Can’t keep the taxman down
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he won’t support any new broad-based taxes to close the state’s $20-billion budget shortfall. But that isn’t stopping Democrats from pushing ahead with plans for them regardless.
Assembly committees have already this month approved proposals for billions of dollars of new taxes. Among them:
Oil drilling: Tax production at a rate of 12.5%. The roughly $2 billion raised would be used to fund higher education under AB 656, by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico (D-Newark). Supporters of the tax say it would be paid out of big-oil profits. Oil companies warn it would lead to higher prices at the pump.
Tax shelters: The plan to crack down on offshore tax havens, AB 1178 by Assemblyman Marty Block (D-San Diego), would raise $120 million. That money would be used to give college kids a break on the sales tax they now pay when purchasing textbooks.
Marijuana: Assemblyman Tom Ammiano’s (D-San Francisco) much-talked-about plan to legalize marijuana could bring in big bucks for the cash-starved state. The standard sales tax, plus a $50 excise tax on every ounce of marijuana sold, would net some $1 billion, according to official projections.
-- Evan Halper in Sacramento
