In point of fact |
from NewsLink, Vol. 4, No. 4, Summer 2000
Not keeping up with the Joneses; Charitable giving lags behind growth in wealth
Charitable giving grew faster than the economy last year, although it did not quite keep pace with the tremendous accumulation in wealth. The ebullient stock market and the prosperous economy helped drive donations to charity up nearly $16 billion, to $190.2 billion, 9.1% higher than in 1998 and well ahead of the 5.7% growth in GDP. Despite last year's gains, the growth in giving appears not to have kept up with the growth in wealth. Karen W. Arenson, New York Times, May 25, 2000.
Cool Britannia gets hot under the collar over gas taxes
On Aug. 1, across Britain, an estimated [6.75 million] car drivers, fed up with paying around £4 ($6) a gallon for gas, heeded [an] unprecedented boycott call. A British Treasury spokesman confirmed that 75 to 80% of the price of a British gallon of petrol is tax. Through most of the 1990s, Conservative and Labour governments alike have added roughly 5% each year to the price of gas, citing environmental reasons. The boost in revenue has increased funding for government health, education, and social programs, which now are heavily dependent on gas taxes. According to the government's recent Family Expenditure Survey of 18,000 households, the cost of running a car is now the most expensive item in the domestic budget for the average British family. Alexander MacLeod, Christian Science Monitor, August 7, 2000.
Juicing up cranberry prices
Federal limits on this fall's cranberry crop will help reduce a berry surplus and over time could increase the price local growers get for their fruit. With the country awash in cranberries, the government has decided to force farmers to cut production or dump about 15% of their crops this fall to winnow the surplus. That's enough to make 40 million gallons of cranberry juice cocktail. Greg Gatlin, Boston Herald, July 7, 2000.
Made in Massachusetts: Web Tax Collecting
Internet taxes are unfair, argue e-commerce companies. With 7,500 state and local tax jurisdictions nationwide, just determining the applicable online sales tax would be far too burdensome. Better find a new argument, says Daniel Sullivan, CEO of the Salem, MA company, Taxware International. His firm develops software that can calculate e-commerce taxes. Merchants log on, send basic information and Taxware matches zip codes against a database of local tax figures, working out the numbers and reporting the transaction to the appropriate authorities ... “We can calculate any tax, anywhere in the United States,” Sullivan says. Evan Ratliff, Wired, July 2000.
Tennessee turns back income tax proposal
Tennesseeans may want to be number one when it comes to sending a football team to the Super Bowl or a man to the White House, but there's one area where they don't mind being in last place. Paying taxes. Tennessee has one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation. Only New Hampshire ranks lower, but not for long. Revenues are expected to increase when New Hampshire resolves a school funding issue with a new tax and Tennessee will drop to 50th in the percentage of personal income to taxes. Despite efforts by the Governor and lawmakers who want to introduce an income tax, the state budget was passed this year without new taxes. Flo Conner, Boston Globe, June 25, 2000.
NewsLink is the quarterly newsletter of the Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research at Suffolk University. © 1996-2002. All rights reserved.
HTML format revised on 7/3/03 13:52