Tag Archives: sales taxes

More on Amazon and the sales tax

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From Slate: Amazon has aggressively fought state efforts to impose sales tax on its operations. In 2008, New York passed a law that required online companies to collect taxes if they had deals with marketing affiliates based in the state. … Continue reading →

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The city’s financial picture looks grim

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s ugly. A draft of the fiscal 2012 budget, which begins in July, shows a projected shortfall of at least $118 million. For fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2015, the shortfall is an estimated $542 million. […] Several City Council members … Continue reading →

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Amazon was just the beginning

Posted on November 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I agree with this. By telling retail giant Amazon.com that it owes $269 million in uncollected sales taxes, the State of Texas has waded into the national debate over taxing Internet sales. The state comptroller’s office said it has sent … Continue reading →

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The hole is deeper than we thought, the continuing story

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You have to admire the timing on this. Texas collected $2.5 billion less in taxes in the 2010 fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, than the previous year, state Comptroller Susan Combs said in a new cash report. The tax … Continue reading →

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Texas tells Amazon to pay up

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Well, that’s one way to attack the budget deficit. Texas has sent Amazon.com Inc. a $269 million bill for uncollected sales taxes on purchases made by state residents from the Seattle-based Internet superstore over a four-year period. […] R.J. DeSilva, … Continue reading →

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Dry Dallas update

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of money being spent to remove alcohol sales restrictions in Dallas. The group behind next month’s ballot measures to expand the sale of alcohol in “dry” areas of Dallas has raised nearly $1 million – mainly from grocery stores, … Continue reading →

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The hole keeps growing

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Do I hear $21 billion? $21 billion, anybody? The working estimate of the looming state budget shortfall has grown to about $21 billion in the face of smaller-than-expected tax revenues and projected higher costs for education and health care, legislative … Continue reading →

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Sales tax revenues inch up

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s better than the alternative, but still nothing to write home about. Sales tax receipts in July were up 2.2 percent compared to the same time the previous year, [Comptroller Susan] Combs said. Revenue increased $1.69 billion from July 2009, … Continue reading →

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How dry is Dallas?

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m fascinated by stories about elections to allow the sale of alcohol in places where it is currently prohibited. I suppose I find it weird that these vestiges of Prohibition are still with us. I especially find it strange to … Continue reading →

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Some good job news

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. At least, I hope it’s a start. A surge in temporary federal Census Bureau jobs coupled with new leisure and hospitality positions helped local employers create 20,200 new jobs during May. The data, released Friday by the … Continue reading →

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The entitlement argument against removing a sales tax exemption

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by State Rep. Rene Oliveira, continues to examine tax expenditures such as sales tax exemptions, and the whining coming from some of the potentially targeted businesses is really starting to annoy me. The … Continue reading →

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Where have all our sales taxes gone?

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege would like to know. “The situation is not good,” said Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, who has asked representatives of Comptroller Susan Combs to testify before his Appropriations Committee. State revenues remain “well short” of predictions, although sales tax … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker’s first budget

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It sounds good, and she kept her promises about not raising the property tax rate, at least for this year, but there are some blanks that still need to be filled in. Mayor Annise Parker unveiled a $4.1 billion spending … Continue reading →

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DART may take a big step back

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Dallas Area Rapid Transit, which has built out a much more extensive rail network than Metro and which has plans for a lot more, may instead scrap most of those plans due to serious financial issues. Final decisions are months … Continue reading →

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Where there’s a sacred cow, there’s a lobbyist protecting it

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Star-Telegram reminds us that while legislators may be hunting for sacred cows to help fill the budget gap, actually bagging them will be hard to do. The renewed look at tax breaks has generated a widespread case of jitters … Continue reading →

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Collecting sales tax on Internet purchases

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Tax revenues are down in nearly every state. Most states rely on sales taxes for a significant portion of their revenues. Purchases made over the Internet are generally exempt from sales taxes. You do the math. In recent weeks, legislators … Continue reading →

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Metro and the FTA

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t see this KHOU story, in which a regular Metro critic claims that the agency deliberately gave outdated sales tax revenue information to the Federal Transit Administration in order to get $900 million in federal money for the North … Continue reading →

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Mayor talks Metro and money

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The new Metro board was confirmed by City Council last week, they were sworn in yesterday, and while we don’t yet know exactly what direction they’re going to take, we know what their marching orders are. Mayor Annise Parker says … Continue reading →

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First, you have to admit you have a problem

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Peggy Fikac has a frustrating conversation with State Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden. I say frustrating because I know he knows what the correct answer to this is, and I also know he’s never going to say it out … Continue reading →

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Hunting sacred cows

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

If there’s one item on the budget fix to-do list for which there is fairly broad agreement, at least in principle, it’s the idea that the existing tax code ought to be examined to see what things are being exempted … Continue reading →

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If there’s a big sporting event in town…

Posted on March 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Then it must be time for a story about the economic impact of that big sporting event. For a city that has hosted the Super Bowl, the World Series and NBA and MLB All-Star games in the past decade, the … Continue reading →

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More on Metro’s finances

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron takes a closer look at Metro’s finances and the recently expressed doubts about their ability to pay for the University and Uptown lines. Mayor Annise Parker said last week that she wasn’t convinced the Metropolitan Transit Authority would … Continue reading →

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The city’s budget gap widens

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Everywhere you look, it’s bad budget news. Mayor Annise Parker raised the possibility of furloughs and layoffs for city employees for the first time Wednesday, saying the city’s dire budget outlook will require City Council to consider all available options … Continue reading →

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What passes for good budget news these days

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Sales tax revenue didn’t decline as much as in previous months. In February, the state’s sales tax collections were down 8.8 percent compared with the same month a year earlier. Though still in the red, the February figure looked better … Continue reading →

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Those evil, dirty, federal dollars

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Perry loves ’em. Which of the following revenue sources has grown the most since Rick Perry became governor? A. Sales tax, driven by a strong economy. B. Natural gas production tax revenue, driven by a strong economy and the … Continue reading →

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Sales tax collections keep going down

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is the budget writers gnashing their teeth. In more grim news for Texas’ budget, state Comptroller Susan Combs said Friday that monthly sales tax collections are down again, the eighth straight month of double-digit declines. Collections … Continue reading →

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Expanding Metro

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Soon-to-be-former Metro Chair David Wolff riffs off of a Chron editorial that lamented the lack of connectivity between Metro and some new bus routes in Harris County and makes the case for expanding Metro’s service area. The first steps toward … Continue reading →

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Sales taxes still sliding

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Still no sign of a turnaround in many Texas cities. Municipal sales tax collections across Texas fell 11.4 percent in November, raising new economic worries amid signs of recovery in housing and other industries. The declines are discouraging to city … Continue reading →

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It’s almost as if the answer were staring us right in the face

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Same song, I forget which verse. As compared with a year earlier, sales tax collections were down 14.4 percent in November, and those kinds of returns have hastened budget-cutting talk. But what’s really driving the conversation is a decision that … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker hits the ground running

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor-Elect Annise Parker talks to the Chron and tells us again what she intends to do after she’s sworn in. “One of the reasons I’m not having that big, excited, happy feeling is that there is a lot of work … Continue reading →

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A few words with David Wolff

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron talks to David Wolff, the soon-to-be-former Chair of Metro, about the state of the agency. Q: Why has it taken six years to build new light rail lines when the Main Street line was built so quickly? A: … Continue reading →

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The budget mess that awaits the next Governor

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We already know that the next Legislative session will be a whole lot of no fun thanks to declining revenue estimates and our structural deficits. Here’s a further illustration of the problem. The current state budget is financed with $12 … Continue reading →

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Metro and the sales tax

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Metro chair David Wolff would like to see the portion of the sales tax revenue that gets diverted from its coffers to Harris County and the smaller cities go back to Metro. Wolff believes METRO can build significantly more if … Continue reading →

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State sales tax revenues way down

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The 2011 legislative session is going to be so much fun. Sales tax revenues have taken double-digit dives for five months running; in each of those months, the state’s income from those taxes has been more than 10 percent lower … Continue reading →

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