Creative Budget Balancing
Tip It!States across the country are hurting. High unemployment numbers and reduced corporate profits have gutted tax revenue. At the same time, every state besides Vermont has a law requiring a balanced budget. As such, state governments are getting desperate to make ends meet.
A recent article in Forbes highlighted the lengths to which some states are going. They’ve been slashing budgets to the bone, but you can only cut so deep without compromising basic services. Thus, they’ve gotten creative when it comes to generating revenue.
Here are some of my favorites:
- California has proposed changing the date on state paychecks from June 30th to July 1st to “save” $1.2B (on paper) during the current fiscal year. It’s unclear what would happen next next fiscal year, when that $1.2B hits the balance sheets.
- Georgia lawmakers have proposed a “pole tax” — a $5 fee levied on strip club patrons. It didn’t pass.
- New York has proposed to put ads on garbage trucks and to institute an 18% tax on “sugary” drinks. The governor has approved a 46% increased in tobacco taxes and a 58% increase in wine taxes.
- An Oregon lawmaker proposed a $98 per ounce tax on medical marijuana, and even pushed to have the state do the growing. These measures never made it out of committee.
- A Michigan Senator introduced a bill to levy a $250 fee on strippers. The state might also agree to house California prisoners to make extra money, though it’s unclear to me how California would be able to pay.
- Nevada increased hotel taxes from 9% to 12%, and a Senator from Las Vegas has proposed a $5 tax on prostitute tricks. The latter measure didn’t pass. Even if it had, I’d think it would pretty tough to enforce.
Now… Just imagine what this list would look like if the Federal government wasn’t allowed to run a deficit!
Source: Forbes.com
Published on July 24th, 2009 - 6 Comments
Filed under: Economy, Taxes
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» Money Poll #10 (Checkbook Balancing) Results» Money Poll #10: Checkbook Balancing
» Creative Use of Your Flexible Spending Account
» One Year Ago This Week (September 10th – September 16th)
» Obsessive Compulsive Checkbook Balancing
» Budget Cuts, Fireworks, and the 4th of July
» Weekly Roundup – 03/10/06
» How to Plan a Wedding Without Breaking Your Budget
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
6 Responses to “Creative Budget Balancing”
Leave a Reply
Top Cards by Category
Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter.
Earn 30,000 bonus miles toward Award Travel when you spend $500 on the Card in the first three months from account opening. Receive double miles on Delta purchases.
Receive 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $500 in your first three months of card membership. Redeem bonus points for gift cards valued at $100. This is a charge card with no pre-set spending limit.
Earn up to 5% cash back* in categories that change and enjoy a 0% introductory rate for 15 months on Balance Transfers and 15 months on Purchases.
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy amenities for you and your business, like: complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club(R) lounges.
5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*. Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on everything else. No annual fee
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Reports to 3 major credit bureaus monthly and acceptance at millions of locations worldwide, including website purchases and reservations.
- How to Become a Millionaire
- How to Get Out of Debt
- The Best Dollars I've Ever Spent
- How Our Estate Plan is Structured
- How We Paid Our Mortgage In Less than 10 Years
- Money Making Ideas
- How to Manage Your Asset Allocation with Multiple Accounts
- Consumption Smoothing - Save While the Saving's Good
- How to Save on Groceries
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
- Eleven Great Books About Money
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest?
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
How to save money on insurance
- Double-Check Your Ally CDs
- Stocks are Not Bonds, CDs, or Savings Accounts
- The Best Values in Colleges - 2012 Edition
- Five Myths About Renter's Insurance
- Own Your Investments, Rent Your Fun
- Citibank to Issue Credit Cards in China
- Heartstrings and Pursestrings
- Saving Money at the Grocery Store: Store Brand Pricing on the Rise
- Missing Tax Paperwork?
- Is Your Investment Allocation Right?
July 24th, 2009 at 10:09 am
“California has proposed changing the date on state paychecks from June 30th to July 1st to “save†$1.2B (on paper) during the current fiscal year. It’s unclear what would happen next next fiscal year, when that $1.2B hits the balance sheets. ”
A more logical solution would be to *require* direct deposit. Meh, I know logic doesn’t come into play with gov’t =P
July 24th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Now… Just imagine what this list would look like if the Federal government wasn’t allowed to run a deficit!
Indeed. Now imagine how much better things would be if the Federal government lived within its Constitutional charter.
July 24th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I like the ads on garbage tracks idea. The government can follow and put ads on USPS tracks. Honest business income that doesn’t require new taxes or cuts.
Other ideas:
- legalize prostitution, charge license fees and taxes. Savings on enforcement as well as extra income.
- beg for money; organize “help California” campaign.
I wonder how long it’ll take before California decides to legalize marijuana… I heard some people were selling California IOU at a discount on craigslist and ebay.
About Federal Government. Unlike states they have a huge advantage – access to the printing press.
July 27th, 2009 at 9:13 am
I would believe anything these days . . .
There has also been much written about towns increasing tickets written to raise revenues . . .
If these jokers got as creative about cutting spending . . . we would be set!
July 28th, 2009 at 1:42 am
At least California is paying 3.85% interest on their IOU!
Rgds,
RB
Rich By 30 Retire By 40
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:24 am
Nevada has legalized prostitution, so taxing tricks is no more (or less) difficult to enforce than any other sales tax.