A carbon tax: Too politically risky for Hillary Clinton? The Democratic presidential candidate has not included a carbon tax in her plans to address climate change. Why? Hillary aides say it is all Congress’s fault: “Secretary Clinton believes that meeting the climate challenge is too important to wait for climate deniers in Congress to pass comprehensive climate legislation,” says campaign chairman John Podesta.
A “totally worth it” tax? What’s the price of winning? One way to look at it: The National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers owe a $54 million luxury tax after their championship season—almost half of the $120 million in total penalties assessed by the league. The Los Angeles Clippers owe $19.9 million, the Golden State Warriors owe $14.8 million, and the Oklahoma City Thunder owes $14.5 million. NBA teams must pay the tax if they exceed the league’s salary cap.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie may end an income tax pact with Pennsylvania. For 38 years, residents of both states have been able to earn their living across the Delaware River but pay their own state’s income taxes. The Governor signed an executive order last week telling state officials to explore the impact of breaking the pact. Christie’s former treasurer estimated that New Jersey could gain $180 million in tax revenue from Pennsylvania residents.
The EU says Brexit won’t drive the British to create a tax haven. An internal memo by European Union tax authorities says the United Kingdom could reduce its corporate tax rate upon leaving the EU, but the political price for doing so would be high. Moreover, one analyst said, “Any tax policy will be closely aligned with what the EU does because that will create much greater certainty for businesses… While the Brexiteers… may be talking about all this autonomy, I think the reality is there will be very close alignment with the EU.”
But the UK’s finance minister is already suggesting a lower corporate tax rate. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne wants the United Kingdom to lower its corporate tax rate to 15 percent to maintain business investment. The UK’s 20 percent tax on business income is already schedule to fall to 19 percent in April and to 17 percent in 2020.
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