TOP FIVE: From taxes in many forms to small business and more

Our weekly Top Five feature offers big stories or views from the past week with policy and legislative implications.

1. Results of ballot initiatives in other states, Tax Foundation, Nov. 8, 2016

If you’ve looking for hot policy topics in other states, there’s no better place than to see how states voted on various ballot initiatives on Tuesday.  The list includes two states that increased income taxes, four that killed measures on various ideas such as the carbon tax or a high gross receipts tax, four states that passed marijuana taxes, three states that said no to higher cigarette taxes and four cities that raised taxes on soft drinks.

2. Expanding EITC would help vets, service members, Emily Horton and Chuck Marr of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Nov. 9, 2016

This new analysis suggests that pro-work tax credits for low- and moderate-income working households could boost economic security for 600,000 veterans and active-duty service members by closing a gap in a credit for adults who don’t raise children and non-custodial parents.  Currently, about 2 million veteran and military households earn the earned income tax credit.

The analysis shows 13,000 to 15,000 veterans and military workers in South Carolina could be helped by expanding the EITC.

From a policy perspective, offering a state-based EITC for working families in South Carolina also would also help boost economic security and lift incomes.

3. Higher gas taxes on states’ agendas, Lawrence Lewitinn in Yahoo Finance, Nov. 4, 2016

At least 13 states, including South Carolina, are considering raising gas taxes, according to this story.  This follows at least 11 states that have raised gas taxes since 2015.  An excerpt:

“’Twenty-one states have not raised their gas tax in a decade or more,” said Vera Gibbons, senior consumer analyst at GasBuddy.  ‘The thinking is the timing is right because gas prices are cheap, the economy is picking up momentum, and job growth is kicking in… Our roads are in bad condition and a lot of states are thinking we need to do something to improve the roads.

“‘[State governments] have to pay for it somehow because the federal government isn’t doing it. The Federal government hasn’t rates raised its gas tax in 23 years so the states are taking it into their own hands and finding ways to fund these projects.’”

4. The state of small business in South Carolina, Business News Daily, Nov. 4, 2016

In this review of small business in the state, opportunities are shown to be stable economic growth, a healthy labor market with a low unemployment rate and low taxes.  Challenges include the sometimes high cost of living, particularly in coastal metro areas and low per capita income, which makes consumer spending tougher and lowers profit margins.  An excerpt:

“Economic growth has led to a slight increase in per capita personal income as people have returned to work, but the labor market isn’t so tight that it breeds intense competition for new talent. In addition, South Carolinian business owners enjoy a relatively low tax burden compared with the rest of the nation. And although there are a lot of bright spots in South Carolina’s business environment, it does have obstacles. Ballooning real estate costs, particularly on the coast, can make it difficult for business owners to upgrade to a larger space. And despite the increase in per capita personal income (PCPI) — a measure of how much money the average consumer makes each year — it remains far lower than the national average.”

5. What to expect in a Donald Trump presidency, Jonathan Cohn in Huffington Post, Nov. 9, 2016

Here are some things that American can expect after Donald Trump takes office:  Repeal of Obamacare, causing millions to lose health insurance protection; Worsening of greenhouse gas emissions, which have started to slow; a more conservative Supreme Court; and rising deficits, causing programs that help the middle class and poor to be cut.  An excerpt:

“One way or another, it mean reversing the progress of the last few years, so that the health care system looks more like the one that existed before reform ― with cheaper, skimpier policies available to people in good health, but fewer insured overall and bigger bills for people with serious medical problems. … Trump may have presented himself as a threat to the establishment and champion of the little guy, but when it comes to economic policy he’s actually a very ordinary Republican who believes in policies that are very good for businesses and the wealthy, and not so good for everybody else.”