Tax increases would hurt Calif.
In his column “Prop. 56 would help budget pass,”
(Jan. 21), Antonio Raimundo advocates the passage of Proposition 56
apparently to ensure that massive tax increases can be more easily
pushed through the state legislature.
I, for one, am thankful that a governor from the opposition
party is now at the helm and has enough financial common sense (not
to mention a spine) to oppose such tax increases.
If Raimundo is so concerned about rising education costs, he
should do what college students have, for the most part, been
expected to do ““ take out loans and repay them gradually
after he graduates and gets a full-time job.
If he is instead going to push a pro-tax agenda and the
University of California Student Association somehow succeeds in
its meritless lawsuit to force the car tax back up to the full 2
percent annual assessment (expecting the taxpayers to continue
picking up the tab for most of his educational expenses), nobody
should be surprised if the taxpayers stage another revolt at the
ballot box. Nor should they be surprised if auto sales and the rest
of the state’s economy grind to a screeching halt, depriving
the state of sales tax revenue as well.
Tax policy not only needs to be about staying competitive with
neighboring states, but also about funding essential government
functions.
It is extremely easy for businesses to simply move to Nevada or
Arizona and take their jobs with them, and such decisions are a
direct consequence of the taxation and regulatory climate in
California.
Last year alone, various tax increase proposals totaling nearly
$60 billion were introduced in Sacramento. $60 billion in a state
where the annual budget itself is hovering at $100 billion. My
guess is that Raimundo would push hard for most or all of those
increases only if they targeted people other than himself. Perhaps
he thinks that those who pay most of the state’s bills, no
matter how much more they’re taxed, won’t move away
because of the beaches and great weather.
Really? Just watch them ““ it’s already happening,
and until some sanity is brought back to state spending and the
resulting taxation, it’s not going to stop.
Mike Cooper
Economics, Class of 1997