Tax

I AM TIRED of hearing legislators crying "no new taxes. " Why? What's wrong about tax increases? Would you rather have new and more efficient roads and bridges, or no new taxes? Would you rather have a new and more efficient infrastructure, or no new taxes? Would you rather have a functioning and more efficient school system, or no new taxes? I could go on and on, but these are just a few serious problems that need to be addressed now. If these can't happen unless taxes are raised, then I say raise the taxes.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service apologized Friday for what it acknowledged was "inappropriate" targeting of conservative political groups during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status. IRS agents singled out dozens of organizations for additional reviews because they included the words "tea party" or "patriot" in their exemption applications, said Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups. In some cases, groups were asked for lists of donors, which violates IRS policy in most cases, she said.

TRENTON - Assembly Democrats and a cabinet official bickered Thursday over whether the Republican governor's policies have produced real property tax relief and whether the administration has given sufficient guidance to towns on spending for affordable housing projects. Richard Constable, commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, told the Assembly Budget Committee that Gov. Christie's reforms, including changes to pensions and benefits and an annual 2 percent cap, are helping to slow property-tax increases.

IF THE school district doesn't receive additional funding and operates next year under an austerity plan, the resulting scenario would devastate education for the children of the city, Mayor Nutter asserted yesterday. The district cuts essentially would mean "buildings that are open and people who are there," Nutter said. "But it is not an educational opportunity. " Schools would go without assistant principals, guidance counselors and extracurricular activities, Nutter said to students and staff at Jackson School in South Philadelphia.

TRENTON - An Assembly panel has moved forward with measures to create a constitutional amendment that would double the income limit for New Jersey seniors and disabled people to qualify for a property tax rebate. The measures approved Monday by the Appropriations Committee call for raising the income eligibility from $10,000 to $20,000, before Social Security benefits. It now goes before the full Assembly, though a hearing date has not yet been scheduled. If approved by voters, the amendment would make an additional 100,000 taxpayers eligible for an annual $250 rebate.

Net property taxes in New Jersey rose 22.4 percent in Gov. Christie's first three years in office, compared to 6 percent in Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine's last three years in office, a New Jersey Spotlight analysis shows. Christie has been touting his record of holding down overall property tax increases. But when his rebate reductions are factored in, his property tax record is not so clear-cut. While Corzine doubled average property tax rebates from 2006 to 2009 and provided rebates to families earning as much as $250,000, Christie sharply cut rebate payments and limited eligibility for non-seniors to those earning $75,000 or less.

Aqua America's first-quarter earnings included some bonuses for shareholders and Pennsylvania water customers, but not for the tax collector. The Bryn Mawr water utility reported Thursday that its effective tax rate plunged from 39 percent to 14.6 percent, thanks to an accounting change it announced last year. Aqua's first quarter net income was $46.6 million, up 23 percent from $37.9 million in 2012. Income from continuing operations was 29 cents per share, up 53 percent from 19 cents a year ago. The company boosted earnings even though its Pennsylvania customers got a 2.8 percent rate cut on Jan. 1, it sold less water due to the cool winter, and its venture to supply water to Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracturing operations underperformed because of a slowdown in natural gas drilling.

  THE IDEA of a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax is being discussed - and tested in states like Oregon and Iowa. It would be an alternative to the federal gas tax, which is under review by Congress and could lead to a new system for funding highway construction and repairs when the measure comes up for reauthorization in 2014. One feature of the VMT tax is that it would require some way to measure travel, creating the possibility that the government will use advanced technology to track movements of every car and truck.

THERE'S A PRICE to pay as the fuel mileage of the cars we drive increases. Increases in miles per gallon mean less gasoline is consumed. That means less fuel-tax revenue for highways. Unless new revenue is found, the result is more potholes and more traffic jams. Many experts believe that we should eliminate the fuel tax and replace it with a user fee based on the number of miles we drive. That's easier said than done given the current political climate around taxes.

DAN ROITMAN, chief executive of the Center City -based Stroll, is no fan of the Marketplace Fairness Act, the so-called Internet sales-tax bill expected to be voted on in the U.S. Senate on Monday. The legislation would empower states to reach beyond their borders and compel online marketers - like Stroll - to collect state and local sales taxes for online purchases. The sales taxes then would be sent to the state where a shopper lives. Stroll is an Internet-based marketing platform that sells audio language-learning products and had more than $80 million in revenues last year.