skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Economist: Lower Taxes on Groceries by Closing Tax Loopholes

play audio
Play

Tuesday, July 20, 2010   

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Lower-income Tennesseans pay out a larger percentage of their income for groceries than do more affluent consumers, as is often pointed out in discussions about lowering the sales tax on groceries. However, lifting that burden is difficult economically and politically, according to Dr. David Penn, director of Middle Tennessee State University's Business and Economic Research Center.

He explains that there is a hidden "upside" of such a change in tax policy that should be part of the discussion because it could help the economy by boosting buying power.

"So many households are in desperate straits right now, it would be helpful to help them along through these difficult times. It's a real tough question."

Penn says another issue for the sales tax on food is a challenge in collection, with people crossing state lines or buying online to dodge the tax. He suggests that a lower tax might change those behaviors.

Penn says vigilance in collecting taxes has to be part of the equation.

"The higher the sales tax rate locally, the more incentive there is to buy things online where you're not charged."

According to some experts, more vigorous collection of sales tax on catalog and Internet sales could make up the approximately $600 million the state would lose in revenue by reducing the sales tax on food by a half percentage point.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021