like to see the follow-up studies that would answer the questions.

ldw

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Is Wal-Mart Paying Fair Property Tax Assessments?

In Tax Policy on October 22, 2007 at 1:15 pm

The first-ever investigation of Wal-Mart’s local property tax records finds that the retail giant systematically seeks to minimize its payment of taxes that support public schools and other vital government services. That is the key finding of Rolling Back Property Tax Payments, a report released October 10 by Good Jobs First, a non-profit, non-partisan research center in Washington, DC. Read the rest of this entry »

Innovative State Policies: How Would They Fare in Alaska?

In General, Low-Income Families, Public Health Policy, Tax Policy on June 5, 2007 at 6:04 pm

Yes, it is an odd name–The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy–but the organization features some very innovative ideas. DMI describes itself in this way:

The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to challenging the tired orthodoxies of both the right and the left. The goal: progressive public policy for social and economic fairness.

Currently, DMI is focusing on several innovative state programs that could provide very interesting models for Alaska. Read the rest of this entry »

Federal Tax: Who Pays, and Where Does It Go?

In Tax Policy on April 10, 2007 at 10:38 pm

It’s tax time, and what better place to go for an explanation of tax policies and related issues than the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. See, for example, the just-released Where do Our Tax Dollars Go? Despite my dismay with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, I feel a modicum of wellbeing knowing that more than twice as much of my federal taxes go to support Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and Safety Net Programs than war. Federal Tax Burdens in Historical Perspective was also just released. Read the rest of this entry »

Three-Way Conversation about Anchorage Property Taxes

In Tax Policy on March 26, 2007 at 5:13 pm

Late February of this year I sent the following letter to the Anchorage Daily News editor:

I am baffled by the Daily News’ righteous indignation expressed in the Feb. 14 editorial, “Tax shift no answer.” The Fairbanks City Council approved a resolution asking legislators to shift more property tax responsibility to commercial properties and away from residential properties. The Daily News response was “shifting the tax burden from residential property owners to commercial property owners … is not fair and is not the answer.”

I would respond, “How would you know? You offer no analysis.” Read the rest of this entry »

Alaskans Pay $780,600,000 for Iraq War

In General, Tax Policy on March 13, 2007 at 3:49 pm

According to the National Priorities Project, Alaskans soon will have collectively paid $780,600,000 for the war in Iraq. This figure is based on a total cost of $456 billion. Around $378 billion has already been spent or allocated by Congress, and Congress will debate additional war spending. The National Priorities Project estimates around $78 billion will be for the Iraq War. The $456 billion number is the total if Congress were to approve the additional spending requested. I have a little trouble putting my arms around Alaska’s three-quarters of a billion dollars, and maybe you do too, so think of it this way: Read the rest of this entry »

Property Tax Reform

In Tax Policy on January 15, 2007 at 7:40 pm

Governor Corzine Highlights Property Tax Reform in New Jersey

In his state of the state address, New Jersey Governor Corzine outlined a proposed property tax reform package and emphasized property tax breaks that are fairly progressive in terms of who benefits. The proposed package would reduce property taxes by 20% for those with incomes less than $100,000. Those with incomes of $100,000 to $150,000 would see 15% reductions, and those with incomes of $150,000 to $250,000 would see a reduction of 10%. In addition to the tax cuts, the proposal would also cap the amount property taxes can be increased per year at 4%.  (Courtesy of Citizens for Tax Justice)

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Coalition on Human Needs Policy Priorities

In General, Low-Income Families, Tax Policy on January 1, 2007 at 9:28 pm

The Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) is an important and influential national alliance of more than 100 organizations working together to promote public policies that address the needs of low-income people and other vulnerable populations. Members of the Coalition include civil rights, religious, labor and professional organizations and those concerned with the well being of children, women, the elderly, immigrants and people with disabilities.

The mission of the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) is to build a national community that embraces the American values of opportunity and compassion, with particular attention paid to the needs of the most deeply poor. Consequently, in light of both its mission and its national stature and influence, it is an important event when CHN releases a major public policy statement.

On December 14, 2006, the Coalition Board of Directors adopted public policy priorities for the Coalition. Read the rest of this entry »

Center for Policy Alternatives

In General, Low-Income Families, Oil and Energy, Public Health Policy, Retirement Security, Tax Policy on December 21, 2006 at 11:28 am

The Center for Policy Alternatives accurately describes itself as:

…the nation’s only nonpartisan nonprofit organization working to strengthen the capacity of state legislators to lead and achieve progressive change.

The CPA website has a number of extremely useful elements on it. For example, the State Action Blog contains a running commentary about recent progressive legislation enacted at the state level throughout the nation. Read the rest of this entry »

The Bush Tax Cuts: Are Alaskans Better Off?

In Low-Income Families, Tax Policy on October 29, 2006 at 5:10 am

Our colleagues at Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) have recently issued another of their Alaska-specific analyses of the consequences of this administration’s tax cuts on Alaskan families…

Over the past six years, President George W. Bush and his allies in Congress have enacted multiple rounds of major tax cuts, including special tax breaks for capital gains and dividends, reductions in personal income tax rates, estate tax cuts and an array of corporate tax loopholes. This issue brief summarizes the effects of the Bush tax cuts on Alaskans at different income levels.

There are two key findings: First of all, the tax breaks enacted since 2001 are heavily skewed towards the very wealthiest few. Second, because the tax cuts are being paid for with borrowed money, the cost of paying the added national debt more than wipes out any benefits from the tax cuts for 99 percent of Alaskans. Only the best-off one percent of Alaskans are net winners. Read the rest of this entry »

Forum on Two Important Ballot Initiatives

In General, Oil and Energy, Tax Policy on October 13, 2006 at 7:45 pm
Alaska Common Ground
Presents a Public Forum
What You Should Know About the Two
November Ballot Initiatives

Wednesday, October 25th, 2006
7-9:30pm
Wilda Marston Theater at the Loussac Library
3600 Denali St, Anchorage

Ballot Measure 1:

90-DAY SESSION LIMIT FOR LEGISLATURE
This initiative would reduce the maximum length of a regular
legislative session from 121 days to 90 days.
Speakers: Rep. Jay Ramras, sponsor of 90-Day Session Initiative
Joe Josephson, former legislator

Ballot Measure 2:

GAS RESERVES TAX
This initiative would levy a new state tax on certain oil and gas leases
overlying large deposits of natural gas. When a major gas pipeline
system is built and gas is transported, the resource tax will be repealed.
Speakers: Rep. Eric Croft, sponsor of Reserves Tax Initiative
Roger Marks, Petroleum Economist, State of Alaska ,
Gregg Erickson, Economic Consultant
Prof. Scott Goldsmith, University of Alaska

Hear pro and con presentations and join in the discussion.

Contact us: Cliff Groh, 952-3353, cIiff.groh63mail.com
Peg Tileston, 56 1-0540, pe@alashnet

Talking Taxes

In Tax Policy on September 3, 2006 at 7:38 am

Oil taxes. Gas taxes. Property taxes. Sales Taxes. Inheritance taxes. And that is just the beginning. Tax policies can be enormously complex, and public discussion about them seems to be decidedly partisan, unenlightening, and often occurs in a relatively fact-free environment. So, what to do? Read the rest of this entry »

99 Percent of Alaskans Lose Money From “Tax Cuts”

In Tax Policy on July 7, 2006 at 4:10 pm

For every dollar we get in a tax cut, we are burdened with over $3 dollars of new debt. A new report jointly released by the Alaska Center for Public Policy and by Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) finds that the “borrow-and-spend” fiscal policies of the Bush administration have saddled most Alaskans with a debt burden that far exceeds the value of the meager tax cuts we have received since 2001. Read the rest of this entry »

Spending Millions to Save Billions

In Tax Policy on May 29, 2006 at 2:11 pm

The Alaska Center for Public Policy is proud to be one of hundreds of state and national organizations to sign on to a letter to the United States Senate. The sign-on letter was drafted by Americans for a Fair Estate Tax (which includes OMB Watch, United for a Fair Economy, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, The Coalition on Human Needs, and other organizations. More detailed information about this issue is available in a document entitled Spending Millions to Save Billions: The Campaign of the Super Wealthy to Kill the Estate Tax which was authored by Public Citizen and United for a Fair Economy. The letter follows: Read the rest of this entry »

Democracy or Corporate State?

In Oil and Energy, Tax Policy on May 23, 2006 at 8:05 pm

One of my colleagues is a thoughtful and mild-mannered policy analyst. I don’t hear from him very often, but clearly he is becoming increasingly alarmed by some of the issues surrounding the Governor’s dealings with the multinational energy companies. With permission, I am reproducing here part of a powerfully stated and deeply disturbing email message I recently received from him: Read the rest of this entry »

The Gas

In Oil and Energy, Tax Policy on April 28, 2006 at 1:33 pm

This is the fourth blog in a series. Please click here to view the previous blogs.

The gas pipeline negotiations are complex. The complexity and confusion are heightened by the fact that Governor Murkowski won’t show the gas pipeline contract to the Legislature. Here are some of the highlights of the gas pipeline considerations. Read the rest of this entry »

How much is $1 Billion?

In Oil and Energy, Tax Policy on April 28, 2006 at 1:31 pm

This is the third blog in a series. Click here to view previous blogs.

The Alaska State Legislature recently put out an RFP requesting a review of the State Medicaid program. Like every state in the nation, Alaska is facing a Medicaid budget crisis. Last year, the state’s share of the Medicaid budget was $380 million. Total, the state and federal total budget for Alaska’s Medicaid program was approximately
$1 Billion.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Oil

In Oil and Energy, Tax Policy on April 28, 2006 at 1:29 pm

The following is a very brief overview of the oil production tax currently under scrutiny in the State Legislature. The debate is complex, and this blog highlights only a few points.

This is the second blog in a series. Please click here to view the previous blogs.

The Oil

Oil was discovered in the 1960s on the North Slope. In the 1970s, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) was built, enabling producers to harvest the oil and bring it to market. The pipeline runs from the Slope to Valdez, where it is shipped to the Lower 48 and foreign markets. Read the rest of this entry »

Oil and Gas 101

In Oil and Energy, Tax Policy on April 28, 2006 at 1:27 pm

The ACPP Blog has had several good posts on the oil and gas issues. These are complex issues that have incredible implications for the future of Alaska – in virtually every aspect of life.

However, when you ask the public about oil and gas, you are likely to get an answer about whether or not we should be drilling in ANWR. While this is also a worthy debate, it demonstrates that the general public does not seem to have a basic understanding of what is happening in the Legislature with regards to oil and gas production.
Read the rest of this entry »

Influencing Policy By Threatening Nonprofits

In Oil and Energy, Tax Policy on April 10, 2006 at 5:36 pm

This letter was sent to United Way of Anchorage by Senator Hollis French and Representative Les Gara. I think it speaks for itself…

April 10, 2006

United Way of Anchorage
701 W. 8th Ave.
Anchorage, AK 99501

Dear XXXXX:

We recently learned that representatives from your organization and other Anchorage nonprofits were invited to attend a meeting hosted by ConocoPhillips to hear their view of the bipartisan tax reform efforts underway in Juneau. While we very much appreciate the work of ConocoPhillips and the other energy companies in this state, we question some of the information you may have been provided at the meeting, and believe it may have caused some undue concern by your and other non-profit agencies on tight budgets. Read the rest of this entry »

A Clouded Issue

In Low-Income Families, Tax Policy on April 2, 2006 at 10:39 pm

Once up a time, there was a great bill. A bill that would help prevent homelessness due to bankruptcies and foreclosures. A bill that allowed low-income individuals and families to defer their property tax payments when they were unable to pay them. It was called Senate Bill 193.

“Hey wait…I thought Senate Bill 193 gave property tax breaks to church ministers.” Read the rest of this entry »

Anchorage Property Tax Bafflers

In Tax Policy on April 2, 2006 at 10:25 pm
I have been thinking about property taxes lately, and talking to a few “people in the know,” and I remain baffled by a few things.  For example, in an earlier blog I quoted a study by UAA’s Institute for Social and Economic Research :

By any measure the growth in commercial assessed value has not kept up with residential. ….. The total assessed value of commercial property is less today than it was in 1980, after adjusting for inflation. Read the rest of this entry »

30 New MOA Employees Needed To Administer Sales Tax

In Tax Policy on March 30, 2006 at 9:22 am

Here is a rather amazing quote from the March 26 issue of Alaska Journal of Commerce. The quote is from Jeff Sinz, Anchorage’s Chief Financial Officer, regarding Proposition 13, the proposed sales tax: Read the rest of this entry »

Now Available: Sales Tax Calculator

In Tax Policy on March 15, 2006 at 10:05 am

Assembly Member Allan Tesche and his colleague Dick Tremaine have devised a sales tax calculator tool so you can plug in your personal information to find out how a sales tax would impact your family. The tax calculator is built on an Excel spread sheet, so you will need to have a recent copy of Excel software to run the calculator. It is a good tool to measure the personal impact of a specific public policy. Contact Allan Tesche to order your free copy of the sales tax calculator. See the collection of ACPP tax policy blog postings for additional information on this topic.

ldw

Sales Tax: How Real Families Would Be Affected

In Tax Policy on February 28, 2006 at 4:37 pm

I have written before in this blog about various aspects of the proposed Anchorage sales tax, however I was struck by the lack of serious analysis and projects considering the importance of the subject. I was forced to rely on various studies that were done earlier in Alaska, or were done elsewhere. However, I just obtained some very interesting material from Assembly Member Allan Tesche that begins to provide some of the missing local, contemporary analysis. Read the rest of this entry »

Billions for BP: Trickle Down for Alaska

In Oil and Energy, Tax Policy on February 18, 2006 at 12:40 pm

British Petroleum raked in $66 billion dollars in revenue this last quarter, up 22% over the previous quarter. BP cleared $3.7 billion in profits during the same period. A lot of this revenue came from Alaska oil, oil that belongs to Alaskans–oil that belongs to homeless Alaskans, Alaska veterans, Alaska children who do not have health insurance, Alaska young people that cannot afford tuition, and Alaska rural residents who have seen their village budgets decimated. It is our oil, but their revenue, and their profits. Sounds like bad public policy, but–better late than never–perhaps this gross injustice will be tweaked in the not too distant future… Read the rest of this entry »

Property Taxes: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

In Tax Policy on February 9, 2006 at 7:45 am

We come to the consideration of property taxes indirectly, by way of consideration of sales taxes touted as “property tax relief” for home owners. We have had several previous blog articles on the issues of sales and property taxes. This discussion will takes us a bit further into the issues of property taxes. Here is why–as taxes go, property taxes are almost always more fair and more equitable than sales taxes, so it may make a lot more sense to explore our options with property taxes before plunging headlong into sales taxes, as some Assembly members are proposing. In other words, we know that sales taxes shift the burden of taxes way over to low and middle income families, and off the backs of the wealthy and of corporations. This, of course, is unfair. People should pay their fair share of taxes, but they shouldn’t be forced to pay someone else’s share too. Read the rest of this entry »

Sales Taxes: The Continuing Saga

In Tax Policy on January 31, 2006 at 2:24 pm

The front page of the Alaska section of today’s Anchorage Daily News sports the headline, “Sales tax plans considered for ballot.” Sales taxes are inherently regressive, so they are bad for low and middle income families because sales taxes shift the burden of taxes away from the wealthy, and onto the backs of working families. I have explained this in other blogs, and have provided some solid references in those blog entries on this matter.

In my research and discussions with various knowlegeable colleagues on the matter of the proposed sales taxes in Anchorage, a number of other troubling issues have surfaced: Read the rest of this entry »

Property Taxes: Not All Bad

In Tax Policy on December 20, 2005 at 9:12 am

I always liked that old saw, “the devil’s in the details,” because it is so often so true, and if there were a poster boy for the concept, it would be property taxes. Property taxes have the potential of providing fair, equitable, and stable funding for many of the social services that contribute to a better quality of life for working families. At the same time, the basic principles of property taxation can be deliberately twisted and obfuscated in a welter of technical gibberish, hiding the actual use of property taxation to heavily tax low and moderate income families, while letting corporate and wealthy property owners pay less than their share. Moreover, the actual fact of inequitable and unfair property taxes, or the manufactured perception of unfairness, can be used as a club to move public opinion and policy makers to propose “solutions,” such as sales taxes, that have the potential to be even more inequitable and unfair to working families. Read the rest of this entry »

Gambling: Not A Panacea

In Low-Income Families, Tax Policy on September 6, 2005 at 2:59 pm

I have written before, in this blog, about some of the negative social consequences of legalized gambling. I am thinking about it again for two reasons: 1) a recent headline (8.30.05) in the Money section of the Anchorage Daily News, “Green: Legal gambling in the cards,” and 2) a most interesting but all too short fact sheet I stumbled upon from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). But first, a few words about ITEP: Read the rest of this entry »

Are Sales Taxes Good Public Policy?

In Low-Income Families, Tax Policy on August 28, 2005 at 1:33 pm

The August 20, 2005, copy of the Anchorage Daily News featured this somewhat unsettling headline: “It’s sales tax vs. bigger sales tax.” The story began with…

Assemblyman Dan Coffey is proposing a 3 percent sales tax that would shave most people’s property tax bills by 25 percent. Assemblyman Dan Sullivan wants to examine whether a higher sales tax could replace property taxes altogether.

Let me take a philosophical diversion for a moment. I have a friend who buys and sells real estate in Florida. He is politically very conservative. In order to maintain the friendship, we generally try to stay away from political discussions. We tend to be passionate about our respective political beliefs, and butt heads when such subjects bubble to the surface of our otherwise friendly repartee.

One day we were discussing his business, and I was quite speechless when I heard him say Read the rest of this entry »