Tag: Congress

U.S. Senate bill would require online retailers to collect sales taxes

May 6, 2013 at 2:19 pmCategory:NC Budget and Tax Center

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Today the United States Senate is scheduled to debate and possibly vote on a bill titled the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, which would authorize states to require businesses to collect state and local taxes for products sold via the internet. Currently, states can only require retailers to collect sales taxes if a respective business has a physical presence in a state. And while the tax is still legally due to the state regardless of whether sales occur on-line, consumers don’t always know or comply with this requirement.  

As internet sales have steadily grown as a share of total retail sales, state and local government sales tax collections have been impacted. For 2012, internet sales in the U.S. totaled $226 billion, an increase of nearly 16 percent compared to 2011, according to estimates by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Read More…

Worst moments of the 112th Congress

January 3, 2013 at 11:55 amCategory:Uncategorized

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The good people at Think Progress have posted a useful, if sobering, list of some of the worst moments of the 112th Congress – which, thankfully, ends today.

It includes: creating the “fiscal cliff,” letting the Violence Against Women Act expire, spending $1.5 million to defend the “Defense of Marriage Act,” voting against the environment at least 31 times. kowtowing to the NRA and many more.

Read the whole list by clicking here.

 

Government by tantrum

July 30, 2012 at 2:22 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Here is the kind of thing that was being referenced when we reported recently that the North Carolina General Assembly was starting to resemble the U.S. Congress.

According to this report, opponents of President Obama are so set on blocking consideration of any judicial appointees during the fourth year of his term that they’re even filibustering a judge with overwhelming conservative support!   

As you might recall, leaders of the General Assembly have stymied several of the Governor’s appointments to the state Board of Education (and other important state panels) in a similar and wholly political fashion.

$24.8 Billion in Profits and You Can’t Afford Clean Air?

September 23, 2011 at 11:50 amCategory:Uncategorized

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Today the US House of Representatives debates the proposed TRAIN Act which attempts to bar the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from issuing regulations to reduce air pollution from power plants across state lines and curbing mercury and other toxic emissions.  Twenty seven east coast states, including NC, would be affected by the Cross-State Air Pollution rule; the mercury rule would affect many industries across the country. Without these rules, our health, the economy and the future of clean energy take a giant step backward.

Read More…