The California Tax Foundation--the research arm of the California Taxpayers Association--has released its Tax & Fee Report, an annual overview of the major taxes and fees introduced by the California Legislature.
Since returning to the Capitol on January 6, California lawmakers have proposed 42 bills and constitutional amendments that would cost taxpayers more than $65.9 billion annually in higher taxes and fees, including taxes on hiring workers during the worst period of unemployment since the Great Depression.
According to the report, lawmakers are also considering taxing businesses working to develop a treatment and cure for COVID-19. The tax and fee proposals come during a year when California’s economy is facing an unprecedented collapse, and follows a year in which $4.4 billion in new tax and fee authorizations were signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.
Prior to the Governor’s March 19 stay-at-home order, which closed many businesses, the existing tax structure had generated a large operating surplus and record-high reserves for California’s government. The roughly $20 billion in reserves helped the state avoid billions of dollars in budget cuts when revenue fell sharply due to the pandemic.
Instead of continuing to raise taxes, we should be looking for ways to ease the burden on families and business owners who see too much of their money go to Sacramento with too little result. I appreciate the California Taxpayers Association for working hard to protect taxpayers from increased taxes and for always promoting government efficiency.
