In July 2016, Frederick County (Maryland) Executive Jan Gardner introduced a bill that would increase the county’s hotel tax from 3 percent to 5 percent. Despite denials from Gardner, State Senator Ron Young (D-District 3), State Delegate Karen Young (D-District 3), and State Delegate Carol Crimm (D-District 3) that the new tax revenue will not be used to fund certain aspects of a planned $84 million Downtown Frederick Hotel and Conference Center, that does not appear to true. Part of the revenue generated from the hotel tax hike will pay down the $3.5 million in debt payments for the conference center over the course of a 25-year contract.
Smoke and Mirrors: Teenage E-Cigarette Use Down
There is a lot of misinformation regarding e-cigarettes. If you’re the parent of a teen, you have probably seen the sensational headlines about “studies” concluding that teens are vaping at “record highs” because it’s now what the “cool kids” are doing. However, this “fact” couldn’t be further from the truth. A debate is ongoing about […]
Statement by CAGW President Tom Schatz on the Beginning of the 115th Congress
CAGW President Tom Schatz released the following statement on the start of the 115th Congress: Taxpayers have good reason to be optimistic for the New Year. For the first time, the nation will have a president and cabinet with substantial experience managing large, complex organizations; and there’s nothing bigger and more complicated than the federal […]
California’s “Netflix Tax”
Cities in the Golden State are exploring what they might call a “golden opportunity” to compensate for the loss of tax revenue from declining cable-television subscriptions as more Americans choose video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.
Wireless Tax Burdens Continue to Grow
In December 2005, there were 207.9 million wireless subscriber connections in the U.S. As of the end of December 2015, that number had grown to 377.9 million wireless subscribers, a gain of more than 170 million over the ten-year period. Today’s mobile devices and services provide much more than just the ability to make a […]
Clinton/Trump Round 2: Taxpayers Deserve a Policy Debate
Before the first Presidential debate on September 27, 2016, CAGW proposed policy questions that would enlighten taxpayers as to where each candidate stands on critical government waste issues facing the nation. Unfortunately, the debate utterly failed to discuss any of these issues with any depth, choosing to focus on shenanigans instead of substance. Hillary Clinton […]
Taxes on Ashes: California’s Proposition 56
As the legislative session comes to an end in California, the government’s addiction to regressive tax policies has not. A well-organized campaign, composed of billionaires, medical groups, and trade associations, has collected enough signatures to include Proposition 56, a ballot measure in November, to raise California’s cigarette tax by 2 dollars per pack.
A Pathway to Change at the IRS
Because of the delicate, private, and proprietary nature of information provided by individuals and businesses to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on tax returns, audits are an inherently governmental function that should be conducted solely by government employees. This confidential process should not be handed over to outside individuals or organizations. However, that is exactly the situation that Microsoft Corporation found itself in May 2014, when the IRS decided to hire an outside litigation firm to conduct an audit of the company’s international division, and then proscriptively issued regulations allowing the agency to take such action.
Reduce Regulatory Burdens Instead of Increasing Fees
Innovative technology has become the foundation for performing mundane tasks, such as vacationing, buying groceries, and even catching a ride, in new inventive ways. The sharing economy is on the cusp of such a revolution, using mobile apps to offer consumers new ways to connect with the services they want to use. However, as noted […]
Rethinking Refundable Tax Credits
Over the course of the past 40 years, members of Congress have created refundable tax credits (RTCs), which have become ubiquitous in the tax code. RTCs are available for everything from employment to education to having children. However, mismanagement and a lack of oversight by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Congress have enabled RTCs to become a multibillion dollar source of wasteful spending.