I guess California State legislators just showed us, "how they do it in Sac-Town!"
As a way of avoiding having to get a two-thirds vote, California State legislators (Senate and ASSembly) passed new "income tax" and "gas" FEES, that are really taxes. This is an unconstitutional and illegal process and tax advocates have already said they will be challenging this in court. But by the time the whole legal process is over, the taxes, I mean fees will have already been collected, and do you really think they will issue refunds, once declared "illegal and unconstitutional" as it most certainly will?
From Sac-Town Bee:
The plan would raise taxes on gasoline, personal income and sales; cut state spending on schools, state universities and programs for the needy; and lower the state's payroll by $657 million. The state Assembly sent its first significant tax shift proposal, Assembly Bill 2x, to the governor this afternoon on a party-line 46-27 vote.
Schwarzenegger administration officials turned thumbs down on a first draft of the plan released midday Wednesday, saying the governor wouldn't approve a package unless it relaxed state workplace and environmental laws to expedite public works projects. They withheld comment Thursday, preferring to see first which proposals the Legislature would send Schwarzenegger.
6:00 PM Update: Governor Girlieman, did send the bill back, but not because of the illegal, unconstitutional nature, but because he wanted his stuff in there, too.
From Sac-Town Bee:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will not sign a package of bills Democrats sent him today to increase taxes and make program cuts, an $18 billion effort passed without Republican votes.
The governor said the package did not include provisions to stimulate the economy by loosening environmental standards, making more use of contractors on public projects and give him flexibility to furlough state workers without union intervention.
Republicans claimed the Democratic package was illegal because it raised $9.3 billion in taxes without a two-thirds vote. But Schwarzenegger did not criticize that approach.
KFI radio talk show hosts John and Ken have been covering this story, and you can follow up on their website here.
Just as California residents are hit with so many other new fees, taxes and bonds; when more and more businesses and residents are going under financially...NOW they want to tax your income tax and gas tax -- I mean "fees"!
WHY WOULD ANYONE TRY AND DO BUSINESS IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA ANYMORE? WHY WOULD ANYONE MOVE HERE? These state and local politicians are running the City and State like a bunch of crack addicts. This isn't going to fix the problem because they still come up 50% short.
NEXT STEP: The State of California will have to be "bailed-out" like Wall Street and the Auto industry. And they will once again say, "California is too important to the U.S. and global economy to fail." IT'S ALREADY OVER. You may as well not even pull this new tax move...it isn't going to fix the problem, but it will HURT the economy...and the Feds are going to have to bail out the State, anyway. Now everyone across the country can ALSO kick-in for the way LA City Hall and the State ASSembly have been running things.