Schwarzenegger plan for gasoline taxes slammed as "bait and switch"

Sacramento Bee ^ | 1/14/10 | Tony Bizjak

[SmithL]

California drivers could save a dollar and change each visit to the gas pump under a tax swap proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In an effort to free up money to balance the state budget, the governor wants to reduce the sales tax motorists pay on gas purchases while increasing the gas excise tax, also paid at the pump.

The net result, state finance officials estimate, would be a 5-cent savings for consumers per gallon of gas in the next year. A Bee calculation based on this week's $3-per-gallon average in California puts the savings at 7 cents a gallon.

The complex proposal – in the governor's 2010-2011 budget plan – is drawing sharp opposition from transit advocates, and scrutiny from public school officials – both of whom will take a financial hit.

The change, if approved by legislators, starts in July. The temporary savings for consumers would then run through July 2011.

Administration officials say the switch would help California close a $19.9 billion budget gap by nullifying laws that reserve most of the gas-pump sales tax for transit agencies.

[bray]

No sense in drilling in that huge find off Bakersfield.

Pray for America’s Freedom

[editor-surveyor]

You misspelled Schwarzenkennedy in the title...

[GeronL]

So basically, this would steal taxes from the local and county governments?

[BenLurkin]

More accounting gimics?

[eyeamok]

Don’t you mean Governor Shriver?? unless of course he got divorced, then he can use his maiden name again.

[truthguy]

Gimmicks, gimmicks, gimmicks. That's all this muscle headed clown can come up with. He's flat out of ideas and he lacks the courage to tell the California electorate the truth. The truth is that over the past 20 years Californians have been living in a dream world. They have elected idiot after idiot to the State Legislature and these folks have spent the state into bankruptcy. We (California) no longer have the wealth to live the way we have been living.

In essence we have killed the goose and now we are going to have to live with the consequences of what we have done. Arnold lacks the courage to tell the public the truth or he simply is too stupid to realize the truth.

[TaMoDee]

Bakersfield (aka Bikersfield) is on the coast. Who knew.

[Oatka]

My emphasis. The temporary savings for consumers would then run through July 2011.

Uh oh.

Ah, here it comes:
Longer-term, however, the governor's plan calls for increasing the gas excise tax annually for the next 10 years from its current 18 cents to 34 cents per gallon by 2020.

That's it. Take monies taxed for infrastructure repair and dump it into the general fund. Then in a few years, lament over the "crumbling infrastructure" and raise gas taxes.