Overall tax revenue figures for US states have risen for the second straight quarter in 2010, however total collections are still lagging behind their pre-recession levels, lending uncertainty to future results. Overall state tax revenues for the April - June quarter of 2010 are 2.2 percent higher than in the same period of the 2009 year (or, 1.4 percent when adjusted for inflation), according to the Rockefeller Institute’s latest State Revenue Report, released August 30th. However, based on preliminary state tax data, the ... Read More

A new legislation have been proposed to allow for special tax treatments of commercial space exploration companies, in an effort to minimize future space-industry job losses and expand the entire sector. U.S. Senator Bill Nelson recently proposed a new legislation to amend tax laws, which would allow investors to write off 20 percent of their outlays into commercial space flight firms operating in special enterprise zones (SEZ). It is hoped that the idea will eventually encourage growth of companies creating products adequate ... Read More

Contrary to public opinion and political claims, tax breaks available to US corporations are not nearly as generous or fiscally draining as believed. In fact, the budgetary costs associated with providing tax preferences to individuals far outweigh those given to businesses. For the 2011 year the US Government budgeted an approximate USD 102 billion to cover national corporate tax break expenditures. However, according to a report Putting Corporate Tax 'Loopholes' In Perspective, published by the Tax Foundation, the figure is overshadowed by the ... Read More

In the long-run, the US will garner greater benefits from overhauling its tax system and reducing national debt, than it would by issuing another stimulus package or reinstating Bush-era tax cuts for high-income earners. Speaking in a television interview on August 8th, Bob Rubin, international economic expert and former US Treasury Secretary, said that a second round of “major” stimulus packages would be counterproductive for the US economy and undermine the current economic recovery, which he described as "slow and bumpy." He went ... Read More