来源：《华盛顿邮报》
原文刊登日期：2022年2月26日
The United States is in the midst of a tax-cutting fever as both red and blue states have suddenly found themselves flush with cash. Governors and state lawmakers are eager to return some money to their constituents, a move well timed for the upcoming election. That they are in a position to do so is yet another sign of just how strong the economic recovery is — and how the federal government’s pandemic aid greatly exceeded what was needed for states.
美国正处于一场减税狂潮中，红州和蓝州都突然发现自己现金充裕。州长和州议员都渴望向他们的选民返还一些资金，这对即将到来的中期选举来说恰逢其时。他们有能力这样做，这是经济复苏强劲的又一个迹象——以及联邦政府对疫情的援助大大超过了各州的需求。
Last year, 29 states and D.C. passed significant tax cuts. The most popular actions were to slash individual income tax rates and to expand a state’s earned income tax credit, which acts as a wage boost to low-paid workers. States are widely expected to cut even more this year. State budgeting season is just starting, but Idaho has already signed into law the largest tax cut in state history, with big reductions for individuals and businesses, and New Mexico has approved $250-per-person income tax rebates. Numerous governors are also trying to waive taxes on gas, groceries and other items.
去年，29个州和华盛顿特区通过了重大的减税措施。最受欢迎的措施是大幅降低个人所得税税率，并扩大各州的劳动所得税抵免，这可以促进低收入工人的工资增长。人们普遍预计今年各州将减税更多。州预算季节刚刚开始，但爱达荷州已经签署了该州历史上最大的减税法案，对个人和企业大幅减税，新墨西哥州已经批准了每人250美元的所得税退税。许多州长还试图免除汽油、杂货和其他商品的税收。
These tax cuts are not coming from the $350 billion that went to state and local governments in the American Rescue Plan that Democrats passed last year. That money contains an explicit prohibition that it can’t be used for tax cuts. Instead, states have seen big increases in tax revenue as their economies rebounded faster than expected, unemployment aid and stimulus payments kept incomes and taxes up, and Americans went on huge spending sprees that sent more sales tax dollars to state coffers. Additional aid for schools, health care and transit ensured state budgets didn’t have major holes. In total, state and local governments received $885 billion in direct funds from all the covid relief bills that Congress passed, plus the indirect benefit of more tax revenue triggered by other aid to households and businesses.
这些减税并不是来自民主党去年通过的“美国救援计划”中给各州和地方政府的3500亿美元。这笔钱包含一条明确的禁令，即不能用于减税。相反，随着经济复苏速度快于预期，各州的税收大幅增加，失业援助和经济刺激支出使居民收入和政府税收持续上升，美国人大肆消费，使州政府获得更多的销售税。对学校、医疗保健和交通运输的额外援助确保了各州预算没有重大漏洞。总的来说，州和地方政府从国会通过的所有新冠肺炎救济法案中获得了8850亿美元的直接资金，此外，对家庭和企业的其他援助带来了更多税收的间接好处。
The result is states have more money than they seem to know what to do with. While President Biden and his team argued that it’s better to give too much relief than not enough, they overdid it on state aid.
其结果是，各州拥有的钱多得他们似乎都不知道该怎么花。尽管拜登总统和他的团队认为，给予太多救济总比不够好，但他们在政府援助方面做得过火了。
One-time rebates and expanded tax credits to encourage work and help struggling families are reasonable uses of these excess state funds. But many states want to go well beyond that. Mississippi is debating whether to eliminate its income tax entirely, an unwise move that mainly benefits the wealthy and is likely to jeopardize state funding in years to come. Florida’s governor wants a gas tax suspension in the coming months, and Illinois’s governor wants a one-year gas tax hike delay. Such moves make for great campaign ads, but consumers typically don’t get the full benefit since oil companies often hike prices in response.
一次性退税和扩大税收抵免以鼓励就业和帮助陷入困境的家庭，是这些多余政府资金的合理使用。但许多州想要做的远不止这些。密西西比州正在讨论是否完全取消所得税，这是一个不明智的举动，因为它主要有利于富人，而且可能在未来几年危及州政府财政。佛罗里达州州长希望在未来几个月暂停征收燃油税，伊利诺伊州州长则希望将燃油税上调推迟一年。这样的举措会带来很好的竞选广告，但由于石油公司经常提高价格，消费者通常无法从中获得全部好处。
A key lesson from this pandemic is just how unpredictable the future can be. Slashing taxes now, when state coffers are full, is easy. It won’t look nearly as wise if boom times don’t last.
这次大流行的一个关键教训是未来的不可预测性。在财政充裕的情况下，现在大幅减税很容易。如果繁荣时期不持续下去，看起来就不那么明智了。