Delaware Public Media | by James Dawson House lawmakers signed off on a bill Tuesday to loosen up the Coastal Zone Act. Those opposing the measure tried in vain to convince their fellow lawmakers that opening up the Coastal Zone Act wouldn’t make the 14 polluted sites targeted in the bill any cleaner. Under the proposal, any business applying for a permit to set up shop in those sites next to the coast – nearly all of them in New Castle County – would have to show how it would […]
As budget talks continue, income tax hike proposed
Delaware State News | by Matt Bittle DOVER — Saying they want to further discussions about raising revenue, top Democratic lawmakers are circulating a bill that would raise income taxes on Delawareans and create a new top bracket of greater than $150,000. The not-yet-filed bill would increase taxes between .15 and .4 percent for existing brackets and levy a 6.95 percent tax on the state’s top earners. Currently, all income above $60,000 is taxed at 6.6 percent. Supporters say the proposal would help close a budget shortfall and create greater equity […]
Higher income tax a top priority for Gov. Carney, Dems
Delaware Public Media | by James Dawson Delaware’s top earners could shell out a little bit more tax money come next year should state Democrats have their way. Leaders on the left in both the House and Senate are largely embracing Gov. John Carney’s (D) plan to hike the personal income tax across the board. There’s one caveat, though. They want to tack on a new bracket for those earning more than $150,000 a year. In all, the measure would raise about $68 million next year and more than $210 […]
Delaware Democrats push higher income tax bracket
The News Journal | by Matthew Albright Democratic leaders in the General Assembly have released a blueprint for raising Delawareans’ personal income taxes, including a new, higher top tax bracket that would charge the wealthiest residents more. They say raising the income tax is key to fixing the state’s $400 million budget deficit because that tax will grow with the economy, so legislators won’t have to keep “kicking the can down the road.” “PIT (personal income tax) is the one that’s going to be structural, that we’re not going to […]
Letter: Tighten LLC screenings
The News Journal | Letter to the Editor | by Nick Waslieski The Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG) is urging members of the House Judiciary Committee to support House Bill 57, sponsored by Rep. John Kowalko, Rep. Kim Williams, and Sen Bruce Ennis. If signed into law by the governor, HB 57 will require all resident agents to screen applicants that form limited liability companies against sanctions lists maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). DelCOG has been researching online sources and found at least two Delaware […]
Newark City Council opposes Coastal Zone Act bill
The News Journal | by Scott Goss Newark City Council has joined a growing list of groups calling on the General Assembly to table a bill that seeks to attract new heavy industrial to the state by undoing part of Delaware’s Coastal Zone Act. While no formal vote was taken, four of Newark’s six council members on Monday directed the city’s top lobbyist to communicate their opposition to House Bill 190 – legislation that would amend the state’s landmark environmental protection law for the first time in 46 years. “We have real […]
Death & Taxes: Death to Delaware’s Estate Tax?
Bloomberg BNA | by Jerry Gianakis Delaware has become the latest state to try putting its estate tax on the chopping block. On May 18, the state’s House of Representatives passed H.B. 16, a bill that would repeal the tax effective Dec. 31, 2017. This measure looks to be in line with the increasing progression of states rescinding their estate taxes, as previously detailed by Bloomberg BNA’s Chreasea Dickerson. By the start of 2018, only 13 states and the District of Columbia will impose such a tax. However, for Delaware […]
Delaware Coalition for Open Government urges support for HB 57
Dover Post | Opinion | by Delaware Coalition for Open Government The Delaware Coalition for Open Government is urging members of the House Judiciary Committee to support House Bill 57, sponsored by Reps. John Kowalko and Kim Williams and Sen. Bruce Ennis, and to refer the bill to the full House of Representatives for their consideration when the bill comes before the Committee at 12:30 p.m. June 14 in the House Majority Hearing Room, Legislative Hall, Dover. If passed by the general assembly and signed into law by the governor, HB […]
First steps approved for a more ‘business friendly’ Coastal Zone Act in Delaware
Newsworks | by Zoë Read Legislation that aims to revamp the Coastal Zone Act and make way for the repurposing of abandoned industrial sites in an attempt to make Delaware more business-friendly has been cleared for a vote. The legislation, sponsored by State Rep. Ed Osienski, D-Newark, and State Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, was voted out of the General Assembly’s Natural Resources committee Wednesday. “I’m hoping this legislation puts the sign up that Delaware is open for good stewards of our environment who are willing to come to Delaware and […]
Delaware Coastal Zone bill voted out of House commitee
The News Journal | by Scott Gross A controversial proposal to amend Delaware’s landmark environmental protection law for the first time in its nearly 50-year history cleared a major hurdle Wednesday. The House Natural Resources Committee voted 9-1 to advance the measure following a two-and-a-half hour hearing. About 40 people testified during public comment even though the hearing started 90 minutes late. “I wasn’t really surprised,” state Rep. Ed Osienski, D-Newark, the bill’s chief sponsor in the House, said after the committee vote. “We had a good response from business representatives and labor […]