Taxes

New York state voters approved 96.4 percent of school district budgets on May 15, according to a statement from the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA), a membership organization of public school boards.

The House approved H.R. 1864, the "Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act," on May 15. The law would limit state taxation of the wages or other remuneration of any employee who performs duties in more than one state to the state of the employee’s residence, and the state in which the employee is present and performing employment duties for more than 30 days, according to the bill’s official summary.

The state Department of Taxation and Finance has published interest rates for refunds and for late payments and assessments for the quarter running from July 1 through Sept. 30.

At the end of April, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance summarized its fiscal year 2012 rulemaking actions. Compared with 2011 and 2010, it was a slow year on the rulemaking front.

In a May 1 release, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli highlighted problems with New York's Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs). He noted that in 2010 they supported 4,444 projects and provided nearly $500 million in net tax exemptions. However, he said, projects were down and cumulative job gains decreased by 22,000 from the prior year. For the second straight year "there appears to be limited correlation between higher tax exemptions and job creation," he said.

In March, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued a memorandum clarifying situations under which Botox and related cosmetic products were taxable. But in a May 1 email, the department said: "In response to certain inquiries, the Tax Department is re-examining the language used in the TSB-M." The memorandum has been "withdrawn" and removed from the site.

April 17 has come and gone, and New Yorkers have filed their returns, or at least filed for an extension. But for many New York businesses, April 30 is another key date.

While it might seem obvious to some, such as New York Times columnist Greg Mankiw, that if one state’s taxes are too high then it risks its citizens migrating to another, economist Mark Thoma begs to differ.

The Sienna Research Institute and CNN/ORC International have both released tax-themed surveys as the another filing season draws to a close.