State Budget and Taxes

Pa. Is Not Alone! The U.S. Has a Swiss Cheese Corporate Tax System Too

Posted by Stephen Herzenberg on February 9, 2011 8:09 am
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I'm shocked! The U.S. corporate tax system has enormous numbers of loopholes, according to The New York Times.

One hundred and fifteen of the biggest 500 companies paid a total corporate tax rate — federal, state, and local — of less than 20%  over the last five years, even though the federal corporate tax rate alone is 35% for most companies. There are also wide variations in the tax rates that companies pay within the same industry.

It's the Recession!

Posted by Chris Lilienthal on February 7, 2011 10:25 am
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So just what has been the primary cause of Pennsylvania’s fiscal challenges? Some would have you believe it is overspending, but the facts tell a different story.

In the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center's latest February Fiscal Facts, we find that every state (except North Dakota) has faced budget deficits in the past few years. The primary culprit: loss of state tax revenue.

Introducing Fiscal Facts: PA's General Fund Spending Lower than National Average

Posted by Shelley Aragoncillo on February 3, 2011 11:09 am
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There has been a lot of talk about Pennsylvania's high rate of spending over the past few years. The facts tell a different story. General Fund spending in Pennsylvania is below the national average and has been for 18 of the last 20 years.

In the weeks leading up to Governor Corbett's budget address on March 8, the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center will be releasing a series of briefs shining a light on specific budget topics in what we hope is an interesting way. We launched February Fiscal Facts this week with a brief comparing the state's General Fund spending over time to the U.S. average.

Teachable moments

Posted by Mark Price on February 2, 2011 2:30 pm
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Brad Bumsted of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review leads the latest news on Pennsylvania tax collections with the following:

Kenneth Gailey of Midland doesn't like the idea of raising state taxes or cutting benefits.

The 50-year-old contractor, who spent 16 years as a carpenter for
PennDOT, said he believes state government can make a huge dent in an
estimated $4 billion deficit by eliminating or cutting high-end salaries
for management and making government more efficient.

'Do we need more taxes? Do we need cuts in the few benefits we have?
What we need is fewer people on the high end of that pay scale.'

Is this true? 

The Good News, Bad News on Pennsylvania's Revenue Picture

Posted by Chris Lilienthal on February 2, 2011 2:03 pm
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General Fund revenue collections have been doing better than expected in the past few months, with January numbers reported Tuesday showing another month of healthy receipts.

The result is a General Fund revenue surplus of $264 million for the 2010-11 Fiscal Year, which ends in June. That's good news and a positive sign of the state's slow fiscal recovery, but much bigger fiscal challenges loom large on the horizon.

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