Taxman Cometh ; Hard-Pressed Politicians Produce Flood of Irritating Revenue Streams

Summary

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State and local governments are raising taxes and inventing new ones as they scramble to balance their budgets even as the nation's economy begins to emerge from the deepest recession in seven decades.

State budgets typically take a year or two to reflect improvements in the national economy, the National Association of State Budget Officers and the National Governors Association explained in its latest fiscal survey of states. The report warned that "state fiscal conditions will remain weak in fiscal 2010 and likely into fiscal years 2011 and 2012."

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Taxman Cometh ; Hard-Pressed Politicians Produce Flood of Irritating Revenue Streams

So, brace yourselves for a deluge of nuisance taxes, sin taxes and "fees," limited only by the imagination of revenue-starved governors, mayors and legislators.

Raising fees and nuisance taxes amounts to nothing more than "tax adventurism," said Jonathan Williams of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonpartisan organization of state legislators.

Governors and legislators "often raise taxes and increase fees during tough budget times before resorting to hiking broad-based income and sales taxes," said Mr. Williams, who co-authored the recent book, "Rich Sta...

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