If your job is based in New York or Massachusetts but you’re now working from home in another state, you may be in for a rude surprise. These states and five others have laws that can tax you anyway.

At the beginning of the pandemic, a lot of folks were sent home with their laptop and other equipment so they could work remotely until it was safe to reopen public spaces again.

Now that things are opening up again, it could create a gray area for workers primarily in the Northeast who live in one state and work in another. The result, for some, is that they might get taxed twice on their income.

Cities in California, Florida, New York and Texas have been home to some of the worst Coronavirus outbreaks in the country, but new data show that federal loans to small businesses didn’t necessarily follow the same pattern.

A new analysis from the nonprofit USA Facts says that the distribution of Paycheck Protection Program loans smaller than $150,000 (the majority of loans) was not consistent with the level of coronavirus spread among the 30 most populous counties. For example in New York, the Bronx reported the highest cumulative COVID-19 case count through June 30 at 3,400 cases per 100,000 people. But the Bronx had among the lowest rates of PPP loans at about $17 million per 100,000 people.

The S&P 500 hit a new all time intra-day high on Tuesday, highlighting a dramatic rebound — but the volatile market has left a scar on public pensions this year.

A new report estimates the wild swings driven by the Coronavirus pandemic will bring total pension debt to $1.62 trillion in 2020. That would bring the total funded ratio across the 50 states to 67.9% — nearly its lowest point in modern history.

Cities and counties are predicting a drop in their property tax revenues over the next year, a phenomenon that’s rare in recessions and never in the modern era has it occurred so quickly.

Among counties, 27% reported reduced property tax collections through the first half of this year and even more — 43% — expect shortages to surface over the next year, according to a National Association of Counties survey.

Cities are reporting slight property tax revenue growth over the past year of just under 2%. But according to the latest data from the National League of Cities, experience property tax revenue is expected to decline over the next two years “if the economy continues to operate at recessionary levels.”

Congress is in a stalemate over the next round of Coronavirus relief and some state and local governments are considering borrowing money to get through the year.

Cities, counties and states are grappling with unprecedented budget gaps driven by a sharp drop in revenues with many businesses closed and tens of millions of people unemployed. Some states are projecting a nearly 20% shortfall over 2020 and 2021.

A few governments plan to resort to borrowing money for operating costs unless Congress steps in with more financial aid. There’s lots of different kinds of borrowing but the kind that tends to raise red flags the fastest is deficit financing. That is, borrowing from the bond market or another outside source to pay for ongoing operations.

State and local governments have been lobbying Congress for months to allocate more flexible aid in the next round of Coronavirus aid. But a new U.S. Department of Treasury report that tracks CARES Act spending says governments have collectively spent just a fraction of the $150 billion allocated back in March.

What gives?

The report, released in late July, totals the spending up to June 30 from the Coronvirus Relief Fund (CRF) for state, local and tribal governments. On average, just 25% of the total funding has been spent.

The GOP’s $1 trillion stimulus bill introduced this week avoids a key sticking point with state and local governments struggling under massive revenue shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic. And doing so could prolong the recession.

The Senate’s Health, Economic Assistance, Liability, and Schools (HEALS) Act does not provide any new aid to state and local governments, it merely extends by 90 days the Dec. 31 deadline for using the existing CARES Act money. It does allow some state and local governments to use those funds for budget shortfalls, but only a small percentage of what’s left after other spending requirements are met.

Revenue shortfalls across, state, local and county governments are expected to collectively total around $1 trillion over the next few years.

Senate Republicans and the White House may have reached a deal on a new federal stimulus package, but it’s still expected to take weeks to iron out in Congress. The delay means 25 million Americans will see critical unemployment benefits expire after Friday.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., say they support some unemployment insurance supplement, perhaps something around $400 per week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters at her weekly press conference she wants “a commitment for the $600,” per week included in the first federal stimulus package.

If it’s not extended, that could disproportionately hurt taxpayers in red states.

Americans are consuming less since the coronavirus-driven recession kicked off one of the most dramatic drops in spending in decades. Clothing, dining out, home appliances — these retail sectors are all staring at double-digit declines for the first half of this year. But on the flip side, we’re all spending way more at online marketplaces, home and garden stores, and at grocery and beer stores, according to the latest U.S. Census data.

But while you sit back on your new patio furniture to stream an outdoor movie and enjoy your favorite beverage, take notice: doing so may cost you a bit more in the future.

As governments deal with paying for Covid-19 expenses amid falling tax revenue and shrinking budgets, there’s another big bill waiting for them: pension debt.

And many could lean on taxpayers to help.

Pension plans haven’t released their annual earnings yet, but a recent report from Moody’s Investors Service notes that “investment returns...have almost certainly fallen well short of targets.”

States are facing massive budget deficits and many have so far avoided cuts to schools. That might not last.

Social distancing orders put in place during the height of the COVID-19 crisis are relaxing and many state and local officials are hopeful their budgets can start recovering. But for public transit, where massive ridership declines persist, the financial future remains very much in doubt.

Transit agencies, particularly those in large cities which rely heavily on passenger fares to pay for operating costs, may very well be at a funding crossroads. Fears around public transportation as a spreader of disease―whether unfounded or not―plus more people working from home are likely to keep ridership and revenues low in the foreseeable future. While agencies were thrown a $25 billion financial lifeline by the federal government in April, it’s a short-term fix. If current circumstances continue, they may very well force a rethinking around the way transit is funded.

California became the first state to change its labor law and grant gig workers more labor protections when Assembly Bill 5, better known as AB5, went into effect in January 2020. The law expanded the definition of an employee, making it harder for employers to classify regular workers as independent contractors. The law was mandated by the courts and essentially extended labor protections like paid leave to about one million people who had formerly been classified as contractors. But it’s been a rocky and controversial transition. Even before it went into effect, the calls for repeal started, followed by rallies and lawsuits.

Local governments are still learning what the COVID-19 crisis will mean for their revenues over the next year. In large part, the answer will depend on what part of the economy they rely on for their tax revenue.

Some are already grappling with grim news. In Kansas City, Missouri, council members are looking at budget cuts totalling $300 million over the next six years. In March, they approved a $1.7 billion budget that included a hiring freeze and reductions in travel, but noted they’ll likely have to face more difficult choices in the months ahead.

Meanwhile, more than 1,400 miles away in Boston, Mayor Marty Walsh has proposed a $3.65 billion budget for the next fiscal year. It’s a 4.4 percent spending boost over the current year that includes increased funding for education, housing, and public health.

LIZ FARMER | MAY 28, 2020

As the coronavirus-driven slowdown pummels state budgets, the education funding gains many school districts saw in recent years—or were about to see—are in peril.

In Hawaii, where public schools are run by the state, the governor has proposed a 20% cut in teacher pay starting next month. Kansas lawmakers are likely to suggest education cuts to close a $650 million budget gap just a year after the state resolved a decade-long lawsuit over insufficient school spending. Wichita Public Schools, the state’s biggest district, has already approved $18 million in budget cuts, while projecting a total budget hit of nearly twice that amount.

But, as it has with other facets of life and policy, the Covid-19 slowdown is affecting school districts differently.

Over the past 25 years, the western edge of Missoula, Montana, has been a hotbed of growth. Thousands of residents have moved into new neighborhoods built on former agricultural land, with big box stores like Costco and Home Depot cropping up nearby. The city and county are now considering multi-use development of the 2,000 or so undeveloped acres remaining in the area—a tract surrounded on two sides by housing and adjacent to a main thoroughfare and the regional airport—and public input is key to shaping the direction of the project. But with the COVID-19 crisis halting all in-person planning meetings and approvals in the region, including a scheduled community charrette, the planning process went online.

BY LIZ FARMER | MAY 8, 2020

One in ten Americans still doesn’t have access to high-speed internet service. Some hope the inequities highlighted by the Covid-19 crisis will be enough to propel broadband expansion.

By LIZ FARMER | APRIL 14, 2020

While lines at food banks stretch for blocks and shelves at grocery stores sit bare, farmers are plowing over fresh vegetables and tossing out milk because they can’t easily redirect their products to desperate consumers.

The situation could be economically devastating for small farms whose primary market is local restaurants and institutions like schools. Many are facing a more than 50% drop in business this year due to dried-up demand.

By Liz Farmer | April 2, 2020

The rapid spread of COVID-19 has forced us into the largest work-from-home experiment in history. Millions of Americans are quickly adopting new ways to connect with their coworkers and clients online while employers, many of whom never considered allowing remote work, are being forced into making it happen.

Not only is it leading to an increased sense of camaraderie in some cases, many believe the experience will result in accelerating the already growing trend toward working from home.

To be sure, the current surge in remote work for those workers who can do their jobs via video and email is not a true representation of what it’s like to work from home. It’s under duress—everyone is forced into it whether they want to or not—and many workers have additional distractions whether it’s kids, spouses, or other relatives all at home too. But in some ways, that’s brought people together.

Like many U.S. cities, Detroit suffered a housing collapse during the Great Recession. The crisis delivered a serious blow to the city’s already struggling revenue stream. Unlike other cities, however, Detroit’s foreclosure crisis wasn’t driven by unpaid mortgages. Instead, one-third of its properties went into foreclosure because owners couldn’t—or wouldn’t—pay their taxes.