State revenue down in January, still ahead of budget for fiscal year
Press release from Department of Finance and Administration
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Larry Martin today announced that overall January state tax revenues posted less than expected, while year-to-date state revenues remain more than budgeted. Revenues for January totaled $1.4 billion, and were 3.18 percent less than revenues received in the same time period one year ago, and were $25 million less than budgeted.
December state revenue $171.6M over budget estimate
Press release from Department of Finance and Administration
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Larry Martin announced today that revenues for December posted higher than expected and exceeded the monthly revenues from the previous year. State revenues for December were $1.4 billion, which is a growth of 11.34 percent and $139.9 million more than December 2016.
U.S. Supreme Court takes up state sales tax dispute; Haslam and Slatery hopeful
Gov. Bill Haslam and state Attorney General Herbert Slatery are both hailing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments in a case they hope will authorize states to require retailers to collect sales taxes even if they have no physical presence within the state, reports the Times Free Press.
Airbnb to begin collecting taxes for state Department of Revenue
Airbnb will collect state and local sales taxes from the 7,700 Tennesseans who rent their homes through the online company and send the money to the state Department of Revenue under an agreement reached Wednesday, reports The Tennessean. Currently, each individual Airbnb host is responsible for collecting and remitting the taxes.
State revenue was a bit below estimates in November ($4.1M)
Press release from Department of Finance and Administration
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Larry Martin announced Thursday that overall November state revenues were $957.3 million, which is 5.55 percent more than November 2016, but $4.1 million less than the budgeted estimate.
Blackburn online Senate campaign ad (she opposed TN income tax)
In this online video for her U.S. Senate campaign, Rep. Marsha Blackburn points to her opposition to a state income tax while she was a state senator and takes a swat at TennCare in the process. She says the tax was proposed by a governor (Republican Don Sunquist, not mentioned in the video) “trying to pay for this test case for Hillary Care, which was called TennCare.”
Hall tax repeal prompts letter-writing war between GOP legislators and Democrats
A letter-writing war has been underway in recent editions of The Cleveland Daily Banner between Republican state legislators representing Bradley County and Democrats. A letter from state Democratic Chair Mary Mancini was the latest episode and prompted the newspaper to do a roundup story that chronicles the back-and-forth written sniping.
Haslam: GOP tax bill will bring more immigration to TN from other states
Gov. Bill Haslam says more people from states such as New York, New Jersey and California are likely to move to Tennessee with enactment of a Republican federal tax package that eliminates current deductions for payment of state and local taxes, reports the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal.
As Haslam explains it, those living in states with higher tax rates currently see a greater federal tax deduction. Residents in Tennessee, a low-tax state, don’t benefit as much from the state and local tax deduction.
“That changes now,” Haslam said, speaking Monday at Nissan’s Smyrna plant. “A lot of people who live in states with income tax of 10 or 12 percent start going, ‘Huh, well, only having to pay half is not such a bad deal, but if I’m having to pay all of it, maybe I’d be better off in Tennessee.’ We think it actually will encourage both investment growth and population growth in Tennessee.”
William Fox, an economist at University of Tennessee Knoxville, said research shows tax rates can affect where people leave, but the impact is small. And there are several caveats to keep in mind with that calculation. Taxes pay for services, so when changing residences, an individual may also be giving up tax-funded services they enjoy.
“There is a small impact of taxes on where people live,” Fox said. “With the elimination of the deductibility, you make it more expensive to live in high-tax states.”
Another point to keep in mind, Fox said, is that the elimination of state and local tax deductions only affects those who itemize tax returns. Thirty percent of taxpayers itemized deductions in 2014, according to the Tax Policy Center. For those individuals, ending the state and local tax deduction would make Tennessee more attractive, he said.
Black appointed to House-Senate conference committee on tax legislation
Press release from U.S. House Budget Committee
Washington, D.C. – House Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a motion to go to conference with the Senate in order to deliver tax reform for the first time in more than three decades. Chairman Black has been appointed by Speaker Paul Ryan to serve on the conference committee.
State’s October tax revenue $1.3M under budget estimate
Press release from Department of Finance and Administration
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee revenues for October exceeded revenues from the same month a year ago, but were marginally less than the budgeted estimate. Finance and Administration Commissioner Larry Martin reported today that October revenues were $1.0 billion, which is $31.1 million more than October of last year and $1.3 million less than the budgeted estimate. The growth rate for October was 3.16%.
