Who’s getting what: A new analysis of Louisiana’s tax credits by the left-leaning Louisiana Budget Project says the wealthy are disproportionately benefiting from the credits. “Nearly 1.9 million Louisianans filed individual income-tax returns with the state in fiscal year 2011, claiming a total of $422.6 million in refundable and nonrefundable credits. But 40% of these credits were claimed by 3,310 taxpayers who had adjusted incomes above $1 million, according to the Department of Revenue’s annual report,” LBP says. “These millionaire taxpayers represent just 0.18 percent of all filers, and received an average credit of $51,000.” Check out the complete article here.
Safety net: Initial claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana increased for the week ending Oct. 6. Figures released today show initial claims numbered 3,050. The previous week’s total was 2,831. For the comparable week a year earlier, ending Oct. 8, 2011, the figure was 3,727. The four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile measurement, fell to 3,512 from the previous week’s average of 5,005. Continued unemployment claims for the week ending Oct. 6 decreased to 31,541 from the previous week’s 31,883. The four-week moving average for such claims increased to 32,413 from the previous week’s 32,501.
It goes on and on: All four players punished in the NFL’s bounty investigation have filed appeals with the league. People familiar with the situation say the players have asked Commissioner Roger Goodell to remove himself as arbitrator because they do not believe he can be impartial. One of the people also says New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma expects to play at Tampa Bay on Oct. 21 while his appeal is pending. The people spoke to The Associated Press today on condition of anonymity because the appeals were filed as private documents with the league. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed today that all four players had filed appeals, but says the league would decline comment on the substance of those documents. It’s just the latest round of appeals by the players. Get the full story here.
