3Q 2010 Tax Collections up Nationwide

According to tax collection data released yesterday by the U.S. Census, considerable economic gains were made during the third quarter of 2010.

The City Wire.com reports:

Overall state and local tax revenues grew in the third quarter compared to the third quarter of 2009, marking the fourth straight quarter of positive growth. Property tax, general sales tax and individual income tax revenues increased, while corporate income tax revenue declined. The decline in corporate income tax revenue is the third consecutive quarter of decline.

In Arkansas, general sales tax collections at the state level were up 7.8% in the quarter, individual income tax collections were up 3.2%, corporate net income taxes received were up 38.2%, and the severance tax total was up 41.5%.

It’s likely the fourth quarter report will show continued gains for Arkansas. The Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration reported Dec. 2 that year-to-date (July-November) total revenues are $2.198 billion, up 2.4% over the same period in 2009. Year-to-date gross receipts collections — primarily sales and use tax collections — total $891.9 million, up 7.8% above the 2009 period and up 0.9% above forecast.

Oklahoma saw the general sales tax totals up 9.8% in the quarter, individual income tax collections up 3.4%, corporate net income tax up 33.4%, and the severance tax up 26.4%.

During the 2010 third quarter 2010 tax revenues for state and local governments totaled $284.3 billion, up 5.21%, but down compared to the $285.6 billion in the third quarter of 2008.

Continue reading at The City Wire.com...

California's Business Tax Burden No Heavier than Average

Although my home state of California is often scrutinized for it's heavy corporate tax rate, according to this article from LA Times.com, the burden is no heavier than the national average. In fact, California takes an estimated 4.7% of what businesses produce in taxes, which is the exact same as the national average.

The government take is higher in Alaska (13.8%), New York (5.5%) and Florida (5.3%). Even Texas, known for rolling out the red carpet for business, pocketed more than California — 4.9%.

That's according to an annual study of the tax burdens in all 50 states by the Council on State Taxation, a business-friendly group led by senior executives of Chevron Corp., General Electric Co. and other major corporations.

"California is pretty middle-of-the-pack when it comes to business taxes," said Joseph R. Crosby, the organization's senior director of policy.

Although the state's corporate income tax rate — 8.84% — is among the higher in the nation, its bite is diminished by various tax credits and other measures that have been adopted over the years, including:

• One of the most generous research-and-development tax credits in the nation, allowing businesses to deduct 15% of the amount they increase their R&D funding over a base level. The national median is 6.5%, according to Yonghong Wu of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

• Proposition 13, the 1978 initiative that limits property tax increases to 1% a year until properties are sold, when they are reassessed at the market value. This has slowly shifted the property tax burden from businesses to homeowners, since commercial real estate changes hands less often than residential.

Continue reading at LA Times.com...

Bank Of America Halts All Foreclosure Sales

From CNNMoney.com...

Bank of America is halting foreclosure sales in all 50 states as part of a widening investigation into flaws in the process, the company announced Friday.

The announcement came a week after the nation's largest bank said it was freezing home foreclosures in 23 states where foreclosures must be approved by the courts. Friday's announcement by Bank of America extends a review of foreclosure documents to all states, regardless of the required legal processes.

"Our ongoing assessment shows the basis for our past foreclosure decisions is accurate," said Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) spokesman Dan Frahm in an e-mailed statement. "We continue to serve the interests of our customers, investors and communities."

The announcement came two days after JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) said it will also halt foreclosures for about 56,000 homeowners after learning that its employees may have approved foreclosures without personally reviewing loan files.

JP Morgan Chase had no comment on Friday's announcement by Bank of America.