Michigan.
A VERY NASTY recall election may be brewing for state House Speaker Andy Dillon, a moderate Democrat. The Michigan Taxpayers Alliance wants to recall Dillon for supporting tax increases during the state's 2007 budget crisis, and is trying to put the issue on the Aug. 5 primary ballot. "We...

Maine passes soda, beer taxes for health.
Maine lawmakers recently approved a package of tax increases on soda, beer and wine to help pay for a state health insurance program for small businesses and the self-employed. Under the measure signed by Maine Gov. John Baldacci in April, the excise taxes on beer will increase...

How to raise taxes: a lesson in political candor.
Imagine a place where the leading politician pokes fun at those who "regard all taxes as a pestilence, a plague, or a disease." Imagine the same politician saying: "Not one of us wants to pay more in taxes. But you know what we want even less? What we want...

Cigarette tax increases may fuel bootlegging.
The public health goal of reducing tobacco use by raising cigarette taxes may be undermined in disadvantaged minority communities by illegal cigarette sales, an August AJPH study found. Members of 14 focus groups in Central Harlem, N.Y., told researchers that a large cigarette tax increase in New...

Read my lips: raise taxes: the era of the tax revolt is over. How Democrats have an opportunity to redefine the politics of government.
The greatest challenge in politics is to understand when a political era is closing and the door to a new one is ready to be opened. Thirty years ago, a small band of conservatives understood that what they called the era of "tax and spend"--in which government grew inexorably...

Tax trading on the rise.
Would you like to swap that grocery tax for a cigarette tax? How about trading property tax cuts for a sales tax increase? It might just happen as lawmakers across the country consider changing the mix of taxes that flow into state coffers. Tennessee is looking at...

November elections yield victory for popular public health causes.
Public health was the victor across the country on Election Day in November, with voters approving state ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage, protect access to reproductive health services and curb tobacco smoke in public places. Among the most-watched state ballot initiatives--and one of the most...

Missouri.
Missourians may see two competing tax increases--both of which would hike the state's levy on tobacco by 80 cents a pack--on November's ballot. The first proposal, sponsored by health associations and hospitals, would allocate the largest share of the receipts toward higher payments to health care providers. A competing...

Tractor Supply Company Reports Third Quarter 2008 Results.
~ Third Quarter Earnings per Share of $0.53 vs. $0.44 ~ ~ Third Quarter Sales Increase 16.6% ~ ~ Same-Store Sales Increase 6.2% ~ BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tractor Supply Company , the largest retail farm and ranch store chain in...

Passing tax increases the hard way.
The recent debate in Washington, D.C., over requiring a three-fifths vote of Congress in order to raise taxes, has rekindled interest in state supermajority requirements and how they affect state finances. Twelve states now use supermajority requirements to restrict legislative tax powers. Supermajority requirements are not tax limitations in...