Tune in tomorrow morning for TCJA talk. TPC and the Kellogg School of Management host a discussion of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s effects on economic growth. Former Obama Administration economist Jason Furman, now at Harvard’s Kennedy School, will give the keynote address. The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell will moderate a discussion among Kellogg’s Ben Harris, Janice Eberly, and Mitchell Petersen, American Enterprise Institute’s Aparna Mathur, and TPC’s Ben Page. The event begins at 9:30 am, tune in here for the live webcast.
Iowa’s tax cuts may be slow coming. The state legislature passed a $2.8 billion tax cut package in response to federal tax law changes. But the bill delays implementation of the cuts unless the state’s economy grows significantly. Iowa revenue must grow 4 percent to hit the tax cut trigger in 2023. Will it happen? "It's pretty unlikely," said Drew Klein of Americans for Prosperity-Iowa. "By 2030, we could probably hit that trigger. But 2023 is pretty unlikely."
Alaska’s tax changes: Later rather than sooner. Governor Bill Walker had pushed hard for an income tax as to reduce Alaska’s dependence on oil revenue. The House agreed. Alas, the state Senate did not. Now, Walker and the legislature are adjourning for the year without the new tax. They’ll let lawmakers deal with it next year. The governor's seat and all forty House seats are up for election in November.
Spokane isn’t going the way of Seattle. At least, not when it comes to funding low-income housing with a head tax. Elected officials in Eastern Washington’s largest city have little desire to make employers pay a per-employee tax. Some find it unfriendly to business while others say the city has invested enough in shelter services and the work of nonprofits that support affordable housing. Spokane Mayor David Condon says a head tax would run counter to the goal of creating livable-wage jobs that could address homelessness.
Will Apple and Google pay head taxes to their hometowns?Officials in Cupertino, California, are exploring a tax on Apple and other companies based on the size of their workforces. The tax measure could mirror a head tax proposal in Mountain View, California that could raise as much as $5.4 million annually from Google, as well as revenue from other large employees. The towns’ city councils would have to approve the measures, which would then need an OK from voters.
If you’d like to tell us about a new research paper or have any comments about the Daily Deduction, TPC’s summary of the day’s tax news, write Renu Zaretsky at [email protected]. You can sign up hereto receive the Daily Deduction as an email newsletter every weekday morning (Mondays only when Congress is in recess) at 8:00 am.
