August State Tax Revenues Booming: Double-Dip?
Updated: 13 States Now Report August Tax Increases
1. Mississippi Tax Collections Beat Expectations in August
2. Kansas Taxes in August $38M More Than Expected
3. Pennsylvania Sees Signs of Growth in Its August Tax Collections
4. Maine Tax Revenue Bounces Back in August
5. Arkansas Governor Says State's Finances Looking Better
6. Aug. Tax Revenue Collections Increase in West Virginia
7. Iowa: State Revenues Rosier Than Projected
Update: These are the only states that have reported August tax revenues, and I'll update the list as more states release tax collections. It seems encouraging though that all 7 states that have released data so far for August are reporting increases in sales and income tax collections.
8. West Virginia Sees Economic Growth in August Tax Revenues
9. Indiana Revenue up 8.4% in August from Year Ago
10. Increase in Missouri Tax Revenue Collections in August
Here's more:
11. Georgia revenue collections jump in August as economic picture brightens
12. Rhode Island Tax Revenues Rise in July-August
13. Nebraska Tax Revenue Beats Projections in August
6 Comments:
the logic of that headline is pretty specious.
how does "what double dip" follow from a few states exceeding tax expectations?
perhaps it's just that expectations got so low.
how well have they recovered?
are the budgets in surplus?
how did they do it? some, like kansas, did it by raising tax rates. is that a good sign for their economy?
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/state-tax-revenues-tick-up/?src=busln
overall state tax revenue grew 2.2% from the second quarter last year. recall that q2 was the absolute trough of the recession so far.
a +2.2% comp off the trough is pretty anemic.
this is probably given a boost by loss carryforwards running out as well.
this was the easiest comparison quarter there is going to be.
the first difficult one will be q4.
Hmmm, make me wonder just how credible these headlines are?
Just for sake of argument I'll say that these headlines are factual...
Let's not forget the following from Milton Friedman: "In the long run government will spend whatever the tax system will raise, plus as much more as it can get away with. That's what history tells us, I think. So my view has always been: cut taxes on any occasion, for any reason, in any way, that's politically feasible. That's the only way to keep down the size of government"...
It seems to me that these headlines are just a gimmick for governments to spend more...
Regarding Pennsylvania:
"The growth in the sales tax revenue helped to offset the below-estimate collections from personal income and corporate taxes for the month."
In other words, school supplies cost more this year.
Individuals (or at least the few in PA who actually earn their money) and corporations (which PA sees as nothing more than cash cows for taxes and union benefits) aren't performing as well expected. Big surprise.
From Rockefeller Institute:
The state tax revenue picture in the first two quarters of the calendar year 2010 represented significant improvement from the collapse of the preceding quarters. Still, in most states, the overall trend for fiscal 2010 was very much in the negative. Now that most states have closed the books for fiscal year 2010, preliminary figures show that 34 of 44 states for which complete fiscal 2010 data are available saw declines in overall tax collections for the year. Collections from the two major tax sources — personal income and sales — were also negative for the fiscal year. With revenues still below prerecession levels and question marks surrounding the national economy, states face continued uncertainty at best — with continuing budget challenges a sure bet.
Oh, and let's not forget that much of this gain has to do with increased sales TAXES and not increases in sales.
Let us not confuse belief in the power of the free market with the belief that 63% government is OK. We are Europe now, we have Eurosclerosis. Throw the bums out.
Post a Comment
<< Home