Has Vermont put too much value on education all this time?

Posted by Jack Hoffman on February 22, 2012 at 3:25 pm

According to U.S. Census data, Vermont has been funding public education at about $50-60 for every $1000 of residents’ personal income for nearly 20 years. In fiscal 2009, the most recent data available, Vermont spent $1.4 billion, which worked out to about $57 per $1000 of personal income. As the chart below indicates, education spending relative to personal income rose following passage of Act 60 in the 1997, which it…

House Commerce Committee Testimony

Posted by Paul Cillo on February 10, 2012 at 2:01 pm

Testimony on Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI) Program

State House; February 10, 2012; 10:45 AM

Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee

My name is Paul Cillo.  I’m the President of the Public Assets Institute here in Montpelier.  We’re an independent nonprofit that analyzes Vermont’s tax, budget, and economic policies from the perspective of ordinary Vermonters.  I’ve passed around some materials that I will be talking with you about today. I’ve also…

“Per-capita tax burden” is misleading

Posted by Jack Hoffman on February 7, 2012 at 10:53 am

Is Vermont a high-tax state?  It depends on whether you look at the taxes Vermonters pay, or the taxes the state collects? There’s a difference, which we should keep in mind when we see information like a recent item in the Burlington Free Press “Innovate”  section.

The article cited 2009 Census data, the latest available, on taxes collected by state and local governments. For Vermont, the total was…