The Heartland Institute

On June 10 the U.S. Senate approved its version of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, also known as the Farm Bill. The bill would fund food stamps, direct payments to farmers, crop insurance, disaster assistance, and various other subsidies. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it will cost ...

The California Assembly recently defeated a proposed moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, a technology requiring water mixed with trace amounts of sand and chemical additives to be injected under pressure to fracture underground shale formations and stimulate the flow of oil and natural gas for collection. Advances in hydraulic ...

Several states are taking second looks at the renewable portfolio standards (RPS) they passed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. An RPS requires utilities to obtain a specified percentage of their power from renewable sources by a certain date. Twenty-two of the 29 states with such mandates have considered changing those laws ...

Two proposals are being considered in Oregon to increase tobacco excise taxes at the state and local levels. One proposal would increase the statewide tobacco tax from $1.18 per pack to $2.18. Although the current rate is below the national average of $1.48, it is higher than all of Oregon’s neighbors’ (Idaho: 57 cents, Nevada ...

As states begin debating whether to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), many, including Arizona, are still debating whether to expand their Medicaid programs. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, once an opponent of Medicaid expansion, recently declared a moratorium on all other legislation until a Medicaid plan ...

Almost half the U.S. states now impose a wireless tax above 10 percent; the national average is approximately 17.1 percent . Even as revenue earned per wireless phone falls, taxes and fees climb. Legislative efforts to combat these high tax rates may now be taking a step forward. This week, Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Trent ...

Eighty percent of the world’s energy and 60 percent of its food and clothing are produced or transported using fossil fuels. Critics of fossil fuel use say governments should make investments to help transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. They also claim if fossil fuels weren’t able to externalize the ...

Texas legislators are considering strengthening an education reform that has garnered significant national attention: the Parent Trigger. The legislation, first passed in California, has been considered in approximately 20 other states. A Parent Trigger allows a simple majority of parents at a school to “trigger” one of several ...

Wisconsin has consistently ranked among the worst states in the nation over the past 30 years for its total state and local tax burden , according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. Wisconsin’s current personal income tax has five brackets and a top rate of 7.75 percent. Over the past year, the Wisconsin Legislature has considered ...

States across the country are currently debating whether to expand their Medicaid programs. Medicaid expansion is an expensive endeavor that studies show will not provide better health care. The current Medicaid system is already stretching states thin financially and causing difficulties providing cost-effective and efficient care ...

In an effort to improve their state’s economic competitiveness, Ohio legislators are considering major reforms to the state’s unique municipal income tax system. House Bill 5 was introduced by state Reps. Cheryl Grossman and Michael Henne to streamline Ohio’s municipal income tax system, which is currently a jumble of local rules ...

In an effort to address his state’s uncompetitive corporate tax system and attract new business to Rhode Island, Gov. Lincoln Chafee recently proposed reducing the state’s corporate income tax rate over three years while broadening the base of the tax. Corporate income taxes are considered by many economists to be the most ...

The expansion of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling continues to enable profitable extraction of oil and gas in many states across the country. Water is an essential component of both the drilling and fracturing phases of the process. As a result, some are asking whether hydraulic fracturing will place an undue burden ...

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was passed with the expressed intention of reducing the cost of health care while expanding coverage. But the law’s tax on medical devices actually does the opposite by increasing costs while reducing the availability of these products. As of January 1, 2013, PPACA requires ...

This year North Carolina joined the growing number of states considering major changes to its tax system. The North Carolina Tax Fairness Act, introduced in May by Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger , lowers both personal and corporate income taxes, cuts the franchise business tax, abolishes the death tax, and lowers the ...

As technology advances, more products are becoming available online in digital formats. As digital goods such as applications, music, videos, and e-books have become more prevalent, state and local governments are looking for ways to raise new revenue by taxing these purchases. Most states impose sales tax only on transactions ...

In his 2014 budget, President Barack Obama called for a strategic review of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The budget stated selling or privatizing the TVA could result in a significant cut in the federal deficit and “put the nation on a sustainable fiscal path.” Born during the Great Depression as part of President ...

Lawmakers in Maine have proposed a comprehensive tax reform plan that would cut the state’s personal and corporate income tax rates, increase sales taxes, change how property taxes are determined, increase “sin” taxes, and eliminate the estate tax. The bipartisan group of legislators sponsoring the bill , known collectively as ...

The federal government’s “Too Big to Fail” policy remains highly unpopular with the public. Previous bank bailouts have proven to be an expensive use of taxpayer dollars and a dubious act of government interference in the market. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and David Vitter (R-LA) have proposed new legislation that would use ...

Nevada legislators are considering adjusting the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS). The RPS requires utilities to obtain a specified percentage of their power from renewable sources by a certain date. Twenty-two of the 29 states with such mandates in place have considered changing those laws in the past two years. Nevada ...