House takes up major bills: Miscellaneous tax, health care and the budget
ADVISORY: March 21, 2011 CONTACT: Tom Cheney House Floor Schedule of Major Bills March 22-25 For your planning purposes, here is a preliminary listing of the major bills to be considered by the Vermont House of Representatives this week. Please note that this is not a complete listing of bills to be on the floor [...]
Pelham: Dangers on the road to single payer
Responsible savings are achievable if legislators have the courage to look beyond the constant din of advocacy from the sacred cows of the status quo. If legislators lack the conviction to preach sustainability to the current lobbyists camped in the Statehouse halls today, why should we think legislators can sustainably manage another $5 billion in healthcare costs tomorrow?
Digger Tidbits + video: JFO warns single payer costs could outpace revenues; McCormack supports tax-the-rich bill; Mothers ask for ban of toxic chemicals
Single-payer system would likely save money in the first few years, but over time costs would likely outstrip revenues, according to JFO.
Story + video: Progs push Dems to raise taxes on wealthy
If two Progressives in the Legislature have their way, income-earners who are in the top tax brackets will have an opportunity make a personal contribution to the budget-gap reduction effort.
Tax reform, Part 4: Solving the “PR” problem
Tax analysts say if Vermont wants to lower its income tax rates, the state will have to eliminate itemized deductions.
Tax reform part 3: Why the “Amazon tax” is a no-brainer
The “Amazon tax” could bring in significant revenues and stabilize the state’s sales tax revenues, which have remained flat, and help to level the playing field for brick-and-mortar retailers.
Tax reform, part 2: Sales tax expansion would hit broad array of services
Under the Commission’s proposal, the sales tax rate would drop from 6 percent to 4.5 percent, and the tax would be expanded to certain goods and services that were previously exempt.
Tax reform, Part 1: Where policy meets politics
Taxation is the third rail of politics in Vermont, regardless of which party is in power, and that fact hasn’t changed since Democrats seized control of the executive branch in November and held their majorities in the Vermont House and Senate.
Schubart: Balancing self-interest and community interest
All tax codes have winners and losers. Over time, different classes of taxpayers advocate steadily for self-serving changes that eventually complicate and corrode the tax system. Legislators call these various deductions and exemptions “tax expenditures,” because any revenue sources exempted from taxation must be made up somewhere else. Eventually tax codes become a complicated mishmash of arcane and often inequitable exceptions.
Schubart: Tax commission found agreement on core principles
The tax commission releases its final report to the Legislature on Jan. 13. It was not the job of our commission to either raise or lower taxes, but to review years of accrued legislative patchwork and create a simpler, more equitable code. But before considering any changes, we determined to seek agreement on the principles that would underlie such a system. We took testimony from tax professionals, think tanks and foundations and made the time to discuss and distill their input into a set of principles against which proposed changes could be measured.
