Taxes
June 30th, 2008 by 2CDC
by DocJess
Today is the 30th of June. I point that out because all fiscal years for all of the American states end today. Tomorrow may well be interesting. Unlike the Federal Government (whose fiscal year begins on 1 October) the states cannot print money, and are required to have a balanced budget. Last summer, you may recall, state workers in a number of states were furloughed because they were considered non-essential, and therefore did not warrant being paid when there was no money.
Tax revenues to the vast majority of states are down this year due to decreases in real estate taxes paid, sales taxes paid, and dropping incomes leading to lower income taxes paid.
The scariest quote I saw was: “If all the states cut budgets or raise taxes to get out of the red, it will be the equivalent of pulling about $35 billion out of the national economy, said Ray Scheppach, executive director of the National Governors Association.”
Remember, what makes our economy work is that people or institutions spend money. In addition to the direct cuts that will be felt by school students and health care recipients and the threat to us all when states cut police protection, there is also the indirect economic effects of decreased money in the system.
Category: Economy, Labor, Tax | No Comments »
