House Tax Plan Out - $758 Million without a Sales Tax Hike

House Democrats finally released their tax plan today. The caucus posts a summary of the five-part plan. Here's an accessible summary from AP.

The House’s five-part revenue plan is four parts taxes, one part transfers from other state bank accounts.

It starts with a $385 million package of closed tax exemptions that is focused on out-of-state consumers and companies, including banks and credit-card issuers.

Another $163 million would be raised by spreading the sales tax to bottled water, custom software, candy, gum, plastic surgery and janitorial services. On top of that, the House wants to collect about $112 million by raising the cigarette tax by $1 per pack.

Some $99 million would be raised through an array of “tax fairness” measures, including higher business taxes on lawyers, accountants and consultants, and on investment earnings by nonfinancial firms.

The final piece of the House plan would grab about $100 million by raiding the state construction budget and proceeds from lottery games. That pushes the overall revenue package to $860 million.

TVW's Capitol Record blog notes that the governor likes the House tax plan, which does not the include the sales boost endorsed by Senate Democrats. She prefers the Senate spending plan, however.

She suggested the two could get together, swap plans and then we’d go home on time.

Maybe. As Jerry Cornfield has written, the Senate budget votes has to have stirred some anxiety.

Niki Reading at the Capitol Record has put together a nifty chart showing differences among the three tax proposals, sans sales tax.

It's still not clear what the final resolution will be, but the odds of a March 11 adjournment, with a tax increase of $750 million to $1 billion have just increased.

How do you feel about that?