(June 26, 2009) A California Chamber of Commerce-led coalition turned to YouTube this week with its campaign to educate the public that additional taxes are being considered in the state Legislature and that adoption of those proposals will have adverse consequences for the economy and jobs.
"The Legislature of California already raised taxes on Californians for $12.5 billion a year. Enough is enough," says CalChamber President and Chief Executive Officer Allan Zaremberg in one of the videos prepared by the Californians Against Higher Taxes coalition.
The coalition of taxpayers, large employers and small businesses, chaired by Zaremberg, also is continuing the radio ad campaign launched last week to raise awareness of the harm more taxes will do to California families, jobs and the economic recovery.
Taxes Already Increased
The CalChamber recognized in February the need for additional revenues as part of the solution to the state’s budget woes. By the end of the next fiscal year, Californians will have paid an estimated $14 billion in increased taxes, of which business will pay a significant part.
Overall, employer tax payments during two budget years will be more than $10 billion higher because of the budget agreements last fall and earlier this year (see June 12 Alert).
The increased tax hits include a retroactively applied strict liability penalty that punishes reasonable tax disputes ($2.5 billion); limits on the state’s research and development and enterprise zone tax credits ($900 million); suspension of the net operating loss ($1.6 billion); accelerated estimated tax payments ($2.3 billion) and accelerated limited liability company fees ($360 million). Employers also pay significant estimated shares of the sales and use tax rate increase ($2.4 billion), vehicle license fee increase ($425 million) and personal income tax rate increase ($1 billion).
Harm to Employers, Workers
The videos and radio ad underscore that adding to the tax burden of employers and consumers will exacerbate the horrible economic situation being experienced by employers and working families. Placing additional cost burdens on already-struggling businesses will result in job losses.
"History is a guide; when the state does well in the private sector, the state’s government has plenty of revenues to fund essential programs like education, public safety, health and welfare," Zaremberg says in the video. "And when the economy does poorly, the state doesn’t have the revenues to do that."
Action Needed
The CalChamber has been encouraging employers to make sure their elected representatives understand that now is the time to reduce costs on business, not increase them. Tax increases have already been part of the budget solution and Californians cannot afford to pay any more. More taxes will kill more jobs and hurt working families of California. A strong economic recovery will add billions of dollars to the state treasury without increasing taxes.
Web Link
More information on the coalition, plus links to the YouTube video series and the radio ad appear at www.MoreJobsNotTaxes.com.