Free Republic

“I think we expect the climate to become much more restrictive for high-income taxpayers. The things that had been done in the past -- whether they are perceived loopholes or actual loopholes --- [are] going to be reduced dramatically under an Obama presidency,” said Phil Tortorich, a partner and tax expert at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP in Chicago. Obama campaigned under a promise to cut taxes for American families making less than $250,000 a year while raising top federal income-tax rates from 35% to 39.6%. Of course, promises made on the campaign trail don't necessarily make it into law, and...

BERKELEY Fees could be going up for California's public university students under the budget proposed Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The hikes are part of a long-term funding agreement between the governor and leaders of the state's two university systems, the University of California and California State University. Last year, after four straight years of increases, the governor proposed putting in extra money to "buy out" fee increase, which legislators subsequently approved. Schwarzenegger's proposed budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year includes no such bonus. UC regents and CSU trustees have not voted on any fee increases, which could yet be...

Similar bills that would give 1.4 million minimum wage earners a dollar-an-hour raise and then adjust their pay each year to keep up with inflation were approved Wednesday by committees in the Assembly and Senate. But the Senate committee refused to vote on a rival bill backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that includes a $1 increase but not an annual inflation adjustment. The senator carrying Schwarzenegger's bill, Republican Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria, urged the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee to reconsider its decision and pass his bill to avoid another veto. "Gov. Schwarzenegger looked me in the eye...

Evidence Cigarette Tax Hikes Increase Crime, But Don't Reduce Teenage Smoking Between 1984 and 1993, Canada doubled its tax on cigarettes with the aim of reducing smoking and increasing tax revenues. Last December, Sgt. Alain Giroux testified on the effects of those tax increases before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. * He reported that only did underage smoking fail to decrease, but an estimated 40 percent of Canada's cigarettes are now sold on the black market -- most of which are smuggled over the U.S.-Canadian border. * The growth in the black market...

Some Californians could find a nasty surprise in their water and sewer bills, courtesy of state government. Water consumers will be paying more to help cover the state budget shortfall, a back-door tax hike possible because of confusing, irresponsible state budget-writing. Special districts - local agencies formed to provide water, sewer, fire protection and other services - were supposed to ship about $350 million in property taxes to the state this year, as part of a two-year deal to help balance the state budget. But last-minute changes exempted many special districts from most or all of the tax shift, which...

While the Bush administration lowers taxes, some states want to raise them. One taxpayer watchdog group is criticizing Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, for his proposed billion-dollar tax hike, while another group is urging Arkansas lawmakers to reject any proposed tax increases The National Taxpayers Union called Virginia Gov. Warner's proposal "as unwise as it is unneeded" and promised to work for its defeat. NTU President John Berthoud said Gov. Warner's proposed tax hike flouts the will of Virginia voters, who defeated tax-hike measures 14 months ago - in the November 2002 election. "Despite a multimillion-dollar campaign in favor...

<p>In his bid to stabilize student fees, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could trade California's reputation as a provider of cheap, world-class higher education for something maybe more valuable to parents: more predictability about how much it will cost to send their child to college.</p>