Move is part of plan to stem deficit with tax hikes and spending cuts.
 | | | Photo by: yachtphotography.com | | Repairs To Be Taxed? -- It would take a two-thirds majority of legislators to approve the governor’s proposal of new sales taxes on repair services. | | |
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SACRAMENTO -- Boaters may be affected by newly proposed sales taxes on repairs of appliances, furniture and “vehicles,” although it was still unclear at press time whether boat repair would fall under the “vehicle” heading.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed $4.5 billion in budget cuts, along with new sales taxes on a variety of previously untaxed services -- including appliance, furniture and vehicle repair -- and sporting event tickets, amusement park admission, veterinarian fees and golf fees; a $12 increase in Department of Motor Vehicles registration fees; a 5 cent tax increase on liquor by the drink; a 9.9 percent per barrel tax on oil producers; and a temporary three-year 1.5 cent increase in the state sales tax, in an effort to address an estimated $11.2 billion shortfall in the California state budget.
The governor announced his plan Nov. 6 and said it must be taken up as quickly as possible by the state legislature, in order to prevent a cash crisis that could jeopardize vital state services. His proposal would require approval by a two-thirds majority of legislators -- however, Republican legislators have announced they will not support any budget crisis solutions that involve new taxes.
“In the six weeks since I signed our last budget, the mortgage crisis has deepened, unemployment has increased and the stock market has lost almost 20 percent of its value,” Gov. Schwarzenegger said. “We have drastic problems that require drastic and immediate action -- we must stop the bleeding right now.”
The governor proposed spending cuts in education, Medi-Cal benefits,
Supplemental Security Income, public safety grants and CalWORKS benefits; and savings through parole reforms (eliminating supervision requirements for “low-risk” parolees), eliminating two state employee paid holidays and requiring state employees to take one unpaid one-day furlough per month.
“We must first close a projected current year shortfall of $11.2 billion, and then we must address the mortgage crisis to keep people in their homes, implement an economic stimulus package to help retain existing jobs and create as many new ones as possible, and fix the state’s unemployment insurance fund,” the governor said. “I look forward to working with all the legislators, hearing their ideas and doing what is best for the people of California.”
This article first appeared in the November 2008 issue of The Log Newspaper. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
