Important success against Alameda County Regional Measure B1
Together with our allies, we defeated Alameda County Regional Measure B1 on the November 6, 2012 election. The Registrar of Voters of Alameda County has already certified the result.
This measure, if passed, would have created a 0.5% sales tax increase permanently in Alameda County, setting a pernicious example for other counties in California to follow. It would have also created a storage tax for businesses. It was stunning to everybody since this measure does not even have a sunset clause when the economy is in such a bad shape. We also believe that many transportation projects proposed by this measure would be inefficient, underutilized, and unnecessary.
We beat them by a very narrow margin of 0.14% or less than 700 votes with 527,403 votes in total, proving that our efforts are indeed vital to this success. This is a good example that every vote counts. This success is so crucial since we have blocked an unprecedented attempt to increase sales tax permanently in California. The other side with tremendous financial resources, using taxpayers’ money to initiate and promote the measure in an attempt to get more tax money from us, was in a dominating position. We were just like David fighting against Goliath.
We intend to help our fellow citizens to stop the politicians from overtaxing them during this tough economic time. California already has the highest sales tax rate in the whole country. Higher taxes would lead to less consumer expenditure and poorer economy which in turn would give rise to fewer jobs, creating a vicious cycle. According to the latest U.S. Census information, California shockingly has the highest percentage of residents living in poverty, 23.5%. We also have the third highest unemployment rate in the country.
It is about time that politicians stop taxing us even more and really help our economy to recover properly!
This measure, if passed, would have created a 0.5% sales tax increase permanently in Alameda County, setting a pernicious example for other counties in California to follow. It would have also created a storage tax for businesses. It was stunning to everybody since this measure does not even have a sunset clause when the economy is in such a bad shape. We also believe that many transportation projects proposed by this measure would be inefficient, underutilized, and unnecessary.
We beat them by a very narrow margin of 0.14% or less than 700 votes with 527,403 votes in total, proving that our efforts are indeed vital to this success. This is a good example that every vote counts. This success is so crucial since we have blocked an unprecedented attempt to increase sales tax permanently in California. The other side with tremendous financial resources, using taxpayers’ money to initiate and promote the measure in an attempt to get more tax money from us, was in a dominating position. We were just like David fighting against Goliath.
We intend to help our fellow citizens to stop the politicians from overtaxing them during this tough economic time. California already has the highest sales tax rate in the whole country. Higher taxes would lead to less consumer expenditure and poorer economy which in turn would give rise to fewer jobs, creating a vicious cycle. According to the latest U.S. Census information, California shockingly has the highest percentage of residents living in poverty, 23.5%. We also have the third highest unemployment rate in the country.
It is about time that politicians stop taxing us even more and really help our economy to recover properly!