Citizens Against Government Waste America's #1 Taxpayer Watchdog

The National Emergency Number Association estimates that 240 million 9-1-1 calls are made each year, with more than 80 percent of those calls originating from wireless devices in some areas of the country.  The 9-1-1 emergency systems, including fire and rescue operations, are funded, in part, through fees imposed on consumer telephone bills.  Unfortunately, over the years, numerous states have been raiding these funds for other purposes, including closing budget gaps and bolstering their rainy day funds.

In the spring of 2018, New Jersey’s new governor and leaders in the legislature were arguing about which state taxes to raise.  Governor Phil Murphy had pledged to soak the wealthy with a state individual income tax of 10.75 percent on all income more than $1 million, but powerful State Senate President Steve Sweeney preferred a tax increase on corporate income.

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the risk online activities pose to privacy and data security following the Equifax data breach and Cambridge Analytica’s use of social media sites to collect information about potential voters.  It is understandable that consumers are concerned about how private companies protect their information; what should be of greater concern is whether the federal governmen

There is a lesson to be learned from the dispute between political insiders in New Jersey that has unfolded over the last couple of months regarding raising taxes. 

Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its annual Budget and Economic Outlook for 2018 to 2028.  In order to include several important pieces of budget and spending legislation that passed recently, particularly the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the Bipartisan Budget Act, and the Omnibus Appropriations package, CBO pushed its usual January release date to April.

During the first week of April, 2018, a number of organizations filed amicus briefs with the Supreme Court with respect to the case of South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., Overstock.com, Inc., and NewEgg, Inc.  The petitioner in the case seeks to overturn the physical nexus requirement specified by the Supreme Court in 1992, when it ruled on Quill Corp. v. North Dakota.

While the rest of us were popping champagne to celebrate the arrival of 2018, Seattle greeted the New Year with a 1.75 cent per ounce tax on sweetened beverages.  It was needed, former Mayor Ed Murray once said, for a host of noble reasons: to reduce sugar consumption; to raise revenue for important projects like a year of “free” community college for all graduating public high school students; and, to subsidize purchases of healthy foods by low-income f