Petitions of the week By Andrew Hamm on Apr 29, 2022 at 2:51 pm This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, a capital defendant’s request for habeas relief on the ground that his lawyer conceded guilt over his objection, as in 2018’s McCoy v. Louisiana. Though […]
OPINION ANALYSIS By Sam Callahan and Allon Kedem on Apr 29, 2022 at 11:19 am The Supreme Court on Thursday issued its decision in LeDure v. Union Pacific Railroad Company. But the resolution was a single sentence stating that the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit was “affirmed by an […]
CONGRESSIONAL NEWS By Ellena Erskine on Apr 28, 2022 at 6:49 pm Justice Clarence Thomas became a central topic of Wednesday’s House panel hearing on Supreme Court ethics reform. (Sherry V. Smith via Shutterstock) On the same day that Congress approved legislation to improve the justices’ financial disclosure transparency, a House panel was caught up […]
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled long-anticipated proposed regulations banning the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, part of ongoing efforts to support smoking cessation. Critics doubt, however, whether banning mentholated cigarettes will reduce smoking or instead simply channel menthol smokers toward other tobacco products—or smuggled menthols. And states have yet […]
Live By Angie Gou on Apr 28, 2022 at 12:00 am On Thursday, April 28, we will be live blogging as the court releases one or more opinions from the current term. Click here for a list of FAQs about opinion announcements. Posted in Featured, Live Recommended Citation: Angie Gou, Announcement of opinions for Thursday, April […]
Tax Day came and went on April 18th with the regular tax filing deadline, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is facing difficulties. It struggled to manage a deluge of 282 million calls made in fiscal year 2021, only answering 11 percent, and a backlog of several million returns from 2021 were left to be […]
ARGUMENT ANALYSIS By Amy Howe on Apr 26, 2022 at 5:40 pm Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argues on behalf of the Biden administration. (Art Lien) The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Tuesday in the battle over the Biden administration’s efforts to end one of the Trump administration’s signature immigration policies. The lower courts ordered […]
In more than a century of state income taxes, only four states have ever transitioned from a graduated-rate income tax to a flat tax. Another four may adopt legislation doing so this year, and a planned transition in a fifth state can now go forward under a recent court decision. In what is already a […]
Today’s map examines another major component of our 2022 State Business Tax Climate Index: unemployment insurance (UI) taxes. Compared to individual, corporate, sales, and property taxes, UI taxes are less widely understood, but they have important implications for a state’s business climate. A state’s performance on the UI tax component accounts for 9.8 percent of that […]
Download Data Key Findings A capital allowance is the amount of capital investment costs a business can deduct from its revenue through the tax code via depreciation. Ideally, countries should provide higher capital allowances, as they can boost business investment which, in turn, spurs economic growth. The average of OECD countries’ capital allowances gradually decreased […]