Finance Space

Gov. David Paterson, who has repeatedly refused calls to increase taxes to soften the blow of his proposed deep budget cuts, apparently has not developed an across-the-board hatred of all taxes since he abandoned his liberal legislator ways in favor of a more centrist and (to his mind) statewide approach.

During his Q-and-A this afternoon, Paterson markedly did not rule out support for the payroll tax on businesses that reportedly will be proposed by the Ravitch Commission as part of a rescue plan for the MTA.

The governor said he is “quite pleased” by what he’s seen so far from the commission, adding:

The Commission on Property Tax Relief took a surprising direction in the report it released Monday. Not only did it lay out a blueprint for cutting school costs – the underlying driver of high property taxes – it dug deep to root out problems that have deviled educators for decades.

If the report’s recommendations survive the inevitable political battles to come, it will be because the commission listened to these nitty-gritty policy issues. It has published an in-depth look at special education costs, expensive regulations and possible consolidations. The commission, led by Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, did its homework.

What to do about corporate tax rates represents a key difference between Obamanomics and McCainomics. John McCain wants to cut them. Barack Obama wants to raise them, at least on oil companies, through a windfall profits tax. But maybe they’re both wrong. Maybe we should just get rid of these levies altogether. Here are 20 reasons why it’s time to sack the corporate income tax:

1) The United States has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the world, just shy of 40 percent when you combine state and federal taxes.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — It’s July and new laws and taxes are kicking into effect in Washington.

Driving while holding a cell phone could now add $124 to a ticket when a driver is stopped for another offense. Drivers should use a speakerphone or handsfree device to keep their hands on the wheel.

The gasoline tax goes up a penny-and-a-half to 37.5 cents. This is the last step of a 9.5 cent increase that has been phased in since 2005 to pay for nearly 300 specific projects.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday called on Congress to preserve tax cuts passed by the Bush administration, approve a free trade agreement with Colombia and drill for more domestic oil.

“We must preserve the tax cuts delivered by President George W. Bush,” Cheney said in a speech to the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Increasing taxes would hurt the economy, he said. “But that is precisely what is set to occur … In six months will be the beginning of 2009 and the year after that, the Bush tax cuts passed by Congress in our first term will expire,” he said.

1. Don’t Forget You Still Have UK Tax To Pay!

Arguably, this is more of a warning than a tip, but it is vital to remember that any UK resident individual buying property abroad is still exposed to UK tax on that property. This may include UK Income Tax on rental income, UK Capital Gains Tax on property sales and UK Inheritance Tax on any foreign properties you leave to your children.