CalWatchdog Morning Read – January 6

06 Jan, 2017 by CalWatchdog Staff

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CA sales tax dips, tax burden rises
Nurses union head hoping Trump turns to single-payer health care, “disgusted” with Pelosi
SD crackdown on minimum-wage pass-through from businesses
CA budget may be lean despite newly-passed taxes
House Republicans reach out to Gov. Brown, others on Obamacare replacement

Good morning! It’s Friday. Let’s get down to business.

“Four years ago, voters approved Proposition 30, which raised the income tax significantly on the wealthiest Californians and raised the sales tax a tiny bit on everyone,” Capital Public Radio recently recalled. “That quarter-of-a-cent increase equated to paying an additional $0.01 on a $4 coffee; $1 on a $400 television; and $100 on a $40,000 car.”

But on Election Day 2016, that changed. “Voters extended Proposition 30’s income tax increases in [November’s] presidential election with Proposition 55 — but that initiative allowed the Prop. 30 sales tax hike to expire.”

The shift means California’s sales tax is the state’s only tax to be decreased this year, from 7.5 percent to 7.25 percent.

As the U-T reported, “Some local jurisdictions tack on their own assessments, so residents in certain areas will still pay more than the statewide rate.” In certain parts of the state, like the San Francisco Bay Area, voters allowed substantial increases.

CalWatchdog has more.

In other news:

Health Care: “As Washington grapples with health care policy again, the head of the 185,000-member National Nurses United is turning her attention to a seemingly unlikely advocate for a single-payer system. ‘The one I’m counting on the most is Trump,’ RoseAnn DeMoro said. DeMoro, who serves as executive director of both the Oakland-based National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association, told POLITICO California on Thursday that she is ‘disgusted’ with Democrats like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and believes that the president-elect may actually get action.” Politico has more.
Minimum wage: “San Diego is cracking down on several restaurants that city officials say are adding surcharges in misleading and illegal ways to help cover increased labor costs from the minimum wage hike that took effect Jan. 1.” The San Diego Union-Tribune has more.
Budget: “But recent events in California and the nation suggest the fiscal proposal Brown unveils next week could be his most circumspect to date, even after voters in November approved billions of dollars in additional taxes,” reports the Los Angeles Times.
Obamacare: “House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has written to Gov. Jerry Brown and the leaders of other states soliciting their input for replacing Obamacare.” The Sacramento Bee has more.