Larry Hogan

: TaxVox

Governors Talk Taxes in Their State of the State Addresses

It’s difficult to predict where states will end up on tax policy this year given last year’s budget drama and this year’s new federal tax...

February 16, 2018Richard C. Auxier

: TaxVox

A Little March Madness on the Hill

The “doc fix” passes the House. The House overwhelmingly approved the Medicare “ doc fix ” to replace automatic payment cuts (that Congress has delayed every year since 2003) with a temporary 0.5 percent annual hike in physician reimbursements. But the bipartisan deal, which CBO figures would add $

March 27, 2015Renu Zaretsky

State and Local Issues: TaxVox

States Want To Cut Taxes Even More on Pensions. Bad Ideas Never Die.

The siren song of retirement income free of state taxes continues to seduce politicians. No matter that there is little evidence that high taxes on pension income drive away seniors, or that few older people move from one state to another for any reason at all. No matter that tax-free retirement

March 4, 2015Howard Gleckman

: TaxVox

A Replacement, A Vision, and Promises

An Obamacare replacement? Senate Finance Committee chair Orrin Hatch, House Energy and Commerce chair Fred Upton, and GOP Senator Richard Burr have released their health reform plan, called the Patient CARE Act. The proposal, similar to a bill Hatch and Burr introduced last year, would repeal the

February 6, 2015Renu Zaretsky

State and Local Issues: TaxVox

Did Tax Hikes Doom Governors? Did Tax Cuts Elect Them?

At first glance, the message was pretty clear: If you were a governor who cut taxes, you probably got reelected on Tuesday. If you were a governor who raised taxes (or even a candidate who worked for one) you probably lost. It was true in deep red states like Kansas where, against all odds, Sam

November 6, 2014Howard Gleckman

: TaxVox

And the Winner Is... The GOP. Now What?

The GOP takes control of the Senate. It has secured a majority in the Senate but has far from working control in a chamber where 60 votes are needed to do almost anything. Utah’s Orrin Hatch will become the new chair of the Senate Finance Committee. Alabama’s Jeff Sessions is in line to head the

November 5, 2014Renu Zaretsky