Union Square retail scene makes a comeback

Gov. Pat Quinn (D, IL) about to destroy IL Amazon affliliates?
It’s certainly looking that way: the Democrat-run (Democrat-dominated) State Legislature has just passed a bill to tax online purchases (via Points and Figures, via Instapundit): the bill is just waiting for Governor Pat Quinn’s (D) signature, which is almost certainly inevitable.  In fact, the state of Illinois is going to raise taxes across the board - because that’s what Democrats do .  Business is good; raise taxes.  Business is bad; raise taxes.  Business is in a

The Amazon Tax
The Amazon Tax It seems the State of Illinois is so desperate for revenue that it is instituting an Internet Sales Tax. Chicago, Jan. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Internet Tax Bill (HB 3659) was passed in the Illinois Senate on January 5, by the House of Representatives on January 6 and brought to the Governor, who may sign it into a law as early as Friday, January 7. The tax Legislation relates to out-of-state merchants like Amazon.com and Overstock.com that do not have a physical presence in ...

State and Local Taxation
“Who Pays?” (PDF) from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy offers an interesting look at regressive state/local taxation: Several points: — Questions about whether things should be done at the state or federal level aren’t just about abstract constitutional views; state revenue sources are regressive. — There is no reason that consumption Tax Revenue needs to be raised as a regressive Retail Sales tax. You can instead do a Income Tax with a progressive rate stru...

Expectations, promises for Virginia's roads
The message from business leaders and transportation advocates to Gov. Bob McDonnell last week was clear: If you want us to support your plan to build roads with Debt, we want assurances that more revenues are on the way. McDonnell was, as usual, charming and at times frank during a private meeting on Capitol Square. He said he recognized the need for new long-term transportation funding and promised additional help for Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia in a plan he'll unveil this week. But he...

Pakistan government holds together, but problems widen
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's shaky government was thrown a lifeline Friday when it regained its parliamentary majority by enticing back a political party that had previously quit the ruling coalition. Nonetheless, the deal, which was brokered around rescinding a recent increase in Gasoline prices, further damages state finances for a nation already on the verge of Bankruptcy. On Jan. 2, the Pakistan Peoples Party's majority in parliament unraveled when the second biggest party, the Muttahida Qaumi M...

Pakistan government holds together, but problems widen
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's shaky government was thrown a lifeline Friday when it regained its parliamentary majority by enticing back a political party that had previously quit the ruling coalition. Nonetheless, the deal, which was brokered around rescinding a recent increase in Gasoline prices, further damages state finances for a nation already on the verge of Bankruptcy. On Jan. 2, the Pakistan Peoples Party's majority in parliament unraveled when the second biggest party, the Muttahida Qaumi M...

Open Letter to NY Governor Andrew Cuomo from Green Party's Howie Hawkins
Congratulations on your election. During our recent Gubernatorial contest, we emphasized different approaches as to how best restore the state's fiscal health and to reduce the onerous impact of local property taxes. But as you prepare to start your administration, it is critical that the long term needs of our state take priority over the political Rhetoric that dominates election campaigns. For most New Yorkers, especially the more than one million who are unemployed or underemployed, the lack...

Housing decline points to doldrums ahead--at best
Three days after Christmas, I took a gloomy at look at the upcoming economy in "Real Estate and Republican agenda combine to put kibosh on hopes for Economic Recovery", which relied in part on field reports about the Housing Market. Now a real Economist weighs in on same. Dean Baker, via the Guardian starts off the sort of historical preamble that we should not need at this late date, and yet find ourselves needing now more than ever: America's Housing Bubble still deflating As they failed t...

Despite Positive Signs,Jobs Still Hard To Find
Even if it feels like a bad Job Market — and no doubt it is for millions of Americans — there are job opportunities out there. And more appear every day as The Economy slowly begins to recover. Private-sector employers added 297,000 jobs in December, according to a report by Macroeconomic Advisers and the Payroll firm ADP. Job growth in the last month of the year was triple what Economists polled by Dow Jones expected. "Employment is accelerating, and has been accelerating since late...

Is Illinois About To Pass A Lifesaving Tax Deal?
Email Sent! You have successfully emailed the post. Megan McArdle is a Business and Economics Editor for The Atlantic. Illinois Nearing a Tax Deal? The state of Illinois is allegedly close to a deal to nearly double its Income Tax, from 3% to 5.25%. In a separate action, it's also passed a law allowing it to collect Sales Tax from any online vendor (read: Amazon) with affiliates in the state. The latter law doesn't make much sense to me. It is a cause near and dear to the hearts of state legis...

Amazon threatens to dump Illinois associates over unconstitutional bill - Tenaska threatens to abandon project
* The so-called Amazon Tax also passed the House yesterday… Now, some large Internet Retailers such as Amazon.com and Overstock.com don’t collect Illinois sales taxes because they don’t have a physical Illinois presence. Shoppers technically still owe the taxes, but the vast majority don’t pay because they’re unaware. The Legislation would force Amazon to collect the taxes because they have certain kinds of contracts with Illinois companies. It was approved by a 88-29 vote. I

No more plastic bags in Brownsville
It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. The eyes of retail will be on Brownsville this week as the city forges ahead as the first in Texas to ban single-use Plastic Bags. The ordinance against the so-called “urban tumbleweeds” [started] Wednesday, and merchants from the big-box national Retailers on down are on board with a mix of reusable bags for sale, ranging from cloth totes to Wal-Mart Stores’ reusable plastic bags that are supposed to withstand 50 uses. T...

Report from 2050: San Francisco's Dead Zone
"The combination of Climate Change, unchecked human activity and decades of rampant Overfishing to satisfy consumer demand for these species has led directly to their ultimate demise," said BDWA Executive Director Harry Callahan. "The sad story of the San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem should be a warning to residents of other sensitive and critical regions around the world." The report also declared extinct Swainson's Hawk, California least tern, California black rail and clapper rail, Smith's...

Police: Shoplifting mom texted daughters
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said the 34-year-old woman was spotted at Kohl's Department Store in Fort Walton Beach Dec. 14 with a man and two teenage girls, the Northwest Florida Daily News reported Thursday. Deputies said the foursome were stopped while leaving the store and the woman, whose purse was full of unpaid items from the store, threw her handbag at the employee and all four shoppers fled in different directions. The two teenage girls were stopped from escaping by an employee ...

New Department Store Oedipus
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Health Care and Taxes and Spending, Oh My!
Earlier today I noted that the Congressional Budget Office’s rough score of the House’s Health Care Repeal bill projected that repealing the PPACA would increase the Deficit. Given that the CBO had previously scored the Health Care overhaul as reducing the deficit, that’s not surprising. This afternoon, the CBO provided a bit more information on the proposal's total revenue and spending effects to go with its score: We have been asked to provide the revenue and direct spending components

Hamtramck residents off ideas to bail out city
More than 150 residents packed the gymnasium at People's Community Services to tell officials how the city could solve its $3-million Deficit and prevent a possible shutdown after officials predicted the city would be out of money by the end of March. "This administration can collaborate with other municipalities," said Robert Zwolak, a former city clerk. The meeting was held to inform residents about the city's finances and explain why officials draft...

Obama's budget: Tax revenue rising, deficit declining
Americans are paying more taxes, a sure sign of Economic Recovery -- and one that has the federal Budget Deficit declining ever so slightly. That's the word from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which just released its review of the First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2011, which began in October. The good news: Revenue increased 9% from the same period a year ago, while spending only grew 3%. That translated into a $371 billion Deficit for three months, $18 billion less than in October-De...

Kyl sees room to agree on spending cuts and tax reform
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) is optimistic the administration and congressional Republicans can work together to bring down spending and revamp the tax code, according to a recent interview. "If we're going to get anything done, we'll have to work together," he said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's "Political Capital with Al Hunt" airing this weekend. The Senate Minority Whip said he believes there is a general agreement that Government Spending needs to come down and that the overcomplicat...

Ever Heard of the Jevons Paradox?
David Owen wrote an interesting piece on the Jevons Paradox that ran in Dec 20 27 New Yorker called The Efficiency Dilemma. I recommend that you read the whole thing, but for those who want the short version: Owens starts with a discussion of mandated efficiency, like average fuel economy, and how Energy Efficiency has been called the fifth fuel. Coal, petrol, nukes and renewables are the others. And then he starts to analyze this fifth fuel in small and large ways with concrete examples. Take t...

I appreciate your support
     Can you believe there are still people who believe the use tax can make sense?  I would never believe it.  "Well, we could more easily search packages that way, Arlon."      Really?  If you can open packages just because you don't know, but suspect, someone hasn't paid his use tax, then why stop there?  Why not go in any house you want anytime you want?  You can always claim uncertainty about regular sales taxes being paid.
...

Use for the "use" tax found?
     In a previous article on Virginia's use tax it was noted that there appeared no real use for it, that it was mostly a "sales" tax on specific types of transactions that most intelligent people through their life experience have learned do not justify a Sales Tax.      Ordinarily there are two sides to every argument.  And these days two sides can appear in arguments that really don't need that.      So there appears according ...

Yet another shell game with the use tax
     Time after time it has been shown that Virginia's "use" tax is actually a "sales" tax supported by people who do not understand the proper workings of government and various taxes.      1) Funds from the use tax do not, as Sales Tax funds do, go to a court system with jurisdiction over both parties.      2) Criminals who know what they do is wrong will conceal their activity and evade, probably effectively, the use tax.  Some ...

Tax council recommends grocery tax, lower income taxes
The special council charged with remodeling Georgia's tax code released its long-awaited recommendations Friday, including adding a 4 percent Sales Tax to groceries for the first time in 15 years. Ga. Politics news, helpful links PolitiFact Georgia » Ray McBerry: "You’ll find blacks in almost every regiment throughout the South who fought right alongside white Southerners," during the Civil War. The recommendations by the Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness also pr...

What tax recommendations would mean
The report by the Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness, which was released Friday, made these recommendations for changing Georgia's tax code. Ga. Politics news, helpful links PolitiFact Georgia » Ray McBerry: "You’ll find blacks in almost every regiment throughout the South who fought right alongside white Southerners," during the Civil War. The change: Putting the state’s current 4 percent Sales Tax back on all groceries. The change: Raising the Cigarette t...