Taxation

A water drop and ripples

Property taxes shouldn’t interfere in the price mechanism for real estate.

By Justin Katz | January 27, 2022 |

As I’ve written before, when considering a state’s mix of all the different taxes, I’m not as bothered by high property taxes as other folks on the hawk side of the taxation spectrum.  That said, the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) makes a good point that differentiations between different types of property should be…

A water drop and ripples

Here’s a great response to demands for student debt cancelation.

By Justin Katz | January 12, 2022 |

Robert Wiblin gets to the economics of student debt cancelation in a dead-on way with this comment: Cancelling student debt is good but we could do more. The government should also tax non-college grads in order to fund a $5,000 annual gift for all college grads as a way to show appreciation for how smart…

A mural on a highway bridge

RI tax policy should consider the distinction between being here and doing things here.

By Justin Katz | January 7, 2022 |

The Rhode Island Public Expenditures Council (RIPEC) notes that Rhode Island’s downward slide on the Tax Foundation Business Tax Climate Index continues, with the Ocean State exiting the 30-something range on the bad side for the first time since 2017, at 40.  The only saving graces are that Connecticut has been stuck at 47 forever…

A water drop and ripples

Is Ruggerio dialing back the progressive wave?

By Justin Katz | December 23, 2021 |

Reading political tea leaves from interviews is an iffy game, but this feels like a bit of a tone change from Democrat Senate President Dominick Ruggerio: On the Rhode Island Report podcast, state Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio said he opposes raising the income tax rate for the richest Rhode Islanders, saying he fears they…

A water drop and ripples

Incorrect truck tolls are another source of inconvenience.

By Justin Katz | December 16, 2021 |

When people in government are pushing for new programs, especially programs to extract money from the economy, it’s crucial to remember all the little unforeseen events — inconveniences, errors, and so on.  The fact that nothing ever works as perfectly in real life as it does on paper is why voters and taxpayers ought always…

A water drop and ripples

Connecticut provides a fantastic case study in a state moving progressive on taxation…

By Justin Katz | October 11, 2021 |

… too bad it’s not studied more.  (Maybe because academics know what they’ll find.)  Anyway, it now takes the most-taxed award: Connecticut received the dubious honor on Sept. 29 of displacing New Jersey as the state with the highest taxpayer burden, according to a new “Financial State of the States” report from Truth-in-Accounting (TIA). Illinois,…

A water drop and ripples

Note what details are important to our overlords.

By Justin Katz | October 7, 2021 |

Glenn Reynolds shares a really good point from a friend of his: Remember: They’ll spend trillions on bills they haven’t read but want details on how you spent $600.

Tax man spraypaint

We need to keep an eye on the bank-spying ball amidst the dense-pack scandals.

By Justin Katz | September 28, 2021 |

One has to wonder… during the Cold War, national security types talked about the “dense-pack strategy.”  If you’ve got an important asset for war, like missile siloes, it may seem obvious that you want to spread them out so they can’t all be taken out at once, but you have to consider the nature of…

A water drop and ripples

Today on Flip the Parties: Biden’s tax evasion

By Justin Katz | September 24, 2021 |

Calls of hypocrisy can go too far, but it’s simply too easy to imagine (meaning “to know”) how differently this sort of news would be handled if Biden were a Republican: [Rep. Jim] Banks, the Republican Study Committee chairman, was responding to the New York Post’s report on the findings of the nonpartisan CRS showing…

A hoodie on a beaten school bus

Entitlement is an illness of government overindulgence.

By Justin Katz | September 24, 2021 |

On one hand, I sympathize with Alexis Santoro, of Cumberland: Santoro first raised the issue in an email on September 1 to Cumberland school officials. “Each year there has been a bus monitor/crossing guard for the bus when the bus has stopped at this location since pound road has a lot of blind spots and…