CalWatchdog Morning Read – January 6

by CalWatchdog Staff | January 6, 2017 8:35 am

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[1] has more. 

In other news:

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Endnotes:
  1. CalWatchdog: http://calwatchdog.com/2017/01/05/california-sales-tax-dips-tax-burden-rises/
  2. Politico: http://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2017/01/political-powerful-nurses-union-head-im-counting-on-trump-for-real-health-care-reform-108511
  3. The San Diego Union-Tribune: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sd-me-wage-enforcement-20170105-story.html
  4. Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-jerry-brown-budget-preview-20170106-story.html
  5. The Sacramento Bee: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article124823464.html#storylink=cpy
  6. The Sacramento Bee: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article124293694.html

Source URL: https://calwatchdog.com/2017/01/06/calwatchdog-morning-read-january-6/