Eight years ago, I served as Chairman of the California Commission on Tax Policy in a New Economy. We held 17 hearings around the state and listened to options for revising the California tax system.
The events drew people from all socio-economic backgrounds and analyzed 12 tax policy proposals using the following principles: fairness and perception; simplicity; and efficiency and balance. The commission made 12 recommendations to fix our tax structure, including proposals to:
-
Lower the sales tax rate but extend it to services
-
Reduce the voting requirement to raise special taxes on the local level
-
Periodically reassess non residential property to market value
We issued our final report in December 2003, one month after Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced Governor Gray Davis. The new administration ignored our recommendations.
The other day, I sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown which explained my role in the commission and what we learned. I urged the Governor to review the report and implement our recommendations to restructure the state tax system and bring solvency to state government. You can read the complete report here.