In California, Asking Voters to Raise Taxes

[alp227]

For 33 years, since the passage of Proposition 13 slashed property taxes in this state, California has been on the leading edge of the tax cut movement that has spread across the nation.

But faced with the prospect of withering budget cuts and deficits that stretch through at least the middle of the decade, that may be about to change.

A near glut of initiatives that would raise taxes are being aimed at the November 2012 ballot. A group of Republican and Democratic business leaders and former state officials calling itself the Think Long Committee for California is drafting an initiative to raise $10 billion by expanding the sales tax to services, while reducing personal and corporate taxes. Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, and legislators are negotiating the details of an income tax surcharge on the state’s top earners and for a sales tax increase that in its latest form would raise $6 billion.

In addition, labor unions want voters to approve even bigger sales and income tax increases, and environmental groups last week proposed an initiative to close a business tax loophole that they said would produce $1.2 billion for education and energy projects.

full: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/us/in-california-a-push-for-tax-increases-on-the-2012-ballot.html

Here's info about taxes in the state from Tax Foundation, which found that CA had the highest corp income tax in the Western region, highest sales tax rate in the US, and higher state/local tax burden than average. However, the TF found that Prop. 13 caused property tax collection in CA to be below average.

Study by California Tax Association: "...Proposition 13 has made the property tax stable and predictable for property owners and local government by ending the guesswork and worry that plagued the system in the 1960s and 1970s. Also, this study found that owners of all business and other non-homeowner property subject to Proposition 13 are paying a larger percentage of the property tax, and that assessed values of business and non-homeowner property subject to Proposition 13 have outpaced homeowner assessments." (Summary)

Sacramento Bee, "California taxes: Who's paying the most?": "Residents earning north of $200,000 control 39 percent of the state's income, but pay 66 percent of its income taxes...Also, it's generally accepted that the poor and middle class pay a larger portion of their income on other taxes like the sales tax. Income taxes, then, are, in a way, just a larger piece of a similar-size puzzle." (there are many other charts/graphs here with a historical view of state taxes).

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. As the summary of the article stated, I too expect most if not all to fail

There is serious anti tax sentiment in SoCal, lead heavily by talk radio bubbas John & Ken in Los Angeles.

One of the interesting things about the approaches being taken is the initiatives are saying where the increased funds will go when in fact they need to go to the general fund where they can me managed and used as needed. However, the voters have such a low opinion of pols, they will not trust them with the money.

[alp227]

2. California has a reputation as a blue state yet gets queasy around taxes.

Even though the two parties differ in their treatments of taxes and spending. I mean, since 1974 here's how california voted for pols/issues (source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_party_strength_in_California):

elected D president: every election since 1992
elected R president: 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988 (former CA governor Reagan in '80 and '84, Reagan's VP Bush in '88)
The three presidents from California were all Republican: Hoover, Nixon, and Reagan
elected D governor: 1974, 1978, 1998, 2002, 2010
elected R governor: 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 2003 recall, 2006
Both branches of legislature were majority D except when in 1995-1996 the Assembly had a slight Republican majority.
Social issues: voted for Prop. 187 ('94, no public school/services for unauthorized immigrants), Prop. 22 ('00, against gay marriage), Prop. 36 ('00, modifying 3 strikes law with drug treatment provision), Prop. 8 ('08 same but overturned in fed court and currently under judicial review). Specifically regarding cannabis use: for Prop. 215 ('96 for MEDICAL use only) but against Prop. 19 ('10, a tax and regulate marijuana initiative).

So I'd say CA is a rather purple state as the bluest parts are the Bay Area and LA yet there are conservative areas like Orange County, San Diego, and the Central Valley.

[Politicalboi]

3. Legalize Weed

Instead of taxes.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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