According to a story on WebCPA, a lack of national solutions by Congress to build state revenue is pushing some states to desperate measures:

• In Illinois, lawmakers are discussing the idea of a 5 percent increase in the individual income tax rate, plus an even bigger 6.4 percent hike for corporate taxes.

• Washington State is considering a temporary hike in the state’s sales tax, an extra $1 per pack cigarette tax, and eliminating several personal income tax exemptions, including a break on the value of trade-in cars and an exemption for certain out-of-state purchases.

• In Arizona, where officials have already closed prisons, cut 300,000 recipients from the Medicaid program, and slashed wages to state employees by 5 percent, lawmakers are debating a new sales tax to close a $2.6 billion budget shortfall.

Where will this end? Stay tuned.