Local Governments Continue Spending Tax Dollars on Political Campaigns

When Los Angeles County supervisors voted last month to place a parcel tax on the November ballot, they also approved adding $2 million to a contract for “public outreach and education,” bringing the county’s total outreach spending to $11.2 million. Savvy observers already knew that “outreach and education” is code for thinly disguised campaign materials […]

Homeowners Have New Reason to Be Concerned About Prop. 13 “Reforms”

During a June press conference in Sacramento, supporters of a split-roll property tax measure took great pains to say they want to raise property taxes on business owners only, not on homeowners. Exactly one month later, however, a supporter of the measure indicated that homeowners are indeed on the hit list. Most of the testimony […]

A Baseball (Tax) Pitch

Major League Baseball star Pablo Sandoval, an integral cog in the San Francisco Giants’ World Series-winning team, has left the team and signed a five-year contract with the Boston Red Sox estimated to be worth $100 million. Buster Olney, a senior baseball writer for the nation’s leading sports network, ESPN, tweeted November 24 in response […]

Local Governments Seeking Voter Approval of Huge Number of Tax Increases in November

When voters go to the polls November 4, they will decide the fate of a large number of school bonds, parcel taxes, sales taxes, utility users’ taxes and other measures that will impact their family budgets. Despite the improving state economy that is increasing government revenue under existing tax rates, 53 jurisdictions are seeking sales […]

California Needs A Bright-Line Test for Determining Residency for Tax Purposes

“Where do you live?” This seemingly straightforward question has been the source of major contention between taxpayers and the Franchise Tax Board for many years, resulting in time-consuming appeals, exhausting searches for documents and witnesses, significant audit resources, and, in some cases, expensive litigation. It is time for the state to end the confusion by […]