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Taxes

Cranky Yellow Quaffs Bitter Bureaucracy

[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] Ever seen the movie Brazil? When the main character wants his A/C fixed, the opaque and monolithic government forces him to jump through one bureaucratic hoop after another, and he’s not sure that his simple problem will ever get fixed. Then a vigilante HVAC … Continue reading »

Categories: Economic Freedom, Local Government, Regulation, Taxes | 7 Comments

“We Need You to Work on Saturday, So We Cut Your Pay”

[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] In one of Christine Harbin’s recent posts here at Show-Me Daily, she made the point that having higher sales taxes or excise taxes is a boon for stores just across the state line. A commenter by the name of Dempster Holland cited this to … Continue reading »

Categories: Economics, Taxes | 1 Comment

The Earnings Tax Is Still Bad, for All the Reasons We’ve Already Said

[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] The Kansas City Star‘s website has a piece today by two Saint Louis University professors arguing against the repeal of the earnings taxes in St. Louis and Kansas City. The bulk of their commentary is intended to be a criticism of this 2006 study … Continue reading »

Categories: Local Government, Show-Me Institute, Taxes | 4 Comments

Jailhouse Barack

[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] According to an article over at the Springfield News-Leader, the Missouri prison population has inexplicably reached an all-time high. On a related note, I’d like to take this opportunity to commend President Barack Obama for scaling back the police state milieu slightly with his … Continue reading »

Categories: Economic Freedom, Government Spending, Health Care, Taxes | 4 Comments

Missouri’s Ticking Pension Time Bomb

[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] The front page article in today’s Post-Dispatch is about the underfunding of Missouri’s public employee pension programs. This is a serious issue that deserves more attention, and the Show-Me Institute is happy to oblige. Check out our full policy study on the matter, as … Continue reading »

Categories: Government Spending, Taxes | Leave a comment

David Stokes on the News

[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] I didn’t catch David Stokes on Fox 2 last night in St Louis, but fortunately the clip is online. Dave was interviewed regarding the Internet furor about plans by the city of St. Louis to apply its 1-percent earnings tax to players in the … Continue reading »

Categories: Local Government, Media, Show-Me Institute, Taxes | 1 Comment

A Taxing Dilemma

[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] Caitlin Hartsell’s recent blog entry discusses another recent news piece, this one in the Springfield News-Leader, about that lawyer who is suing small Missouri towns that he holds to be charging illegally high sales taxes. I already talked about this in terms of theory, … Continue reading »

Categories: Government Spending, Local Government, Taxes | 1 Comment

Local Tax: Ups and Downs

[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] There’s an article in the Columbia Daily Tribune today that discusses the latest flap in Jefferson City about a sales tax issue (link via Combest). The article deals with some general perverse incentives, and is an interesting study in public choice theory, but the … Continue reading »

Categories: Economic Freedom, Local Government, Taxes | 3 Comments

The First Shall Be Last

[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] According to this New York Times article, a number of states were competing for the honor of “first to spend federal stimulus money on infrastructure,” and, by some accounts, Missouri won. Even die-hard free-marketers will likely agree that once the federal government decides to … Continue reading »

Categories: Government Spending, Media, Taxes | 2 Comments

The Rich Get Richer Share of the Tax Burden

[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] Thanks to our former intern Calvin Harris for pointing out this great Freakonomics blog post. Excluding federal taxes, the income tax base here in Missouri is a great deal flatter, unless you happen to live in St. Louis or Kansas City. Thankfully, there are … Continue reading »

Categories: Politics, Taxes | Leave a comment