California unemployment falls to 12.4 percent

Here in California the unemployment rate is falling, but not making much of a difference. It fell to 12.4 percent in California last month and the state had its fifth straight month of job growth, but the numbers are still very weak, according to the California Employment Development Department. The statewide unemployment rate fell only a tenth of a point, from 12.5 percent in May, while 28,300 jobs were added. However, most of the jobs were temporary government jobs, probably those from the Census.

In May, California still had the third highest unemployment rate in the U.S., trailing Nevada (14 percent) and Michigan (13.6 percent). May marked the first time since April 2006 that a state other than Michigan had the worst unemployment in the nation.

Families In Homeless Shelters Increased 7% In '09

From USAToday.com:

The recession continued to take its toll as more families with children became homeless for the second straight year, a U.S. government report shows.

The number of families in homeless shelters increased 7% to 170,129 from fiscal year 2008 through fiscal year 2009, a report released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found. At the same time, the overall number of homeless people in shelters fell 2% to 1.56 million.

"As the nation's housing and job markets show encouraging signs of recovery, there are still far too many families who are on the brink of becoming homeless or have fallen into our shelter system," Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a statement.

The annual report counted the homeless in two ways. The first was a census in cities and counties, where volunteers fanned out one night during the last week in January to count those living on streets and in shelters. That count found 643,000 people were homeless. The chronically homeless dropped 10% from 2008 to 111,000.

That decline stems from more local and federal efforts to find the chronically homeless permanent housing and social services, said Nan Roman of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

The second method of counting involved a year-long study of shelter data in 334 communities. It found more families in shelters rented or lived with family before becoming homeless. Families also are staying longer in shelters, from 30 days in 2008 to 36 in 2009.

Property Taxes: High in Blue States, Low in Red States

The Tax Foundation has published a study reviewing new census data on property taxes on homeowners. As Tax Prof pointed out, it is interesting to “note that 26 of the 30 highest-tax states in the three categories are Blue States that voted for John Kerry in 2004, and that 24 of the 30 lowest-tax states in the three categories are Red States that voted for George Bush in 2004.” Below is an embedded image of the study’s findings.

Fastest Growing Tax Is on Tobacco

According to Tax Foundation, the taxes on tobacco have shown the fastest increase in taxes on any product since 2000. Recent Census data shows that between 2000 and 2005 the taxes on tobacco products have risen a staggering fifty five percent, as opposed to much smaller increases on other products such as alcoholic beverages, gasoline, etc. This is consistent with the recent trend of raising revenue through means that are "politically feasible." Raising taxes on tobacco is politically easy because the tax revenue benefits all taxpayers but only a minority of people must pay the tax.

Tax Relief For Special Needs Children

According to recent Census data, one in twelve children and teenagers have a physical or mental disability. With special education enrollment costs on the rise, parents are left with the financial burden of paying for special education. Although the Internal Revenue Service does not have any clear cut relief measures for these parents, there are many deductions that the IRS recommends that parents of special needs children take advantage of when preparing their tax return. Intuit has a helpful article on tax relief for special needs children that you can read by clicking here.