co-authored by Assemblywoman Mimi Walters
This week, Californians will celebrate Tax Freedom Day on April 30, the day when you and your family stop working for the government and finally start taking home a paycheck for yourselves.
Tax Freedom Day is the day when you will have earned enough money in the year to completely pay off your local, state and federal tax bills. In other words, if you look at your yearly income on a calendar, you have worked the first four months of the year just paying your taxes.
It should come as no surprise that we pay significantly more in taxes living here in California. In fact, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, Californians pay the fourth-highest tax burden in the entire country. We pay even more than high tax states like Minnesota and Massachusetts, which has long been known as "Taxachusetts." Hard-working California families are clearly paying too much in taxes and deserve some relief from their state government.
Unfortunately, Sacramento Democrats apparently don´t think the fourth-highest tax burden in the nation is high enough. They have proposed more than $30 billion in higher taxes on Californians this year, citing our state´s budget problems as an excuse to soak working families.
If Democrats have their way, you could soon be paying higher car taxes, higher gas taxes, higher income taxes, and higher sales taxes, just to name a few. They are pushing new taxes on the music you purchase online, the plastic bags you use at the grocery store, the beer you drink, oil production, even a new global warming tax.
The liberal majority apparently believes tax relief for working families is a "loophole," and has proposed cutting both the senior citizen and child dependent tax credits. With many struggling to stay in their homes with falling home values, Democrats want to make the problem even worse by taking away the home mortgage interest deduction.
Not only do Democrats want to pick your pockets to shake down billions in higher taxes so they can continue to ignore our budget problems and spend even more, they want to make it easier for politicians to raise your taxes. They have proposed several measures that will allow tax increases to be passed without a two-thirds vote, undermining the State Constitution. Enough is enough.
Republicans in the Legislature will stand firm this year in protecting the wallets of hard-working Californians from every attempt by Democrats to raise your taxes.
We know that our budget problems were not triggered by Californians paying too little in taxes. The problem is liberal politicians in Sacramento are spending too much of your money. Indeed, state revenues have grown a robust 32% in the past two years without new taxes, but unfortunately the state´s appetite for spending grew faster. You and your family should not be punished with billions of dollars in higher taxes because Democrats refuse to consider even the most modest of budget savings. It´s time we worked to cut wasteful spending and help government live within its means.
As California marks the 30th anniversary of the passage of Proposition 13, we have introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 105 reaffirming the Legislature´s commitment to important taxpayer protections in the State Constitution. Proposition 13 has helped keep taxes lower by limiting how much politicians can impose in property taxes. The budget problem should not be used as an excuse to justify billions in higher taxes by repealing or weakening Proposition 13.
In the coming weeks, Republicans will fight hard to safeguard the people´s right to vote on each and every tax increase proposed by Democrats in the Legislature. Make no mistake, we will do whatever it takes to stop each and every tax increase pushed by the liberal spenders, and defend Californians from higher taxes and spending, period.
This week, Californians will celebrate Tax Freedom Day on April 30, the day when you and your family stop working for the government and finally start taking home a paycheck for yourselves.
Tax Freedom Day is the day when you will have earned enough money in the year to completely pay off your local, state and federal tax bills. In other words, if you look at your yearly income on a calendar, you have worked the first four months of the year just paying your taxes.
It should come as no surprise that we pay significantly more in taxes living here in California. In fact, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, Californians pay the fourth-highest tax burden in the entire country. We pay even more than high tax states like Minnesota and Massachusetts, which has long been known as "Taxachusetts." Hard-working California families are clearly paying too much in taxes and deserve some relief from their state government.
Unfortunately, Sacramento Democrats apparently don´t think the fourth-highest tax burden in the nation is high enough. They have proposed more than $30 billion in higher taxes on Californians this year, citing our state´s budget problems as an excuse to soak working families.
If Democrats have their way, you could soon be paying higher car taxes, higher gas taxes, higher income taxes, and higher sales taxes, just to name a few. They are pushing new taxes on the music you purchase online, the plastic bags you use at the grocery store, the beer you drink, oil production, even a new global warming tax.
The liberal majority apparently believes tax relief for working families is a "loophole," and has proposed cutting both the senior citizen and child dependent tax credits. With many struggling to stay in their homes with falling home values, Democrats want to make the problem even worse by taking away the home mortgage interest deduction.
Not only do Democrats want to pick your pockets to shake down billions in higher taxes so they can continue to ignore our budget problems and spend even more, they want to make it easier for politicians to raise your taxes. They have proposed several measures that will allow tax increases to be passed without a two-thirds vote, undermining the State Constitution. Enough is enough.
Republicans in the Legislature will stand firm this year in protecting the wallets of hard-working Californians from every attempt by Democrats to raise your taxes.
We know that our budget problems were not triggered by Californians paying too little in taxes. The problem is liberal politicians in Sacramento are spending too much of your money. Indeed, state revenues have grown a robust 32% in the past two years without new taxes, but unfortunately the state´s appetite for spending grew faster. You and your family should not be punished with billions of dollars in higher taxes because Democrats refuse to consider even the most modest of budget savings. It´s time we worked to cut wasteful spending and help government live within its means.
As California marks the 30th anniversary of the passage of Proposition 13, we have introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 105 reaffirming the Legislature´s commitment to important taxpayer protections in the State Constitution. Proposition 13 has helped keep taxes lower by limiting how much politicians can impose in property taxes. The budget problem should not be used as an excuse to justify billions in higher taxes by repealing or weakening Proposition 13.
In the coming weeks, Republicans will fight hard to safeguard the people´s right to vote on each and every tax increase proposed by Democrats in the Legislature. Make no mistake, we will do whatever it takes to stop each and every tax increase pushed by the liberal spenders, and defend Californians from higher taxes and spending, period.
