Free Republic

Arguing for more revenues to bolster the state's finances, Gov. Jerry Brown called his November tax initiative "common sense" Thursday and blamed his predecessor for leaving California with an ongoing budget gap. Brown contended that his Proposition 30 would initially raise roughly the same $7 billion that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger eliminated by cutting the car tax and not raising taxes on out-of-state firms. The governor's Proposition 30 would increase taxes on high-income earners for seven years and sales for four years.

In a pointed letter critical of Gov. Jerry Brown's tax rival, California's two U.S. senators along with state legislative leaders called Thursday for a cease-fire from campaigns backing the two multibillion-dollar tax hikes on the November ballot. U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, as well as Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, said in a letter to the California State PTA that the Proposition 38 campaign has "become increasingly negative" and "engaged in personal attacks against Governor Jerry Brown and Prop. 30." The PTA has joined wealthy attorney Molly Munger in backing Proposition...

"Soak the rich" has a populist ring that resonates in a period of economic uncertainty, and making the rich pay their "fair share" of taxes has become a rallying cry for those on the political left with no small appeal to those in the middle. Gov. Jerry Brown hopes to tap into that sentiment with a ballot measure that would increase everyone's sales taxes a bit while hitting the very affluent with higher income taxes. If he's successful, however, there are downside risks, beginning with the possibility that some will move legally, if not physically, to states with lower or...

Think the budget negotiations are dead? Get ready for something that could contribute to a Plan B: Tax the rich. We just got our hands on a new poll due out Friday that shows blow-the-roof-off support for something that has only been mumbled about in the most progressive corners of the Dome: Increasing taxes one percent on Californians making more than $500,000. It would raise $2.5 billion towards the state's $26.6 billion deficit. We explored this issue weeks ago, but few would talk it up then. But now, they might. How high is the support? Try a whopping 78 percent....

(Reuters) - Support for California Governor Jerry Brown's plan to shut a $27 billion budget gap has eroded since he introduced it in January, a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California showed on Wednesday. Democrat Brown wants to close the budget hole with a mix of spending cuts and tax hikes, and he wants voters to get the chance to approve the package in a special election. So far Republicans have opposed the special election and tax hikes.

Are Californians overtaxed, undertaxed or, to crib from the fable about Goldilocks and the three bears, taxed just right? We're already being inundated with claims and counterclaims about tax burdens as Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature weigh whether to place about $9 billion a year in tax extensions on a June ballot to cover budget deficits. Sorting through the tax rhetoric is not easy. Reliable, up-to-date numbers are hard to find, and there's no universal agreement on how data should be interpreted. But here's a shot. The most comprehensive data on state and local tax burdens – you have...

If he can get his proposed tax extensions on the ballot, Gov. Jerry Brown just might have a shot at persuading voters to pass them and balance the state's budget. A month before Brown introduced his budget plan, a statewide voter survey by pollster Jim Moore, commissioned by Democratic legislators, found that 58 percent of the 1,000 respondents were inclined to extend the 2009 increases for four years if doing so would minimize cuts to K-12 education, public safety and health care. However, Brown and his allies will have to do some educating. That 58 percent support was registered only...

California Dreamin’ By Eric Fry 10/25/10 Laguna Beach, California – California’s Napa Valley gets the headlines, the wine-tasting awards and the black-tie charity dinners…California’s “Emerald Triangle” gets the cash. That’s right, the Golden State’s marijuana crop generates about $14 billion in revenue each year, and most of that revenue flows into the three main cannabis-growing counties of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity — aka, the Emerald Triangle. $14 billion may not seem like much, as it is roughly the same sum as the bonus pool at Goldman Sachs. On the other hand, $14 billion is larger than the GDP of Iceland,...