state sales tax

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Calif. Pols Push 'Tampons for All' to Fix 'Gender Injustice'

Legislators want to get rid of state sales taxes on feminine hygiene products

(Newser) - Health products like walkers and Viagra are exempt from California state sales tax, and if two assembly members have their way, feminine hygiene products will soon enjoy the same status. Cristina Garcia and Ling Ling Chang introduced a measure Monday maintaining that tampons, sanitary napkins, and similar products are a...

Now Kansas Looks to Ditch Its Income Tax

Tax cuts would be offset by sales tax, ending mortgage deduction

(Newser) - Two weeks after Bobby Jindal proposed putting an end to state income taxes in Louisiana , Kansas appears to be headed in the same direction, albeit a little more slowly. Gov. Sam Brownback's plan, introduced yesterday, would reduce and eventually eliminate state income taxes, reports the Wichita Eagle . As of...

Amazon Expands, Eyes Same-Day Delivery

Retailer hopes to make up for new sales tax it must charge

(Newser) - Just when you thought Amazon couldn't get any bigger, the online retail giant is expanding in an effort to offer something that most web-based merchants can only dream of: same-day delivery. The company is opening up new warehouses in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and elsewhere, in locations much...

New E-Sales Taxes Looming
 New E-Sales Taxes Looming 
Jul 9, 2012 9:39 AM CDT

New E-Sales Taxes Looming

Taxes level playing field for bricks-and-mortar retailers

(Newser) - Bricks-and-mortar retailers are cheering as states are increasingly moving to tax online retailers the same as physical-world stores, reports the Washington Post . With online shopping reaching $200 billion last year and jumping 15% in the first quarter of 2012, online sales taxes would be no small figure—one group estimated...

Amazon to California: Ditch Tax, Get 7K Jobs

State senate, local retailers hostile to offer

(Newser) - Amazon has got a tempting offer for California, which is battling the nation’s second-highest unemployment rate: If the state delays a new online sales tax for two years, the Internet retailer will bring 7,000 new jobs to the Golden State. Amazon would also halt its push for a...

Amazon Fights to Avoid Sales Tax

Keeps a map of where employees can travel to

(Newser) - It’s not a lucky quirk of the laws that keeps Amazon from charging you sales tax—it’s a concerted campaign. Former employees tell the Wall Street Journal that the company goes to great lengths to shield customers from the tax man. Employees for example must consult a color-coded...

Amazon Ditching Calif. Affiliates Over Tax Tiff

Retailer opposes new law that would require it to collect sales tax

(Newser) - California wants Amazon to collect sales tax, so Amazon is packing up its toys and ditching all its affiliates in the state. The law, part of a budget package signed yesterday by Gov. Jerry Brown, says that online retailers must collect state sales tax if they’ve got affiliates in...

Fed Dollars Overtake Taxes as States' Top Income Source

Federal money exceeds revenue from major taxes for first time ever

(Newser) - For the first time, state governments are receiving more money directly from the federal government than they collect in sales, property, and income taxes, reports USA Today. As the economic downturn saps tax revenue, stimulus money has filled the gap. Says an analyst, “This has more to say about...

Cash-Strapped States Raise Taxes as Revenue Declines

At least 10 states face substantial budget gaps

(Newser) - A precipitous decline in tax revenue has at least 10 states considering major increases in sales or income taxes to close budget gaps that in some cases run into the billions, the Wall Street Journal reports. States like Oregon, facing a $4.4 billion budget gap and 10.8% unemployment,...

Lean Times Prove Taxing for State Budgets

Shortfalls mean serious cost-cutting, fee hikes across US

(Newser) - Reduced sales, income, and corporate taxes are forcing states to cut back on services and consider laying off workers as they look for ways to slash spending and balance budgets, the Wall Street Journal reports. The National Conference of State Legislatures says states face a $40 billion budget shortfall as...

State Budgets Caught in Economy's Freefall

Spending cuts, tax increases in store

(Newser) - Politicians from New York to California are wringing their hands, wondering whether to cut spending or raise taxes. As the economy barrels towards recession, income and sales taxes are coming in well below expectations, and about half the states in the country are facing budget shortfalls, the New York Times...

States Look to Collect Tax on Internet Sales

Many are asking people to fess up when they fill out their IRS forms

(Newser) - As tax time draws near, more Americans may be stumbling upon an extra line on their state returns, Forbes reports. About half of state governments—including New York, Michigan, California, North Carolina, and Ohio—are trying to collect their fare share of sales taxes from Internet sales. Chances remain slim,...

Building Costs Pinch Budgets
Building Costs Pinch Budgets
Jan 26, 2008 12:43 PM CST

Building Costs Pinch Budgets

State and local government now struggling to pay for new projects

(Newser) - Rising interest rates, falling tax revenues, and construction costs that have skyrocketed are causing local and state governments to rethink projects as diverse as building new schools, repairing bridges, and roads, even constructing new levees in the Everglades, reports the New York Times. Experts say fast-growing global economies are also...

Calif. Crunch May Force Drastic Cuts

State might slash education funds, free inmates early

(Newser) - California's dire financial straits may force the early release of 30,000 low-risk inmates and bring drastic cuts in education, the Los Angeles Times reports. Arnold Schwarzenegger will declare a fiscal emergency next month as the state wrestles with a $14.5 billion budget gap. The governor has ordered agencies...

Calif. Budget Falls Prey to Housing Crisis

Governator orders across-the-board cuts as deficit nears $10B

(Newser) - With the housing crisis laying waste to California’s coffers, Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday ordered all state agencies to cut budgets by 10%, the LA Times reports. “We are among a handful of states that has a lot of exposure to the housing crash,” said an economist. Property, sales,...

States Discover, Spend Surpluses
States Discover, Spend Surpluses
Jun 11, 2007 11:15 AM CDT

States Discover, Spend Surpluses

Embarrassment of riches will benefit education, gay rights, or just make tax cuts

(Newser) - Oversized tax collection has left state governments with unexpected funds to dole out, and newly Democratic governments are working some big-government swagger. The Times reports that more than 40 states have deeper coffers than budgeted, and new money is going to local initiatives in education, health care and gay rights—...

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