Contributed to the defeat of Proposition 56, shutting the floodgate to massive and continuous tax - increases
Together with dozens of other organizations, we were actively helping Californians to understand Proposition 56 particularly its defects through various channels. We helped to defeat Proposition 56 by a large margin in March 2004.
We believe that the real purpose of Proposition 56 is to make it easier for legislators to increase various types of taxes by lowering the voters' approval requirement to raise tax from 66.7% to 55%. If passed, the floodgate to massive and continuous increases in taxes would be opened and be disastrous!
Californians are already paying $130 billion in state and local taxes every year! In the last legislative session before March 04 alone, state legislators proposed more than 100 tax and fee increases totaling about $65 billion. Americans on the average spend even more on taxes than food, lodging, and clothing combined. Not until May 3 of each year, moreover, can we put our wages in our own bank accounts because our earnings before that usually have to be used for tax purposes. Are we still not paying enough in tax?!
To raise tax when the economy is just starting to recover is really pernicious. Proposition 56 would make our state legislators even less accountable since they can write more blank checks due to the increases in taxes. Regardless of what other good points this proposition might have, we urged everybody to vote no on Proposition 56 because the passage of which would have caused big increases in taxes.
We believe that the real purpose of Proposition 56 is to make it easier for legislators to increase various types of taxes by lowering the voters' approval requirement to raise tax from 66.7% to 55%. If passed, the floodgate to massive and continuous increases in taxes would be opened and be disastrous!
Californians are already paying $130 billion in state and local taxes every year! In the last legislative session before March 04 alone, state legislators proposed more than 100 tax and fee increases totaling about $65 billion. Americans on the average spend even more on taxes than food, lodging, and clothing combined. Not until May 3 of each year, moreover, can we put our wages in our own bank accounts because our earnings before that usually have to be used for tax purposes. Are we still not paying enough in tax?!
To raise tax when the economy is just starting to recover is really pernicious. Proposition 56 would make our state legislators even less accountable since they can write more blank checks due to the increases in taxes. Regardless of what other good points this proposition might have, we urged everybody to vote no on Proposition 56 because the passage of which would have caused big increases in taxes.