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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brian Sullivan who wrote (5400)	8/19/2003 6:26:13 PM
From: Brian Sullivan	Respond to of 793608

More details on Bustamante's tax increase proposal Bustamante proposes $8B tax hike Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante said Thursday he would propose raising taxes by $8 billion and cutting expenses by billions more if he wins the governor's office in the Oct. 7 recall election. Bustamante, who has said he opposes the recall election but entered the race to give Democrats a viable option to the 134 other candidates, is the first candidate to provide a specific and comprehensive plan to help California dig itself out of its current fiscal quagmire. He calls the plan, announced from his home in Elk Grove, "Tough Love for California." The $99.1 billion state budget, signed this month by Gov. Gray Davis, includes $11 billion in spending cuts and requires the state to borrow $14 billion. Another $8 billion of the state's record $38 billion deficit was pushed off into the next fiscal year. Bustamante's proposal would raise taxes on: Income, from 9.3 percent to 11 percent for the wealthiest Californians, to raise an additional $2.7 billion. Alcoholic beverages by 25 cents a gallon, to bring in an additional $205 million. Cigarettes, by $1.50 a pack, raising $1.3 billion. "Taxes on tobacco are not regressive," Bustamante said, defending the tax on smokers. "People can choose not to smoke and pay nothing." He also proposed a constitutional amendment to require regular reassessment of commercial property for tax purposes, while keeping residential property behind the shield of Proposition 13. This, Bustamante said, would give the state an additional $2.9 billion annually. "The original 1978 Proposition 13 Task Force proposed that the Legislature study a constitutional change to periodically reappraise commercial and industrial property," said Bustamante, who added that his proposal "will not include farm land or open space in protection under Williamson Act." Bustamante would also require the legislature to choose another $2 billion in spending cuts, the news service said. He would also support Senate Bill 2 proposed by Sen. leader John Burton, D-San Francisco, which require companies to pay for healthcare coverage for 5 million workers now receiving publicly subsidized healthcare -- thus saving the state an additional $2 billion. And like most candidates who have entered the fray since the election to recall Davis was approved, he would roll back the controversial vehicle license fee, which will triple effective in October to help stem the state's deficit. Bustamante's proposal would raise the fee only for vehicles valued over $20,000. sacramento.bizjournals.com