How is Minnesota like the Chicago Cubs? They’re both “lovable losers.” Another season of Major League Baseball will soon expire, and the Cubs will have failed, again to even make it to the World Series. And as another year has passed, a tax-policy organization has once again said that Minnesota is a cellar-dweller. The Tax Foundation recently released its annual State Business Tax Climate Index, […]
Taxes
Tax the Olympic champions–just like anyone else
Nationalism may be the first mover of stupid policy ideas, including trade protectionism and more recently, the call to exempt Olympic medal-winners from income taxes. A few minutes ago, Mike Huckabee, a Republican and former candidate for president, chatted with Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) on his Fox News TV show. The two discussed how horrible it was that American athletes were subject to the […]
Working until April 17 to pay for government
In 2012, Americans will work 8 hours a day, five days a week, from the beginning of the year until April 17 to pay for the spending incurred in their name by federal, state, and local governments. That’s one of the findings of the Tax Foundation’s latest calculation of “Tax Freedom Day.” Tax Freedom Day (trademarked by the foundation) is one way to express the […]
Shifting towards a sales tax
While government needs taxes to run, not all taxes are equal in their effect. A new report from the Tax Foundation–State and Local Sales Taxes in 2012–evaluates the burden of state and local sales taxes across the United States. It shows great variation. State sales tax rates range from 0 percent (Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, Oregon), to 7.25 percent (California). Some states have local sales taxes, […]
Lockhead Leaving Minnesota
Lockheed Martin is eliminating about 1,000 jobs from its facility in Eagan, Minnesota. Might a better tax climate have averted that blow to Minnesota families? According to company spokesman cited by the Pioneer Press, the company had excess capacity nationwide and needed to consolidate its operations. The Eagan facility has over 600,000 square feet–the size of 3 Super Target stores–so there will be an enormous vacant […]