by Derek G. Rowley (c) 2009. All Rights Reserved

The economic climate that individuals, corporations and businesses have been feeling has also hit state and local governments in a big way. Most states will be addressing huge budget deficits during the 2009 legislative cycle with limited options.

Although Nevada is one of the states with a budget deficit that must be resolved in coming months, Governor Jim Gibbons will introduce his budget this month without any new tax increases: No corporate taxes, no personal income taxes, and no new property taxes. Nevada’s Governor is, apparently, alone in his approach to dealing with budget problems. He insists on cutting state spending until they meet the existing revenues.

Other states, however, are not so lucky.

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Tags: california, Oregon, Schwarzenegger, cato institute, New York

State tax collectors are everywhere, leaving no stone unturned in their relentless pursuit of tax revenue. A pair of Oklahoma college students discovered that state tax collectors, responding to braggadocio on their MySpace page, sent a tax bill of $320,000. It turns out that the students were running a company called Keghead, a college party business, and in order to attract more partiers had exaggerated their success with online hype - which included the claim of “over 1 billion served”. Tax officials estimated the business to have hosted over 100 large events over five years, when the company had actually only hosted 20 small parties over 18 months, netting less than $2,000 in gross revenue. Naturally, the Tax Commission spokeswoman could not comment on the case. But, be careful when you boast and when you post: The Tax Man is watching!
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Tags: Oklahoma