http://caltaxreform.org Equity and social fairness Fri, 14 May 2010 03:32:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Read the full report (pdf) here. Executive Summary As California faces a severe fiscal crisis at the state and local level, all aspects of our tax system, including the property tax, must be examined.  This report provides an examination of the property tax system as it applies to commercial property, and provides ... http://caltaxreform.org/?p=260 The following is a letter that Menlo Park resident Jennifer Bestor wrote to billionaire Warren Buffett concerning her research on the tax burden shift, favoring commercial property owners, resulting from the passage of California Proposition 13. 10 March 2010 Mr. Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 3555 Farnam Street
Omaha, NE 68131 Dear Mr. Buffett, In 2003 you ... http://caltaxreform.org/?p=253 10 TAX POLICIES FOR $20 BILLIONUpdated for the California Working Families Policy Summit 2010 February 25, 2010 Read the full report in PDF With the state facing a current deficit and ongoing yearly deficits of $20 billion, the survival of basic services and a healthy public sector is at stake. To address ... http://caltaxreform.org/?p=230 Read the full report in PDF Vote Requirements:  Local taxes designated for any specific purposes require 2/3 vote.  Local taxes for general government purposes require a majority vote. Parcel Taxes/ "Special Taxes": Parcel taxes can be enacted in a variety of ways.  While they usually are a flat amount per parcel, there ... http://caltaxreform.org/?p=239 Read the full report in PDF http://caltaxreform.org/?p=247 Since a discussion of tax politics begins and ends quickly in the Capitol, let’s try talking economics instead. The Governor’s tax commission did the state the favor of opening the discussion of the economics of taxation, and Schwarzenegger called for “major, radical reform” in his State-of-the-State address. So perhaps an economics ... http://caltaxreform.org/?p=226 Download this article as a PDF With the state facing a current deficit and on-going yearly deficits $20 billion, the survival of basic services and a healthy public sector is at stake.  The following summarizes 10 measures which will have the least impact on economic growth and recovery—the “low-hanging fruit” in ... http://caltaxreform.org/?p=211 September 29, 2009 The California Tax Reform Association, which participated in many discussions of the Commission on the Twenty-First Century Economy, criticized the report as “a failure to provide a fair, long-term solution to California’s revenue and tax problems.”  Executive Director Lenny Goldberg said, among its many failings, “it does not even address the distinct ... http://caltaxreform.org/?p=171 With different proposals (1,2 and “blue”) on the table, we offer these comments on the issues raised in these proposals. 1.  The top personal income tax rate should not be lowered, since figures presented to the Commission demonstrate clearly that the volatility problem is a function of the distribution of income, ... http://caltaxreform.org/?p=165 It's time to close a big tax loophole for businesses California's property tax burden has gradually shifted to homeowners because commercial and industrial property doesn't change hands as often as homes and the sales can be easily disguised. Michael Hiltzik July 13, 2009 Of all the ways in which California residents have slit their ... http://caltaxreform.org/?p=154