New Survey of State Taxes

April 15 is fast approaching, but while the Internal Revenue Service awaits our tax returns, the U.S. Census Bureau released this week a gem of statistical data for anyone interested in state taxation or budget issues. The 2012 Annual Survey of State Government Tax Collections has a wealth of information on many types of state taxes and license fees imposed by the 50 states, including income, property, sales, and excise taxes. It breaks down the nearly $800 billion collected in FY2012, a record high total, by state and detailed tax categories. The Census Bureau web site is home to the official announcement of the Survey's release, a brief Summary Report, pages of detailed data for every state, and a ranking of the states by their total tax collections, as well as related surveys.  If you need reliable current data on state tax categories and revenues for research or personal interest, begin with the Census Bureau's Annual Survey.   

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Entertaining law

So for those of you who follow celebrities, now is a great time to be into the law.  For questions about what constitutes a contract and when is a law suit frivolous, read about the latest celebrity spat between Donald Trump and Bill Maher.   (Trump has withdrawn his suit against Mayer . . . for now.)

And if you really are a celebrity-in-the-law junkie, check out Flavorwire for an interesting retrospective on celebrities suing celebrities.  Who knew Cary Grant sued Chevy Chase?

Hat tip to Legal Blog Watch

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

D.C. Code Available Online

In an effort to make the District of Columbia statutory code freely available, the D C Council posted a digital version of the D.C. Code.  Click here for the unofficial copy.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Shielding Your Smartphone

It is easy to loose track of your phone, especially now when gadgets have become a constant part of our daily life.  Your phone is essentially a mini-computer containing all kinds of personal information, pictures, family information and other things we don't want to be accessed by strangers and it can be disastrous to us when our phone is lost or stolen. 

Trying to recreate and close out our apps and stored information is too high a price to pay and might be avoided with a few protections, such as activating a "lock screen" passcode and installing a phone tracking app.

The New York Times has a page full of helpful hints for keeping your Android and iPhone safe.  As the article notes, "[for Android phones] The Lookout app can even secretly snap a photo of a thief’s face with the front-facing camera and send an e-mail to you with the picture and the location where it was taken."  How's that for a great feature! 

Read How to Shield Yourself from Smartphone Snoops here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

LLT Lab Informational Open House Today and Tomorrow

The Law, Logic and Technology (LLT) Lab is dedicated to inventing and making available tools that make legal practice and legal education more effective and more efficient.

The LLT Lab is engaged in empirical research and students learn by doing.

The Lab is holding an informational open house today (April 8) and tomorrow (April 9) from 10 AM to 4 PM in room 113 (Law School).

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat