Tag Archives: state government

Three U.S. governors to quarantine visitors from states where COVID-19 spiking

By Jonathan Allen and Peter Szekely

NEW YORK (Reuters) – As the number of new coronavirus cases surged in many areas of the United States, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – once at the epicenter of the outbreak – will require visitors from states with high infection rates to quarantine on arrival.

The announcement on Wednesday came a day after the country recorded the second-largest increase in coronavirus cases since the health crisis began in early March. There were nearly 36,000 new infections nationwide on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally.

States subject to the 14-day quarantine are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Utah, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a briefing.

“This is a smart thing to do,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said via video at a joint news conference in New York City. “We have taken our people, the three of us from these three states, through hell and back, and the last thing we need to do right now is subject our folks to another round.”

While the United States appeared to have curbed the outbreak in May, leading many states to lift restrictions on social and economic activity, the virus is moving into rural areas and other places that it had not initially penetrated deeply.

The virus is also renewing its surge in states that opened up early to ease the devastating effect of the restrictions on local economies.

Florida, one of the first states to reopen, on Wednesday experienced a record increase of more than 5,500 new cases. Oklahoma, which never ordered a statewide lockdown, posted record new cases on Wednesday, the sixth time it has shattered that record.

On Tuesday, Arizona, California, Mississippi and Nevada had record rises. Texas set an all-time high on Monday.

The surge in cases nationwide on Tuesday was the highest since a record of 36,426 new infections on April 24.

The New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area has lowered its infection rate after locking down much of its economy.

Visitors found violating the new quarantine order in the three Northeast states could face fines of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for repeat offenses, Cuomo said.

The order will take effect from midnight. “So get on a flight quickly,” he said.

QUARANTINE

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said officials would carefully monitor travel from states with high infection rates.

“If you come to Connecticut, you come to New York, you come to New Jersey, you come safely, you follow the protocols,” said Lamont.

Such quarantines are not unprecedented. Hawaii requires visitors from the U.S. mainland to self-quarantine for two weeks. Florida and Texas at one point required people coming in from New York area airports to quarantine for two weeks.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed its support for a lawsuit challenging Hawaii’s quarantine, saying visitors are being denied rights granted to most island residents.

While some of the increased numbers of cases can be attributed to more testing, the numbers do not correlate.

The average number of tests has risen 7.6% over the last seven days, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project, while the average number of new cases rose 30%.

The percentage of positive tests is also rising.

At least four states are averaging double-digit rates of positive tests for the virus, such as Arizona at 20%. By contrast, New York has been reporting positive test rates of around 1%.

The European Union hopes to reopen borders from July but will review individual nations’ COVID-19 situation fortnightly, according to diplomats and a document laying out criteria that could keep Americans and Russians out.

 

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen and Peter Szekely in New York; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

U.S. states stung by tumble in April of Income tax revenue

A car passes a sign advertising tax return services in Falls Church, Virginia

By Karen Pierog

CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. state personal income taxes tumbled in the key revenue month of April due to lower investment returns from weaker equities and energy prices in 2015, a Reuters analysis of state data found.

This April, personal income tax (PIT) revenue fell by an average of 9.88 percent compared to the same month last year in the 32 U.S. states and Puerto Rico for which Reuters has data.

Taxes on wages and investment income are a top revenue source for the 43 states that collect it. April is the most important revenue month because it contains the tax filing deadline and the tendency of taxpayers who owe money to wait until the last minute to pay.

Personal income taxes make up slightly more than a third of states’ total general fund revenue, and sales taxes comprise roughly another third.

Collections have been volatile in recent years, including 2013’s “April Surprise,” which delivered unexpectedly high revenues to states as taxpayers sold investments to dodge an increase in federal taxes.

Collections plunged in April 2014 then rebounded last year with the help of a robust stock market.

In 2015, the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 stock index lost 0.7 percent compared with a 11.4 percent gain in 2014.

“The kinds of income that are kind of driving this are particularly capital gains related to the stock market. If you had to find a No. 1 culprit, that’s it,” said Don Boyd, Director of Fiscal Studies at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, New York.

News of falling revenue comes as most states are nearing the end of fiscal 2016 and the beginning of fiscal 2017, leading some to turn to temporary measures to plug budget holes, Boyd said.

John Hicks, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers in Washington, said the 20 percent growth rate in the tax in April 2015 from a year earlier set “an extremely high bar.”

He said that PIT withholding has been more stable for states than capital gains-related tax revenue.

“The underlying personal income information – even while we’ve been bouncing for the last few years – has still been on a slow, but increasing trend,” Hicks added.

MOST STATES SEE COLLECTIONS DECREASE

Louisiana had the most dramatic drop at 81.5 percent. The plunge was due to a change in the way Louisiana issues refunds as well as a fall in withholding collections because the last day of April fell on a Saturday.

This resulted in some revenue payments being deposited in May, according to Kizzy Payton, press secretary for the Louisiana Department of Revenue.

Louisiana – like North Dakota, where PIT collections fell 34.7 percent – is also feeling the sting from the struggling energy sector. Oklahoma, another key energy producing state, experienced an 18 percent drop in revenue in April.

New Jersey’s PIT revenue was down 14.8 percent, largely due to a decline in taxpayers’ investment income and the state’s tax structure, which relies on wealthy residents.

Oregon’s receipts came in a third lower than last year, mainly because excess state revenue during the previous year led to a surplus income tax credit on 2015 returns, said Bob Estabrook, spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Revenue.

Lower income tax rates led to revenue drops in Illinois, down 28.8 percent, and in Ohio, down 41.3 percent. But in Kansas, which slashed rates in 2013, revenue was up 23 percent.

Seven states – Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming – collect no income tax, and two – New Hampshire and Tennessee – only levy taxes on dividend and interest income, but not wages.

(Reporting by Karen Pierog; additional reporting by Hilary Russ, Robin Respaut, Rory Carroll and Edward Krudy; editing by Daniel Bases and G Crosse)