Posted on 08/16/2006 2:38:47 PM PDT by calcowgirl
SACRAMENTO - Responding to weeks of attacks from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides on Wednesday pledged to cut taxes for the lowest income earners in a bid to restyle himself as the savior of the middle class.
Angelides said his plan would save about 2.5 million California families about $250 a year and cost couples who earn more than $1 million annually only about $8 a day - "not much more than a couple of lattes so that we can balance the budget and give a boost to hardworking families once again."
He said it would bring the state's wealthiest people into the same tax bracket as under former Governors Ronald Reagan and Pete Wilson for a period of three years, while restoring "the California dream" he and his parents enjoyed by working hard.
"I'm running for governor because hardworking, middle-class families are working longer for less - caught in a never-ending obstacle course of stagnant salaries, soaring gas prices, higher tuition for their kids, and higher health care costs - if they can afford health care at all," he told a crowd at a Boys & Girls Club in Los Angeles.
He was scheduled to appear later Wednesday with Sen. Dianne Feinstein in San Francisco.
At his own news conference in Sacramento, Schwarzenegger appeared with anti-tax advocates who have endorsed him and reaffirmed his opposition to any tax hikes. He said he has cut taxes, while Angelides wants to raise them.
"We trust the people to spend the money," Schwarzenegger said. "They trust the government to spend the money."
The Republican governor's campaign has been seeking to undermine Angelides' campaign promises by drawing attention to how much they would cost - first claiming they totaled $10 billion, then raising the figure to $18 billion this week. But that figure is inflated by including the cost of an Angelides health care measure that would not be funded through taxes and an increase in education funding Angelides has disavowed.
Angelides' proposal would provide a refundable credit equivalent to 15 percent of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, up to $660 a year, on a sliding scale, to people who earn less than $46,000 a year, the campaign said. Those who already avoid income taxes because they earn so little could use the credit toward sales and property taxes.
It also would increase the state's child dependent credit to $483 per child, from $283, for taxpayers earning up to $100,000 a year. The campaign said the tax cut would eliminate the entire tax liability for some working families.
Angelides said he would seek to eliminate California's estimated $4.5 billion budget deficit for the next fiscal year during his first 100 days of office and stop borrowing to fund vital programs, invoking the record of former President Clinton.
"As governor, I'll do what President Clinton did when he took office. I'll balance the budget. I'll put an end to Schwarzenegger's borrowing spree. I'll cut wasteful spending, crack down on tax cheats, and get rid of needless corporate tax loopholes," he told supporters.
--fortunately, I'm not a Commiefornian--the only reason to vote for Aaahhhnnnnooollllddd is Angelides----
Robin Hood....or
pandering whore ?
Paying 2.5 million California families about $250 a year is 625 million. $8 a day from those who earn over $1 million is $2920 a year. So there must be over 214000 taxpayers who earn over $1 million.
Cali-Dems must be incredibly stupid.
The poor wouls save $250 and the rich would save $2,920
Are those mutually exclusive? ;-)
(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo!)
Yeah, if yer Phil's campaign manager.
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