Archives: Will Freeland / Articles
Archives: Will Freeland / Articles
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New From Rich States, Poor States, Eighth Edition
Tax cronyism— the deviation from sound economic policy to create a system that benefits one business at the expense of others—is a significant public policy challenge in the states. The…
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State of the State: Indiana
Indiana Governor Mike Pence’s 2016 State of the State focused heavily on matters of economic competitiveness, both touting the state’s strong current position, and the governor’s desire to protect…
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State of the State: Florida
On January 12, Governor Rick Scott gave his State of the State address to open the 2016 legislative session. Coming off a 2015 session characterized by major tax cuts of…
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ALEC Releases New Report Examining the Effect of State Taxes on Charitable Giving
Charity is a crucial component of efforts to address societal challenges and help individuals thrive. From religious organizations to community charities, philanthropic donations drive the institutions of civil…
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What State Governments Can Do to Protect Their Citizens from an Economic Downturn
Today was a rough day for global financial markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 1,000 points before recovering some of the lost ground. All told, the Dow…
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Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis: Mitigating the Current Crisis and Preventing Future Ones
On August 3rd, Puerto Rico failed to pay $58 million to its Public Finance Corporation creditors. Nearly a month earlier, ALEC Tax and Fiscal Policy Research Analyst…
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7 Things Every American Needs To Know About Taxes
Today is tax day in America. As always, it features a lot of confusion with tax forms, some rushed trips to the post office and a whole lot of heartburn…
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New 2015 Rich States, Poor States Rankings Show Which States Are Most Competitive
Public policy matters to economic performance. Economic theory and data have established this link clearly. Most notably, limited government, free market policies that unlock the creative potential entrepreneurs and small…
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The 14 States That Cut Taxes in 2014
As 2014 draws to a close and the final few state legislatures still in session prepare to finally adjourn for the year, the ALEC Center for State Fiscal Reform has…
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How Personal Income Tax Increases Hurt Small Businesses
The Tax Foundation recently published an outstanding map that shows the percentage of “pass-through entities” filling in the federal personal income tax code in each of the 50 states.
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A Halloween Horror Story: Tax Carve-Outs Edition One Year Later
Last year at Halloween, we told the gruesome tale of tax carve-outs. It all started when our social media guru, Jordan, asked for some statistics on the extent…
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S&P and Income Inequality
Lately, left-leaning economists have been happy to jump on the popular bandwagon claim that income inequality is threatening potential for economic growth. Most recently, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) economic research…
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Good Jobs First Acknowledges the ALEC Fight Against Cronyism
The issue of cronyism provides a great opportunity for many advocates of truly free markets and limited government to ally with principled leftists on a mutual cause—ending special preferences granted…
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Krugman: Wrong on Taxes, Wrong on Kansas
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman recently used his weekly column to take aim at pro-growth tax reform and the Rich States, Poor States ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness…
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The joke’s on them: High-ranked states in ‘Rich States, Poor States’ perform better
This appeared on the Daily Caller April 16, 2014. The 7th edition of Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index was released yesterday and has received attention…
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Top 10 RSPS States Outperform Others
The 7th edition of Rich States, Poor States was recently released on Tax Day (April 15), and, as with previous years, numerous critics of free markets, limited governments, reasonable…
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Revenue Shortfalls and Debt Downgrades in Kansas
Kansas policymakers were recently hit with two pieces of bad news: a state bond downgrade by Moody’s investors and lower than expected income tax revenues. Opponents of Kansas tax reform…
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Tennessee Considers Eliminating Hall Tax
Tennessee policymakers are considering the repeal or “localization” of the Hall Tax, a tax on investment income (interest, dividends, and capital gains). The legislature is correct to consider this a…
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New Report Reveals Level of Federal Aid to the States and Importance of Fiscal Federalism
By: William Freeland, Kati Siconolfi, and Steven Johnson In the face of a stagnating economy and national debt topping $17 trillion, many policymakers in Washington, D.C. are seeking ways…
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Reforming the Federal Corporate Tax and Individual Income Tax: A Step in the Right Direction
Earlier today U.S. Representative Dave Camp, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, released a bill designed to fundamentally reform both the federal corporate and individual income tax (press…