What Do Tax Hikes Cost Californians In A Year?
SACRAMENTO (AP) — Californians have been paying more on just about everything the past two years, from TV sets to vehicle licenses to income taxes. Now Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers are hoping voters will agree to pay those higher prices for another five years.
Temporary increases in sales, personal income and vehicle taxes approved in 2009 by the state Legislature raise about $10 billion per year. They amount to an extra $5 on a $500 washing machine, for example, or another $125 in personal income taxes for someone earning $40,000 a year.
If the Democratic governor gets his way, a measure to extend those tax hikes and reduce California's $26.6 billion deficit will go before voters in a June special election. No Republican lawmaker has signed on to Brown's budget plan.
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