California goes tax wild, eyes levies on everything from water to tires
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With the tax-filing deadline just days away, California residents are worried that a slew of proposed levies on everything from soft drinks to water to tires and car batteries could soon see even more money going out of their pockets in the state that already has the nation's highest income tax.
As Californians grapple with that 13.3 percent income tax – and some leaner-than-usual refunds this year due to the recent federal tax overhaul – lawmakers in Sacramento are looking at a range of other revenue sources. Members of the legislature's Democratic supermajority argue that these new taxes are vital to shore up the state coffers and to provide crucial services such as repairing crumbling infrastructure, cleaning up toxic wells and fighting obesity.
One of the most controversial proposals to come out of Sacramento this year is a proposal from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to tax drinking water in order to clean up contaminated water in the state’s low-income and rural areas.
He told reporters earlier this year that the lack of access to safe drinking water in the state is a "disgrace."
The proposal, which if enacted would levy a fee of between 95 cents and $10 a month on residents' water bills depending on meter readings, has divided members of Newsom’s own party. Tax and fee increases require support from two-thirds of lawmakers and, despite Democrats holding roughly 75 percent of the legislative seats in the state, some representatives from moderate and agricultural strongholds balk at the water tax idea.
State Sen. Anna Caballero has proposed using the state’s $22 billion surplus to create a trust fund to pay for water improvements. The move by Caballero has been championed by taxpayer associations in the state.
Following a national trend – and concerns over the risks of obesity and diabetes – Democratic lawmakers in the state have proposed a tax on the sugary beverages, which include soft drinks, sweetened iced teas, coffees and sports drinks. While details have remained vague on how much these taxes would be, Democratic Assemblyman Richard Bloom has supported a 20-cent-per-ounce tax in previous proposals.
Besides beverages, Democrats are looking to pass Assembly Bill 18, which among other things looks to tax the sale of handguns and semiautomatic weapons in order to generate funding for gun control programs.
In an effort to curb opioid addiction and fund drug treatment programs, lawmakers in California have introduced a bill that would impose a one-cent-per-milligram surcharge on prescription opioids sold in the state.
In February, Democratic Assemblyman Chris Holden proposed a $1.75 fee on every new tire put on a car, while in December another bill was proposed to levy a $1 fee on every lead-acid battery made by a manufacturer and sold in the state until 2022. The tire tax is estimated to generate $57 million to pay for stormwater cleanup.
There is also a proposal to tax oil and gas extraction in the state, which would not only put California in line with every other major oil-producing state in the U.S., but would bring in an estimated $1.5 billion a year.
As they spend more and more money, we raise the cost of living on everyone in the state,” Will Swaim, the president of the California Policy Center, told Fox News.
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if we let the far left nutjob dems own our government, America will be California.
Except we can't just leave and go somewhere else. Canada would build a wall....
California Exodus: Study says more people leaving state than moving ...
Nov 5, 2018 - It's been widely reported that the soaring cost of housing and other living expenses in California are driving waves of people to move out of the ...Feb 13, 2019 - "California is a great, great place if you're young and ambitious and ... industries that people want to be part of, is struggling with high costs," ...Feb 21, 2018 - For many years, more people have been leaving California for other states than have been moving here. ... California gained, on net, residents from about one-third of states, led by New York, Illinois, and New Jersey. On the flip side, top destinations for those leaving California were Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon. -
A huge problem are the liberal voting morons who move out of states like California because of things like this and move to less taxed red states but bring their bad liberal voting habits with them...
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We are eyeing corpus Christi. Cali sucks
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We are eyeing corpus Christi. Cali sucks
Goddamn liberal snowflake. Stay outta my state.?
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Goddamn liberal snowflake. Stay outta my state.?
Lol.
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