Posted on 11/07/2008 9:34:27 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Reporting from Sacramento -- California oil producers vowed Thursday to wage an all-out lobbying battle against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's call for a 9.9% state tax on every barrel of crude pumped out of the ground.
The governor said the tax was an important part of a budget-balancing solution at a time of economic crisis in the state. But the oil industry warned it would mean higher gasoline prices during a recession.
Schwarzenegger calls for sales tax hike,...The governor asked for the levy as part of a package of proposed new revenues aimed at raising $4.7 billion to fill about half of an $11.2-billion hole in this year's budget. The remainder of the deficit would be offset by proposed spending cuts.
"We have drastic problems that require drastic and immediate action," Schwarzenegger said just after calling a special session of the Legislature.
The proposed oil tax would raise $528 million in the fiscal year that ends June 30 and $1.2 billion the following year, according to the state Department of Finance.
The governor's proposal would make California producers the most heavily taxed in the nation and "would decimate drilling programs" here, said Rock Zierman, chief executive of the California Independent Petroleum Assn., a producer trade group.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
“We have drastic problems that require drastic and immediate action,” Schwarzenegger said just after calling a special session of the Legislature.
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We have idiots electing idiots to office.
‘Drastic’ is a bit mild, imo. Make it catastrophic.
Real smart to pull this crap when Kalifornia is heading into winter.
There isn’t a single person in Sacramento legislature who is willing to cut their spending, is there???
Please sponsor an initiative banning the State of California from taxing all petroleum products and I will vote for it.
Ahnold is now, officially, the Taxinator.
Stop paying illegals Mexicans..
And "drill, baby, drill".
Get rid of half your worthless staff.
Dear Governorator:
If you need a budget balancing solution, how about increasing taxes on Hollywood and BIG entertainment.?
See, I can live without them.
Sincerely,
A Flyover Country American...
Morons.....You have lots of oil waiting to be tapped off your coast you idoits. The infrastructure is even in place. Oil is oozing from the seabed and onto the beaches of Santa Barbara. Tap it, tax it and you will go a long way towards eliminating your deficit.
Hey, this will be a win-win for the state. Collect enough new oil taxes to drive up the price of gasoline, which will produce more sales tax revenues for the state. Don't forget, part of Arnies plan is to also raise state sales taxes, so this may actually be a win-win-win.
I have to laugh at the irony...he wants a 9.9 per cent tax and every time i pump gas the per gallon rate always has a 9/10th’s of a penny at the end of it.
The problem with the scenario is that oil prices are variable and when they are fluctuating, the 9.9 percent may not help very much.
As an alternative to more taxes, California should offer an alternative to first time DUI offenders, not involved in an accident, of which they have enormous numbers. Right now, if convicted of a criminal DUI offense, first time offenders get:
$1200 fine.
3 years probation (informal - no probation officer).
3-5 days sheriff work alternative program (picking up trash, cleaning buses, etc.) OR
90 license restriction (to start AFTER 4 months DMV suspension is over).
First Offender School (3/4 months long).
This is in addition to the four months immediate DMV suspension that starts 30 days after their DUI stop.
However, this does not include the other things that often happen to such offenders, like losing their job, their home or apartment, being kicked out of school, having to pay huge increases in insurance, maybe even getting divorced and becoming a public charge.
It also costs California a heck of a lot of money to do this.
So instead, why not offer first time DUI, non accident offenders an *alternative* of paying a $30,000 non-appealable, non-criminal fine, and they walk away from this one time only offense?
If they have another DUI, they get the full punishment.
For a lot of people, it would be worth it to put down this much money instead of the mostly just annoying other punishments, and the more serious indirect punishments.
And in doing so, they not only repay society, instead of costing society more money, but so many of them would probably pay so much money that it would erase most of California’s budget deficit.
If just 33,333 of these first time DUI offenders paid the fine, it would earn California One Billion Dollars, and not cost them the huge amount of money to otherwise punish first time DUIs.
The California economy would also benefit by their staying in their jobs and homes, and continuing to pay taxes instead of collecting unemployment.
California won’t be the only oil producing state to go after the oil revenue stream. Just wait for the other oil producing states to increase the oil production taxes on the oil companies and the royalty owners.
Was it not Reagan who said that government will tax anything that moves???
Since the American Public has voted to make the USA like the Socialist regimes in Europe and Canada, we should expect to see higher taxes on gasoline, cigarettes, alcohol, telecommunications, and any other commodity or service now being taxed.
The era of a low tax rate economy ended on Nov 4th.
How about a state sales tax on the lawyers’ fees?
Arnold is such a tool.
There isn’t a single person in Sacramento legislature who is willing to cut their spending, is there???
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I hear there is a minority of legislators with an R by their name who do , not thta ti matters when it comes to the Gub, that’s about it tho, it seems.
Welcome to the EUSA..
What people don’t realize is oil and gas wells are already taxed. Then you are taxed on each well the same as your property taxes. And it’s just as much.
“How about a state sales tax on the lawyers’ fees?”
I like that a LOT!!!!!!!!!!
the producers should tell California to go to hell and sell there oil elsewhere.
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