Arizona版 - 北卡改革初见成效:通过降低失业保险,降低所得税率 (转载) |
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l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 【 以下文字转载自 USANews 讨论区 】
发信人: lczlcz (lcz), 信区: USANews
标 题: 北卡改革初见成效:通过降低失业保险,降低所得税率
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Fri Jun 5 18:47:35 2015, 美东)
Lessons from Carolina: Paying People to Not Work is Losing Policy, Tax Cuts
and Reforms do Work
In 2013, North Carolina figured out paying people to not work is a losing
policy.
N.C became the first state to reject “free” federal payments for extended
unemployment benefits and reduce the weeks of benefits to 20 from 26. It
also passed big tax cuts.
Huge Payoff
The result was phenomenal as reported by Stephen Moore, senior fellow at the
Heritage Foundation in the Wall Street Journal article: The Tax-Cut Payoff
in Carolina.
Four years ago North Carolina’s unemployment rate was above 10% and the
state still bore the effects of its battering in the recession. Many rural
towns faced jobless rates of more than 20%. But in 2013 a combination of the
biggest tax-rate reductions in the state’s history and a gutsy but
controversial unemployment-insurance reform supercharged the state’s
economy and has even helped finance budget surpluses.
The tax cut slashed the state’s top personal income-tax rate to 5.75%,
near the regional average, from 7.75%, which had been the highest in the
South. The corporate tax rate was cut to 5% from 6.9%. The estate tax was
eliminated.
Next came the novel tough-love unemployment-insurance reforms. The state
became the first in the nation to reject “free” federal payments for
extended unemployment benefits and reduce the weeks of benefits to 20 from
26. The maximum weekly dollar amount of payments, $535, which had been among
the highest in the nation, was trimmed to a maximum of $350 a week. As a
result, tens of thousands of Carolinians left the unemployment rolls.
While these measures were passing the legislature, the state capital
boiled over with rancorous political rallies, called Moral Mondays, designed
to block the “cruel” GOP agenda. Rev. William Barber II, one of the
protest organizers, lambasted Republicans for making the Tar Heel State a “
crucible of extremism and injustice.” The national media piled on with
claims that the Republican agenda cut taxes for the rich while slashing
benefits for the poor.
Then a funny thing happened. After a few months, the unemployment rate
started to decline rapidly and job growth climbed. Not just a little. Nearly
200,000 jobs have been added since 2013 and the unemployment rate has
fallen to 5.5% from 7.9%.
On the Tax Foundation index of business conditions, North Carolina has
been catapulted to 16th from a dismal 44th since 2013.
The most recent news will make many other governors jealous. The state
didn’t take the extra federal benefits—which require repayments later to
the feds—and it cut the weekly benefits. So the state government has been
able to pay back $2.8 billion in unemployment-insurance money owed to the
feds, and it now has a trust-fund surplus. This means it will be able to
provide employers with at least $500 million in cuts from the state and
federal unemployment tax on payroll over 18 months.
This comes at a time when other states are having to raise payroll taxes
to pay off the loans for the rich benefits they doled out in the recession
and its aftermath. The lesson: Handouts from the feds are never free.
An even bigger surprise—even to supporters—is the tax cut’s impact on
revenue. Even with lower rates, tax revenues are up about 6% this year
according to the state budget office. On May 6, Gov. McCrory announced that
the state has a budget surplus of $400 million while many other states are
scrambling to fill gaps.
The story gets better. Because North Carolina built in a trigger
mechanism that applies excess revenues to corporate-rate cuts, the business
tax has fallen to 5% from 6.9%, and next year it drops to 4%.
Lesson for Illinois
Tax cuts, workers' comp reform, and other business-friendly measures are the
way to growth.
Instead, Illinoisans suffer from high taxes, untenable pension promises,
inane union work rules, and workers' comp rules that collectively drive
businesses away.
Worker's Comp Reform Dies in Illinois Senate
Let's put a spotlight on the need for workers' comp reform and why it's
important for businesses in Illinois.
On May 29 Workers' Comp Reform Defeated in Illinois Senate.
An amendment to SB 997 filed by Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno
would finally address Illinois’ causation standard under our worker’s
compensation law. Currently, the workplace could be less than 1% the cause
of a worker’s injury yet the employer is on the hook for all costs. Under
Governor Rauner’s plan, the workplace would have to be the primary cause,
or 50% at fault, for the employees’ injury.
The owner of a trucking firm located near the Indiana border testified
that his work comp costs are $325,000 higher in Illinois than Indiana. The
owner of a steel fabricator said he would save $106,000 in work comp costs
if he moved to Indiana. A site selector, who works with businesses who want
to either move or expand, said due to our work comp costs Illinois is always
being cut from the short list of places to look at.
Despite these compelling arguments, Democrat members of the Judiciary
committee vote against the bill mostly citing their concerns about the
process and lack of vetting of the legislation.
Why Illinois Job Growth Lags
High taxes, demand for still more taxes, and inane work rules cause Illinois
businesses to flee the state when they can.
Job growth lags precisely because Illinois is a poor state in which to
conduct business.
The Illinois Policy Institute, Governor Rauner, and the National Federation
of Independent Business (NFIB) want to address these issues.
Unfortunately, all reforms die in the same place: an Illinois legislature
controlled by House leader Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton. |
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