California Democrats Seek Higher Income Tax, Oil Levy
This article is for subscribers only.
California Democrats unveiled a plan to erase the state’s $19.1 billion budget deficit with higher income taxes and a new levy on oil producers to offset wholesale spending cuts proposed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The plan from Democrats in the state Legislature would bring in $1.8 billion by increasing income-tax rates 1 percentage point on all but the wealthiest Californians. It would cut spending by $8 billion and raise $1.5 billion by increasing vehicle-registration fees, $600 million by taxing oil wells and $2 billion by suspending corporate tax breaks.