California

Last week Evan Halper of the Los Angeles Times (registration required, sorry; you may be able to get to it via Google News) wrote a piece on the proposed California state budget. I hope to discuss the article at length in the near future, but for now I am just going to highlight one part of it. When reading this paragraph, think of the time and effort it takes to decide which group gets a tax break and out of that group which businesses do not get that break, not to mention how tax authorities are able to make sure that the deserving businesses actually get the break and those that don't deserve it do not wrongly get the break . . .

The California Teachers Assn. and liberal tax policy groups argue that it would lead to little more than cash handouts for productions that were never in danger of leaving the state. The state, they warn, could end up subsidizing pornography and other arguably offensive content despite efforts by the proposal's supporters to exempt such productions. And they say many film companies that would benefit from the program don't even pay taxes in California, thanks to complex Hollywood accounting procedures that allow them to shift profits to states with lower tax rates.

Side note #1: I finally was able to publish this post after a few tries. It is frustrating to accidentally lose a post that you spent nearly a half-hour on. This is the first time this has happened to me and it is the reason why I will have to save all my thoughts on the linked L.A. Times article until another time.

Side note #2: While blogging on state tax breaks and incentives has been an incredible and exciting experience thus far, I have decided that this blog needs a touch of my personal life. Stay tuned.