Tag "Taxes"

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Huge CA Powerball sales sharpen lottery debate

Californians joined in the country’s fever over an extraordinary Powerball prize, leading the nation in ticket sales — but not without raising conflicting feelings about the lottery. “In California, about 80 cents of every $2 ticket sold goes toward education,” as the

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Uneasy balancing act for CA economy

California headed into 2016 with a stabilizing economy that nonetheless left many residents uneasy. On the work front, the year finished out with weaker, but not alarming, numbers. “California employers added just 5,500 jobs in November, according to federal data —

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Initiatives filed to extend Prop. 30 tax hikes

California’s temporary income tax hikes aren’t set to expire until 2018, but that hasn’t stopped Sacramento special interest groups from laying the groundwork for campaigns to extend Proposition 30. In recent months, sponsors of tax increases have filed the necessary

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Restive Democrats cautioned on budget surplus

A new report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office prepared the ground for fresh political combat in Sacramento over what to do with California’s budgetary surplus. Although “much of the predicted surpluses” could be skimmed off “for serious emergencies,” the San Francisco Chronicle

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CA Controller predicts Prop. 30 extension will be passed

At last Friday’s California Economic Summit sponsored by California Forward and the California Stewardship Network, state Controller Betty Yee predicted that a Proposition 30 extension and a cigarette tax will be on the 2016 ballot and both would pass. It was a prediction

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Sneak peek: 5 tax proposals you may see on the 2016 ballot

There has been some movement on the tax initiative front. In August, I offered the following list of the top five measures most likely to make the ballot: 1) Prop. 30 Extension, 2) Cigarette Tax, 3) Split Roll Property Tax,

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Poll: Voters hesitant on potential 2016 tax hike initiatives

A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll took the measure of many of the potential tax initiatives on the 2016 ballot. This snapshot in time indicates supporters of the tax increases have a lot of work to do to convince

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Sacramento special session tackles heath care, infrastructure funding, etc.

A series of clashes marked the two special legislative sessions tacked on this summer to address some of California’s more stubborn challenges. Adding to the controversy of potential tax increases designed to fund infrastructure and health care entitlements, some lawmakers seized the

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Dueling road plans propose higher taxes, seek to reduce driving

Drivers are likely scratching their heads over conflicting approaches to transportation goals in the state and cities. A coalition of business and labor organizations supported a plan to raise funds for road repair to the tune of $6 billion a year

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CA tax board owes 27,000 overcharged taxpayers

The California Franchise Tax Board potentially owes millions of dollars to 27,000 taxpayers who were overcharged interest after applying overpayments from one year to estimated tax payments in the following year. Due to FTB interest miscalculations going back nearly two

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