The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Pennsylvania’s corporate tax cut must be a catalyst for change in New Jersey, says Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips. The lawmaker is calling on legislative leadership to prioritize his bill to lower New Jersey’s highest-in-the-nation 11.5% corporate business tax rate before companies, jobs and families move to the Keystone State.
July 2, 2018
by AFP-NJ: It Exists Therefore It’s Taxed
Trenton NJ, Americans for Prosperity-New Jersey (AFP-NJ) responded to the New Jersey state budget, which the legislature passed and the governor signed on Sunday. The $37.4 billion state budget increased income taxes as well as corporate taxes. AFP-NJ opposed the measure.
AFP-NJ State Director Erica Jedynak issued the following statement:
“The way New Jersey lawmakers tax everything you’d think they’re purposefully trying to drive everyone out so they can keep the state to themselves. According to Sen. Sweeney and Gov. Murphy, the only thing better than a tax on one thing is a tax on two. But the higher income and corporate taxes will only exacerbate the Garden State’s already troubling outmigration problem and increase the tax burden on an ever-shrinking population. How long before New Jersey lawmakers start taxing folks in New York or Pennsylvania?
“That some lawmakers refuse to acknowledge that New Jersey has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, is outrageous. Our elected officials need to recognize that spending on wasteful programs such as corporate welfare is a core driver of increased taxes, which in turn make it harder to live, work, and raise a family in the Garden State.”
November 2,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, According to the Tax Foundation the United States is hampered by high marginal tax rates and complex business tax rules .Tthe United States once again ranks towards the bottom of the pack on our 2017 International Tax Competitiveness Index, placing in the bottom 5 or number 30 out of 35 OECD countries.
The last time the United States reformed its federal corporate income tax was in 1986. Since then, many of our global competitors have taken steps to simplify their tax codes and lower their marginal tax rates.
The combined U.S. corporate tax rate of 39 percent (which includes average state and local corporate taxes) is significantly higher than the OECD average of 25 percent.
As U.S. legislators move forward with comprehensive tax reform, they should consider the positive effects that lowering our corporate tax rate and simplifying our tax system could have on our competitiveness abroad and economic health at home.
APRIL 26, 2017
Washington DC, We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do something big. President Trump has made tax reform a priority, and we have a Republican Congress that wants to get it done. This is something that Democrats should support too because it’s good for the American people.
The President is going to seize this opportunity by leading the most significant tax reform legislation since 1986 – and one of the biggest tax cuts in American history.
The President has focused on three things since his campaign: job creation, economic growth, and helping low and middle-income families who have been left behind by this economy. He understands that there are a lot of people in this country that feel like they work hard and still can’t get ahead. They are sick of turning their paychecks over to Washington and having no idea how their tax dollars are spent. They are frustrated by a tax code that is so complicated that they can’t even do their own taxes.
That’s why tax reform is such a big priority for this President. He cares about making the economy work better for the American people.
We are going to cut taxes for businesses to make them competitive, and we are going to cut taxes for the American people – especially low and middle-income families.
In 1935, we had a one-page tax form consisting of 34 lines and two pages of instructions. Today, the basic 1040 form has 79 lines and 211 pages of instructions. Instead of a single tax form, the IRS now has 199 tax forms on the individual side of the tax code alone. Taxpayers spend nearly 7 billion hours complying with the tax code each year, and nearly 90% of taxpayers need help filing their taxes.
We are going to cut taxes and simplify the tax code by taking the current 7 tax brackets we have today and reducing them to only three brackets: 10 percent, 25 percent, and 35 percent.
We are going to double the standard deduction so that a married couple won’t pay any taxes on the first $24,000 of income they earn. So in essence, we are creating a 0 percent tax rate for the first $24,000 that a couple earns.
The larger standard deduction also leads to simplification because far fewer taxpayers will need to itemize, which means their tax form can go back to that one simple page.
Families in this country will also benefit from tax relief to help them with child and dependent care expenses.
We are going to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The AMT creates significant complications and burdens by requiring taxpayers to do their taxes twice to see which is higher. That makes no sense; we should have one simple tax code.
Job creation and economic growth is the top priority for this Administration, and nothing drives economic growth like capital investment. Therefore, we are going to return the top tax rate on capital gains and dividends to 20 percent by repealing the harmful 3.8 percent Obamacare tax. That tax has been a direct hit on investment income and small business owners.
We are going to repeal the death tax. The threat of being hit by the death tax leads small business owners and farmers in this country to waste countless hours and resources on complicated estate planning to make sure their children aren’t hit with a huge tax when they die. No one wants their children to have to sell the family business to pay an unfair tax.
We are going to eliminate most of the tax breaks that mainly benefit high-income individuals. Home ownership, charitable giving, and retirement savings will be protected – but other tax benefits will be eliminated.
This is not going to be easy. Doing big things never is. But one thing is for certain: I would not bet against this President. He will get this done for the American people.
Gary Cohn is the chief economic advisor to President Donald J. Trump and Director of the National Economic Council.
By Terence P. Jeffrey | March 9, 2017 | 9:36 AM EST
(CNSNews.com) – The United States has the highest top statutory corporate tax rate—39.1%–of any nation in the G20, according to a study released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office.
That rate is nearly twice as high as the 20-percent rate in Russia, which, along with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, has the lowest statutory corporate tax rate in the G20.
The U.S. won the top spot on the statutory-corporate-tax-rate list after Japan and Germany, which formerly ranked first and second, cut their rates.
“The United States made no change in federal corporate tax rates between 2003 and 2012,” said the CBO, “and by 2012, it had the highest top statutory rate in the G20.”
Gov. Cuomo Awarded for Outstanding Achievement in State Tax Reform in 2014
Washington, DC (Oct. 16, 2014)—Today, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation will award New York Governor Andrew Cuomo with the 2014 Outstanding Achievement in State Tax Reform award for championing a comprehensive corporate tax reform bill that will transform New York’s treatment of corporate taxes from one of the worst in the country to one of the best. The Tax Foundation will present Governor Cuomo with the award at a 12:00pm press conference this afternoon at the Museum of American Finance in New York City.
As the award’s name suggests, honorees are selected due to their extraordinary efforts to advance the cause of simpler, smarter tax policy in the previous year. New York’s reforms in 2014 reduced unnecessary complexity in the corporate tax base and lowered the corporate income tax rate to the lowest level since 1968 (read more on the reform bill). As these reforms phase in, New York’s ranking on the State Business Tax Climate Index will improve from 50th to 48th and its corporate tax system will improve from 25th place to 4th best in the nation.
“New York’s efforts mark a tremendous step towards reforming one of the least competitive tax codes in the nation,” said Joseph Henchman, Vice President of State Projects at the Tax Foundation. “New York’s economic successes occur because of strengths that overcome a challenging business tax environment, but with 2014’s reforms, one less obstacle will stand in the way of the economic growth in New York.”
“At a time when the gridlocked federal government is slow to enact substantive reforms, it’s encouraging to see states enacting crucial and well-crafted reforms,” added Henchman.
This year, six people will receive the award, the rest of whom will be announced next week.
Tax Reform: The First Step Is Simple
January 27, 2014 9:10AM
By Chris Edwards
New leadership is coming to the congressional tax-writing committees. Ron Wyden will be taking the helm of Senate Finance and Paul Ryan will be likely taking the helm of Ways and Means. This is good news, as both gentlemen are serious legislators and very interested in major tax reform.
One thing they should tackle is the personal income tax, which is a complex and high-rate mess. It should be restructured into a simple flat tax.
However, the most urgent needed reform is to slash the corporate income tax rate. Policymakers should put aside changes to deductions, credits, and loopholes for now. Those tax base issues are a diversion and policy quagmire, as the R&D credit illustrates. It is far more important to just cut the statutory corporate rate, which would automatically reduce the effects of tax-base distortions and make it politically easier to reform the tax base later on.
Our current high-rate policy is harming the U.S. economy, reducing job growth, and stifling wages—for no good reason. Abolition is a good long-term goal for corporate income tax reform, but we can start with at least chopping our federal-state rate of 40 percent down to the global average of 24 percent.
The charts show KPMG data for top statutory corporate income tax rates in 2013. KPMG shows UAE with the highest rate in the world at 55 percent. However, that rate just applies to foreign banks and foreign oil companies. So I don’t show UAE since the reported rate is not the general corporate rate.
That leaves the United States with the highest general corporate tax rate in the world, and that makes no sense in today’s competitive global economy.
