On the main page today, I link to this article by Evan Halper of the Los Angeles Times in which is excerpted here:
Schwarzenegger’s staff is exploring a range of options, including sales taxes on lawyer and accountant services, on high-end services such as golf lessons and personal-trainer sessions, and on takeout coffee and other prepared foods that are not taxed now.
The administration’s goal, participants in the discussions say, is to gather support for new taxes from a broad spectrum of the business lobby, giving the Legislature’s Republicans political cover to break their pledges never to vote for them.
Several lobbyists and state officials involved in the meetings agreed to talk about them on condition of anonymity, for fear of antagonizing the administration. They say talks have heated up as the governor prepares his revised budget plan for release May 14.
That plan will reveal how large the deficit has grown in recent months — a number that state accountants are still calculating as they sort through April tax receipts. Schwarzenegger’s staff is advising the interest groups that the governor is prepared to call for a tax increase if California’s finances have darkened considerably.
Administration press secretary Aaron McLear would not comment on what had been discussed in the meetings.
"The governor does not support raising taxes," McLear said. "I can’t comment on private meetings and who we have talked to internally."
McLear said: "Everybody knows the deficit will be bigger than it was in January. . . . We’re preparing for every different scenario."
At the meetings, according to those who have attended, administration officials are asking interest groups which taxes might be acceptable — and what the administration should demand in return from the Democrats who control the Legislature.
Of course, when I read about this, I started to feel my blood pressure rise. Such meetings, I would say, would be a precursor to a potential shift in the Governor’s position against tax increases. Given his flip flopping around from his 2003 positions, I think it would be fair to say that I have cause to be concerned.
But rather than jump the gun so to speak, I dropped a note to Matt David, the Governor’s Communications Director, who assured me that the Governor’s position continued to be one of opposition to raising taxes. I pressed back, trying to ascertain if the meetings described above really took place.
Matt then called me, and since I was in front of my computer at the time, and am a touch typist, I can tell you that this part of our conversation is quite accurate (and was on the record – we actually went “off the record” right after this exchange to chat further):
Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear this was the case. My blood pressure returned to normal at that exact moment!
That said, it does make for a curious circumstance. L.A. Times reporter Evan Halper is pretty specific in his story, and David was very specific with me.
We’ll see how this develops – but I for one am pleased that, according to the Governor’s office, they are not holding meetings with outsiders to discuss potential tax increases. That’s good because such meetings would certainly undermine the Governor’s position – that we have an overspending problem, that should not be solved by socking it further to California taxpayers.
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