Taxes
Covering topics such as bonds, cryptocurrency, federal aid and pensions.
Now 25,000 members strong, financially secure and long blessed with thoughtful leadership, the Government Finance Officers Association is poised to address the challenges to come for those who manage the public purse.
If a congressional debt ceiling deadlock persists and capital markets seize up, states and localities will still have to pay their bills. Public financiers need to be ready to adjust their portfolios to establish a liquid cash buffer.
The Alaska governor introduced two bills that would create a regulatory framework for geologic storage of carbon dioxide and for selling carbon offset credits, and could earn billions for the state. Many details are still unclear.
The state government used more than half a million dollars of its $6.24 billion in COVID relief funds to buy SUVs to transport Gov. Phil Murphy and other officials around the state. Here’s how the rest of the money was spent.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s wide-ranging and controversial initiative deploys thousands of state authorities to apprehend and jail migrants along parts of the Rio Grande and is costing far more than has ever been spent on border security in a budget cycle.
Due to the state Legislature’s rush to fix an oversight in a previously passed property tax reform package, the property tax rollback rate is higher than it should be, which could mean relief for taxpayers and millions less for localities.
Officials in Kansas and Missouri worry that a federal default could severely disrupt a variety of government services that could cause local layoffs, jettison retirement funds, restrict Medicaid access and more.
The city has suggested the TIF district could help deliver $115 million to South Side’s housing, streets, parks, public transit, small-business assistance and more. But TIF districts take time before they start producing revenue.
The bill would impose a new tax on the state’s “extremely wealthy” at rates of 1.5 percent and 1 percent for those worth more than $1 billion and $50 million, respectively. If passed, it could generate $21.6 billion for the state.
Democratic state lawmakers have asked Gov. Hochul to allot $10 billion for climate projects and proposed legislation that would require fossil fuel companies to pay for major storm-related issues and climate resiliency projects.
The Inflation Reduction Act allots more than $360 billion for business incentives to promote low-emission technology and manufacturing, which is also creating a competitive drive from businesses in Europe.
The $1.7 trillion spending bill that will fund the federal government through Sept. 30 includes hundreds of payouts for New Jersey municipalities’ projects, the largest of which will build an overpass along County Road 539.
The new program will pay off up to $50,000 in debt for five to 10 qualifying families this year, in an attempt to clear or reduce old debts that may inhibit a homebuyer’s ability to get a mortgage.
A new federal law will eventually make some data searches and comparisons easier, but implementation will be a challenge. Software vendors will be staking their claims, but public-sector finance associations should take the lead.
The governor’s two-year plan would put the budget over $10 billion for the first time, a $900 million increase over the current cycle’s funds. It includes $58 million for free school meals, $400 million for transportation and more.
Counties across the state have been challenging the accuracy of the federal Internet expansion map ahead of a Friday deadline. Westmoreland County alone identified 14,527 sites that don’t appear at all on the address maps.
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