Will California Tax Tweaks Raise Cost of living?
Taxing Crude Oil and the Cost to Californians
The proposal is to levy a 9.9% extraction fee on each barrel of oil. City leaders are saying the oil taxes could bring in up to $3.5 billion for schools, while somehow preventing oil companies from raising the price of gasoline.
The opposition states that this would result in reduced in-state production, leading to an estimated loss of 10,000 jobs. And that the price of oil could increase by $1.3 billion a year which would ultimately lead to higher gas prices for people of California.
Governor Brown’s 7 Billion Dollar Tax Measure
California Governor Jerry Brown wants to raise taxes on the rich and raise sales tax. He is trying to push the measure on to next November’s ballot along with other tax measures.
Brown’s plan is to impose an extra 1% income tax on people making $250k a year, and 1.5% on those making $300k a year and 2% on individuals earning $500k a year. He also is pushing for a .5% sales tax hike much like Governor Chris Gregoire is attempting in Washington state. The California governor states the extra cost in taxes would last through 2016.
A projected $13 billion budget deficit has prompted this decision to raise cost of living in California The Brown Tax plan promises to reduce that deficit. Although a state budget watchdog agency reported much of the revenue promised wouldn’t materialize.
The measure would require a two-thirds super-majority vote and the Democrats control the legislature. Even so they are short votes , so without support from a few Republicans the initiative will be blocked. Earlier this year Republicans blocked a similar attempt to raise taxes.
It is interesting to note that the state is investigating the legality of Orange Counties desire to divert over 73 million dollars from public schools. A spokesperson for the state finance department stated that if Orange County follows through on its vow to redirect the funds, the state might take legal action against the county.
According to a recent poll Californian’s are willing to raise their cost of living in order to fund better education. The 64% of Californian’s are advocating for a public school system that has endured three years of deep budget cuts. The general consensus, California’s public schools are in horrible shape. They are absolutely right for 66% of students in California have a GPA of 2.0 or below. Out of those polled many cited budget cuts ,wasteful spending and bureaucratic as the cause. And they’d be right!!