Taxes
Covering topics such as bonds, cryptocurrency, federal aid and pensions.
Hospitals stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars under the new tax and spending law, with rural facilities at particular risk. Some states are likely to reconvene their legislatures to deal with funding shortfalls.
The funding would help provide housing, shelter and transitional services to victims of domestic violence and help replenish funds that were depleted due to steep increases in demand during the pandemic.
With $1 billion on the way from the new infrastructure law, state cybersecurity planning committees will need to be creative to fairly and uniformly distribute funds across diverse government landscapes.
Having already spent millions on ads and more to come, officials are considering new ways to encourage vaccinations, which have stagnated. Over 6 million state residents have already been vaccinated.
The California county’s budget office reported that the jail requires an extra $1.5 million to cover the increased costs of food – a 26 percent rise in budget allocation – despite a reduction in overall jail population.
The COVID-era Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program has capacity to train more than 17,000 unemployed veterans, yet less than 700 have graduated from the program and it is set to expire in December.
Progressives dislike its regressivity, but states and localities depend heavily on the revenue. Some reformers’ eyes are on taxing luxuries and digital intangibles — NFTs, anyone? — but that presents its own problems.
Deindustrialized regions, smaller towns and rural areas don’t have the resources prosperous metros have to go after the new federal money. We need to focus on closing ever-widening opportunity gaps.
With more electric vehicles on the road in the coming future, state officials worry how they will build and maintain roads with fewer drivers buying into the gas tax. Some are considering fees per mile driven.
Last year, pension plans enjoyed big returns in the market, bringing their balances back to levels not seen since the Great Recession. They are still $1 trillion short, however.
Inflation is back and wages are up, while consumer spending remains strong. Economists expect these elements to drive the economy in 2022. Meanwhile, tax collections look hale and hearty. Tax relief could be coming in some states.
The tragedies in Philadelphia and the Bronx have put a spotlight back on the country’s deplorable housing market for the poorest families. Proposals to fix and fund the problem are on the table.
Often audacious, these bundled bills attempt to get a lot done in a hurry, loosening scrutiny on the public purse in the meantime.
States and localities have been slow to spend federal emergency money.
The California governor last year poured $12 billion into homeless housing and services and wants to invest another $1.5 billion next year. But advocates want long-term investments instead of one-time grants.
Governments are desperate to recoup lost revenue as people cut the cable cord.
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