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Billionaires, Insiders Plan To Place $10-Billion Tax Hike On 2012 California Ballot
LATimes ^ | November 20, 2011 | Anthony York

Posted on 11/20/2011 8:16:51 PM PST by Steelfish

Billionaires, Insiders Plan To Place $10-Billion Tax Hike On 2012 California Ballot Acting as the Think Long Committee, they want to change the tax system to increase money for public schools and universities and for local governments.

By Anthony York, Los Angeles Times November 20, 2011 Reporting from Sacramento— Joining the battle over California taxes, a group of billionaires and political insiders say they will place a $10-billion tax increase on the November 2012 ballot.

The Think Long Committee, which includes Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, former governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles philanthropist Eli Broad, says its proposal would provide $5 billion more for public schools every year and billions for public universities and local governments.

Although the group has prepared a report outlining its proposals, it has not taken the preliminary steps needed to place the ideas before voters. Members have not filed any potential initiatives with the state attorney general's office or created a campaign committee to finance such an effort. A spokesman for Think Long said those moves would come in the next couple of weeks.

The group's plan is based on a reshuffling of California's tax system. It would lower the state's personal income and sales tax rates and create a new levy of more than 5% on services that are not currently taxed, such as legal work or accounting.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; US: California
KEYWORDS: 2012; berggruen; berggrueninstitute; california; elibroad; ericschmidt; graydavis; nicolasberggruen; opensocietyinstitute; osi; schwarzenegger; taxes; taxpigs; thinklong; thinklongcommittee; universities
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1 posted on 11/20/2011 8:16:54 PM PST by Steelfish
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To: Steelfish

Tax on services like legal services included!!!!! CA screwed by left-wing billionaires


2 posted on 11/20/2011 8:18:20 PM PST by Steelfish (ui)
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To: Steelfish

Nobody is talking about eliminating the expense of the illegals. The rich value their cheap labor.
If they want to increase the revenue in CA..they will need to get it from the middle class that is dying now.
No where in their imagination is the possibility of increasing the pie by getting rid of the unnecessary rules and regulations.


3 posted on 11/20/2011 8:22:03 PM PST by Oldexpat
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4 posted on 11/20/2011 8:22:16 PM PST by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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To: Steelfish

This damn state continues to swirl around the bowl. Or is that bowel. Unfortunately I have an economic stake in it.

Once an economic miracle and now brought to near death by the economic cancer of liberalism.

FUCA!


5 posted on 11/20/2011 8:23:22 PM PST by Blado (2008: Year Zero of the Zombie Apocalypse.)
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To: Steelfish

Think Long Committee

Yeah, throwing more $$$ at a failed public school systeme sure is ‘thinking’ alright . . . Schmidt, Davis, Arnie . . don’t they have enough personal issues to worry about?


6 posted on 11/20/2011 8:23:54 PM PST by A_Former_Democrat (There's nothing more hypocritical than a white liberal calling someone else a "bigot")
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To: Steelfish

Being the lefties they are the LA Times uses “accountants and lawyers” as examples of services that would be subject to taxation—things most people don’t use much. Left unsaid are all the things people use a lot—home repair, car repair, barbershops, gardeners, medical services, etc.


7 posted on 11/20/2011 8:23:58 PM PST by blue state conservative
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To: Steelfish

Go ahead. Knock yourselves out.
Why not raise $10 billion more?
Why not raise $25 billion more?

Spend it on the schools, the collegs ... you should have the smartest most productive people on the planet in no time.


8 posted on 11/20/2011 8:24:14 PM PST by Lorianne
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To: Steelfish

Part of this proposition should be to require the bass turds pushing its passage to release THEIR tax returns to the public EVERY YEAR. I’d bet we’d find every one of them have ways to beat the system and not pay any taxes.


9 posted on 11/20/2011 8:26:44 PM PST by FlingWingFlyer (Stop BIG Government Greed Now!!!!)
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To: Blado

And Google boy (on the right) looks like he's in his 60's what is he now, 30-something? These effing college kids excel at technical skills yet they soak up all the Grammsci/Alinsky socialist garbage their liberal arts "perfessors" teach them unquestioningly.

10 posted on 11/20/2011 8:32:05 PM PST by Blado (2008: Year Zero of the Zombie Apocalypse.)
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To: FlingWingFlyer

You are so absolutely correct!


11 posted on 11/20/2011 8:41:33 PM PST by Steelfish (ui)
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To: Steelfish

Its DOA. I’m sure it’ll be marketed as “all for the children.” Voters here in Colorado this month buried tax hikes for the schools. Those billionaires are stuck on stupid. In a recession, its the very worst time to increase taxes. Good luck with it!


12 posted on 11/20/2011 8:42:29 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: Steelfish

the californicate is broke.

governor brown was governor for 8 years decades ago; he unionized state employees.

today, these unions and their pensions,

and illegals’ healthcare and education

have ruined the state.


13 posted on 11/20/2011 8:43:17 PM PST by ken21
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To: Steelfish
they want to change the tax system to increase money for public schools and universities and for local governments.

Oh, good grief, those items are getting plenty of funds through property taxes (which include a number of bonds & taxes that voters have added to the original bill)

14 posted on 11/20/2011 8:48:10 PM PST by BookmanTheJanitor
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To: ken21

The basic problem is California voters have little appetite for higher taxes. The schools are just mismanaged and despite billions spent on them, California scholastic achievement is about the national average. There is no correlation between increased revenues and educational quality. What are Californians going to get for higher taxes for the kids? The promoters don’t say. They face tough sledding with this proposed initiative.


15 posted on 11/20/2011 8:48:23 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: Steelfish
they want to change the tax system to increase money for public schools and universities and for local governments.

Pension, tenure, unions, & votes, votes, votes!

Come on drones! Its modern day bread & circuses writ large -with your money

16 posted on 11/20/2011 8:50:00 PM PST by bill1952 (Choice is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
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To: Steelfish

Any new tax scheme which raises an additional $10 billion means that we are paying #10 billion more. And that money goes into the same union created waste hole.


17 posted on 11/20/2011 8:50:04 PM PST by BAW (Not Romney. No. No. No. No. No.)
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To: BookmanTheJanitor

Throwing good money after bad. They get lotto money too. Dismantle the whole public ed system. A CA Initiative for vouchers went down the tubes several years ago,


18 posted on 11/20/2011 8:50:59 PM PST by Steelfish (ui)
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To: Steelfish

Why don’t they simply turn over enough of their personal fortunes so that they’re no longer “billionaires”? That would almost assuredly raise $10 billion (or more) without having to extract a single extra cent from the already over-taxed working folks.

Idiots.


19 posted on 11/20/2011 8:54:16 PM PST by Oceander (TINSTAAFL - Mother Nature Abhors a Free Lunch almost as much as She Abhors a Vacuum)
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To: goldstategop

Unfortunately, according to a recent poll a large majority of Californians were willing to vote for higher taxes to fund schools.


20 posted on 11/20/2011 8:57:38 PM PST by Steelfish (ui)
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