FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2010
Contact: Gino Folchi – 916-319-2073
Assemblywoman Diane Harkey Adamantly Opposes Tax and Spend Budget Option
Sixty-five percent of Californian’s rejected similar tax increases last May
SACRAMENTO – The Democrat counter to the Governor’s budget proposal is finally on the table. While people at home continue to trim their budgets and adjust their lifestyles, in Sacramento there are calls for more taxes to fund bigger government and more government-subsidized jobs.
“Government must begin to work for us, not the other way around. We cannot solve our continuing budget crisis through raising taxes. Businesses cannot compete with the ever-increasing appetite of state government and onerous regulation strangling our industries. We must reduce spending, streamline government services, and allow private sector job creation to thrive again in California,” said Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point.
With a $19.1 billion budget gap and 12.3% unemployment, the Democrat majority party is proposing massive tax increases on employers and working Californians, including:
-$8.7 Billion Income Tax Hike – An additional one percent income tax increase for every state tax bracket (except the top). This will cost the average family in California, which makes approximately $60,000 annually, an additional $473 per year.
-$1.5 Billion Car Tax Increase – Nearly tripling the car tax increase in 2011, raising it by another one half percent to 1.65 percent. This will cost the average family in California, which makes approximately $60,000 annually, an additional $118 per year to register a car.
-$600 Million Oil Tax = Higher Gas Prices – New taxes on oil production in California, which will surely raise gas prices even higher. Californians already pay the highest gas taxes in the nation at 63.9 cents per gallon.
-$2.1 Billion Jobs Tax = More Lost Jobs – Delaying, for two more years, job-creating tax incentives that are essential to jumpstarting the economy. Increasing the cost of employing in California will ensure that more jobs and investment leave the state.
“There are options that can and will place California on the path to recovery while balancing the budget. Sacramento must recognize that 65 percent of the voters rejected the same tax increases last May,” said Harkey.
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