With residents demanding improvements in transportation, infrastructure, and education, some governors — Republicans included — are pushing to raise taxes,
The Wall Street Journal reported.
Some 12 states are weighing considerable tax increases to meet mounting demands for services, notwithstanding the political accomplishments of anti-tax conservatives in the 2014 elections.
Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform said that nearly all states and legislatures with Republicans in charge remain "in a tax-cutting mood and are moving forward," the Journal reported.
In Michigan, GOP Gov. Rick Snyder urged the public to support a proposition that would have hiked the state's sales and gas taxes, but voters rejected the scheme Tuesday.
In his first term, Snyder had pushed through a $1.7 billion tax cut for the business sector. He is now trying to cover a $325 million budget deficit, the Journal reported.
With the fiscal year starting in July for most states, a good number find themselves grappling with the aftershocks of the financial crisis that began in 2007-08.
Nevada Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval is pushing for increased taxes to cover programs in education, boost services, and provide pay hikes to state employees who had earlier taken salary cuts.
Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee is seeking a tax on capital gains and on carbon emissions to strengthen education. Republican Gov. John Kasich of Ohio is proposing a package that includes raising taxes on businesses and cigarettes, the Journal reported.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas is also promoting targeted taxes to raise revenue, the Journal reported. He reduced income taxes in 2012 and 2013 to stimulate growth, and began funding schools using block grants. The state's $800 million budget shortfall has required it to shorten the school year,
The Guardian reported.
Connecticut, led by Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy, expects to be at least $65 million in the hole going into the new fiscal year because of weaker-than-expected tax revenues, the
Hartford Courant reported.
Despite finding some unanticipated monies, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania is facing a "structural" budget deficit of $1.5 billion,
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
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