Posted on 03/13/2008 8:11:02 AM PDT by SmithL
A political fight over raising taxes to help solve California's fiscal crisis was touched off Wednesday when Democratic lawmakers proposed taxing big oil to help pay for threatened public education programs.
ABX3 9, introduced by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, would have raised $1.2 billion a year by taxing oil firms' windfall profits and through a separate tax on petroleum that is pumped in California.
The bill, which required a two-thirds vote to pass, was defeated on the Assembly floor after Republicans refused to vote for the new taxes. But several other Democrat-authored tax bills are likely to stir heated debate in the coming months as lawmakers try to close an $8 billion gap between the state's revenue and its expenses.
The bills include a sales tax on music downloaded over the Internet via stores such as iTunes; increased income taxes on the wealthy; and new fees on large or gas-guzzling automobiles.
Núñez said he would support new taxes as long as they don't "hurt the working class." Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, also has said he would like to consider new revenues, including temporary tax increases.
Republicans remained adamant, arguing that new taxes will worsen the state's ailing economy.
"This is the normal Democratic response to the budget deficit, which they created (by years of increased spending)," Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman from Tustin (Orange County) said. "Tax increases will only hurt the economy and working families and would have a negative impact on the state as a whole."
Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, also dismissed raising taxes as a way to solve the state's budget woes.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
But,but IT’S FOR THE CHILDREN!!!
Oil Companies already pay an accumulated 64% tax burden for the right to drill on their own property.
Nunez is so damn stupid, it's breathtaking. As if gas prices aren't high enough already, he wants to increase them by taxing oil companies. If he doesn't think the oil companies will pass those taxes on to the consumer, he's insane.
How about a 25% tax on money transfers to mexico. that woukd raise about a billon per year at no cost to the taxpayers.
So true, it’s all smoke and mirrors.
That’s right, RATS, tax your way out of a recession...sooner or later, it’s gotta work sometime!
We have winner for post of the day!
How about a 25% tax on money transfers to mexico. that woukd raise about a billon per year at no cost to the taxpayers.”
PERFECT!!!!!!
This is just another Liberal/Numnutz trick outta the lefty play book.... he knows it won’t pass 2/3rds but it sounds good to the “working class’..... hey Numbnutz, who is and isn’t the “working class”...?
ITUNES TAX...... Bwahahhaaaaaa!
Lets go, CONGRESS! GET OFF THE F'ING DIME so we can get off our dependency of foreign oil so we can tell the camel jockeys & tin horn dictators to shove their oil up their you-know-whats!
ITUNES TAX...! Bwhahaaaaaaaaahaaaahaaaaaaahahahahahahhaaaaaaaaa!
Not to worry, the politicians will raise taxes AFTER the elections.
Fabian Numnutz is an idiot, like most democRATS.
How about a 25% income tax increase for all California elected political thugs? ...It’s for the childrenbushfaultchangingweather...
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