The Governor’s Commission on the 21st Century Economy delivered its much anticipated report today. Some of the recommendations are valid and should be embraced by the Legislature. But unfortunately, the report also calls for a hidden tax on business (known as the business net receipts tax) that would lead to taxing services. 

At a time when California’s business climate is the third worst in the nation and when its unemployment rate is breaking Depression-era records, the notion of a hidden tax will go over like a lead balloon with taxpayers, with economists and certainly with Republicans.

How can we support any idea that will make California less competitive in business, kill jobs and evaporate the entrepreneurial spirit that Californian is known for the world-over? It’s obvious that further taxation will do all of these things, and in the process send California’s business climate to rock bottom and push our joblessness rate through the roof. 

Perhaps instead, Legislative leaders and the governor should get serious about supporting business and creating jobs – not unlike Michigan, which is giving incentives to green industry manufacturing instead of creating taxes — that will trickle down to the families hit hardest by these financial tough times.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.