Today the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association put out the following statement in response to the announcement earlier today that their budget proposal includes massive tax increases…
ASSEMBLY DEMOCRAT BUDGET HARMS TAXPAYERS
Proposal increases taxes and creates new borrowing while deceptively promoting job growth.
Sacramento, CA – Today, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) strongly opposed a plan brought forth by Assembly Democrats that calls for $12 billion in new taxes and borrowing. The proposal includes a new oil severance tax which would lead to lost jobs and higher gas prices.
Democrats have proposed creating a $10 billion ‘Jobs and Economic Stability Fund’ in order to protect 450,000 primarily public sector jobs. The plan would be funded through the imposition of an oil severance tax and the borrowing of $8.7 billion from the California Beverage Recycling Fund in a process known as ‘securitization.’ To securitize revenues, the state would borrow against beverage recycling funds over the next twenty years to fund current programs.
HJTA President Jon Coupal spoke strongly against the proposal. “Assembly Democrats are proposing borrowing against a fund that is fiscally unstable at best. The BCRF has already loaned over $500 million to subsidize the General Fund and support AB 32 implementation. With redemption rates at a record high, it seems neither prudent nor wise to use this fund to support ongoing programs.”
Coupal also voiced opposition to the oil severance tax. “Establishing this tax will only increase layoffs in inland oil producing counties like Kern which are already bearing the brunt of this recession,” he said.
Coupal closed by addressing the package as a whole. “A 12.6 percent unemployment rate demands serious solutions to bring jobs back to California. Increasing taxes and playing shell games by borrowing against future revenues accomplishes nothing but to kick the can down the road into the laps of our children. It is time to solve our budget deficit once and for all, and prove to taxpayers that we can live within our means.”