Green Tax Expert
Income Tax Help for Green Businesses

This should be an easy one . Which city / state is considered the greenest. By that I mean which city is: * the least polluted * has multiple sources of clean / renewable energy * provides the best tax incentives for going green * recycles * has the most organic certified crops * healthiest population? Whew- that’s a lot, but I think that about covers it. Interested in your thoughts. Discuss

~Slacker
Hello, According to national geographic the top twenty five are as follows: 1. Eugene, OR 2. Austin, TX 3. Portland, OR 4. St. Paul, MN 5. Santa Rosa, CA 6. Oakland, CA 7. Berkeley, CA 8. Honolulu, HI 9. Huntsville, AL 10. Denver, CO 11. Boston, MA 12. Lexington, KY 13. Springfield, IL 14. Irvine, CA 15. Cambridge, MA 16. Anchorage, AK 17. Syracuse, NY 18. San Francisco, CA 19. Minneapolis, MN 20. Milwaukee, WI 21. Rochester, NY 22. Albuquerque, NM 23. Ann Arbor, MI 24. Seattle, WA 25. Kansas City, MO http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/113/top10cities I am surprised that Palo Alto, CA is not listed as either the greenest or close to the greenest, they provide many, many millions of dollars towards subsidy of green projects, have the most extensive recycling program I have EVER seen, and are among the healthiest of all californians. Environmental stewardship is not just a catch phrase in Palo Alto, it’s a way of life. City government itself has been designated a “Green Business” and the City Council lists “Climate Protection” as one of its top priorities. Important parts of this effort are the City of Palo Alto Utilities renewable energy program, the City’s Zero Waste initiative, and a local commitment to alternative transportation. Not too sure how much I agree with this list though, KC being listed as #25 is a joke, as a resident of nearly 8 years I can speak to the fact that this place is anything BUT environmentally friendly.

I am just wondering why we have so many deductions and credits in our tax system. Wouldn’t it be much simpler for everyone (businesses, the public and the government) if we all just paid our share and we had fewer deductions and loopholes? I understand some of the deductions we give such as deductions for children (obviously a family should pay less than a single guy only supporting himself), and some other deductions which offer incentives for doing things that are beneficial (such as tax breaks to green energy companies to research new energy). But why do we have SO MANY deductions and credits?

While I agree that the tax code is extremely complex, it is not because of the deductions and credits. Deductions and credits serve two purposes. First, they do encourage behavior that the government support. Second, they stimulate the economy. If we paid more money to the government, we would have less money to spend on things such as housing. Without a deduction for mortgage interest, people would be less inclined to buy houses. As far as supporting large families, taxpayers only get credits for the first two children they have. They get dependency exemptions, but without them people would go broke. Furthermore, families with large incomes get exempt from lots of the deductions and credits. Notice at the bottom of schedule A where you have to determine if your deductions are limited. These deductions and credits do help the people they are intended to. The only reason the tax code is so complicated is because people try to beat the system. They attempt the breaks allowed by the government to benefit themselves even if they were not originally intended to. If you really look at each deduction and credit, they are all useful.