Personal Finance Advice and Commentary

Owners of the two winning Powerball tickets will split the record $587.5 million jackpot. Federal and state tax collectors will get some of the winnings, too.

Despite a big vote in California to raise the cigarette tax, the higher tobacco trend appears to be slowing.

State tax officials are searching out tax payments from places that previously escaped notice.

Americans must get their federal income tax return, or an extension to file, to the …

Summer is almost over. That means back-to-school sales tax holidays. This August, 17 states are trying to encourage shoppers by exempting certain products from state and in some cases local sales taxes. Mississippi kicked off tax holiday season last weekend. Eleven more states hold their tax-free shopping days this coming weekend. Five more state events

We are smack-dab in the middle of the federal tax filing season. That means most of us have been focusing on what the Internal Revenue Service wants from us by April 18. But for those of you living in one of the 43 states (and the District of Columbia) that collect some form of income

As the economy slowly sputters back to life, states with business-friendly tax systems will be the most successful in attracting new companies. In 2011, the state that is most likely to attract new business is South Dakota. The Mount Rushmore State tops the Tax Foundation’s annual State Business Tax Climate Index. The rest of the 10 states with tax

If you’re a shopper, especially one with school-age children, you love state sales tax holidays. If you’re a retailer, you love them, too, even though the short-term changes in tax collections causes you some administrative hassle. And if you’re a politician, especially in an election year, you definitely love tax holidays. So who’s not so

If you’re like me, you shop online because it’s convenient. And if you’re like a lot of Americans, you also shop online to avoid sales taxes. That’s not as easy as it used to be. I remember when Internet stores made a big deal about the tax savings. States, however, soon realized how much money

It’s an election year, and while a lot of folks are focusing on what might happen with the midterm votes for members of Congress, some state balloting will have a direct effect on taxes. In fact, Arizona voters last month decided they wanted to raise their taxes. That’s right. The Grand Canyon State electorate decided