Category Archives: Policy Matters
Meg Whitman on Enterprise Zones
Thanks to Wendy Clements in San Bernardino for getting me this audio of Meg Whitman being interviewed by Lou Desmond, host of the Inland Empire News Hour on KTIE 590. The following is from Feb. 12th. At 7:08 into the audio, Desmond gets the candidate into a discussion about the importance of the Enterprise Zone. [...]
AZ: “We want to take advantage of the problems California is having”
On Feb. 2 Arizona House of Representatives Speaker Kirk Adams appeared on the national Hugh Hewitt radio show to discuss what Arizona is doing to create jobs. Listen to the audio here: [Audio clip: view full post to listen] The takeaway line is when Rep. Adams says, “We want to take advantage of the problems [...]
Enterprise Zones Noted at Gov Event
Governor Schwarzenegger has been talking about his jobs package and especially his proposal to offer tax credits for “green tech” manufacturing equipment. Yesterday, the Governor held an event at battery manufacturer Quallion to again tout the proposal. The Governor’s website has a transcript of all the speeches, and here is the video of the entire [...]
Senate Rev & Tax Hearing on COTCE Findings
On December 9, 2009 the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee held a hearing to review the findings of the “Tax Commission,” or the “Commission on the 21st Century Economy.” I was able to obtain video of all three and a half hours of the hearing for your viewing pleasure. The first clip includes an introduction [...]
SacBee: “Timing of Schwarzenegger-backed Hollywood tax breaks questioned”
An interesting article on film tax credits from The Sacramento Bee: Arnold Schwarzenegger accomplished little for Hollywood during his first five years as governor despite industry pleas to stop film and television crews from fleeing to states like Louisiana. Last year’s publicized defection of the television show “Ugly Betty” to New York may have been [...]
New York Times: “Support Is Building for a Tax Credit to Help Hiring”
From today’s New York Times: The idea of a tax credit for companies that create new jobs, something the federal government has not tried since the 1970s, is gaining support among economists and Washington officials grappling with the highest unemployment in a generation. The proposal has some bipartisan appeal among politicians eager both to help [...]
BNA’s Laura Mahoney on the Final COTCE Meeting
Here is BNA’s Laura Mahoney’s report on the final meeting of the “Tax Commission” which took place in Berkeley on September 14. Her report on the September 10 meeting is here. Reproduced with permission from Daily Tax Report, 177 DTR H-1 (September 16, 2009). Copyright 2009 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) http://www.bna.com. [...]
BNA’s Laura Mahoney on the COTCE Proposals
Thanks once again to Laura Mahoney of BNA for her great reporting. The latest is on the progress of the “Tax Commission.” See my earlier post on their proposals here. Video of the September 10th meeting is available here. Reproduced with permission from Daily Tax Report, 175 DTR H-2 (September 14, 2009). Copyright 2009 by [...]
COTCE Releases Proposal
The “Tax Commission” has released details of a plan to completely overhaul California’s tax system. According to their summary description, there are five major components of the plan: Description of Tax Plan – 1. A substantial reduction to the Personal Income Tax rates to just to brackets, 2.75% for joint filers earning $56,000 or less [...]
CalChamber Not Pleased With COTCE
CalChamber has posted a press release and a copy of a letter sent to the Commission on the 21st Century Economy. They are not happy with the direction the Commission has taken: “Major business organizations, including the California Chamber of Commerce, have expressed strong concern and opposition to several items included as part of the [...]
So Much For the Tax Commission
Remember the Commission on the 21st Century Economy? On its website, the COTCE explains that, “Governor Schwarzenegger’s Executive Order S-03-09 mandated the bipartisan Commission on the 21st Century Economy to re-examine and modernize California’s out-of-date revenue laws that contribute to feast-or-famine state budget cycles.” But apparently the commissioners misunderstood “bipartisan” to mean “two different parties.” [...]
PPIC: “Economic Development: The Local Perspective”
A recent study, “Economic Development: The Local Perspective,” conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) illustrates how local governments and state programs influence the economic environment in California. The study shows that local development has increased in recent years, with varying rates of success due to social, political, and geographical factors in the [...]
New Study Highlights California’s “Decline”
As Dan Walters reports in the Sacramento Bee, a new report co-authored by the famous economist Arthur Laffer, “Rich States, Poor States,” ranks California 43rd out of 50 for “economic outlook.” The entire study by the American Legislative Exchange Council focuses on California as explained in the Executive Summary: The Golden State is only our [...]
Last Tax Commission Meeting This Week
A reminder that the final scheduled meeting of the “Commission on the 21st Century Economy” is this Thursday, April 9 at UC Davis.
Enterprise Zone Sales Tax Credit Increases Today
In a manner of speaking. Today is the day that the sales tax increases by at least 1% throughout the state. Here is the “Special Notice” from the Board of Equalization explaining the tax increase and listing the new tax rates. The highest sales tax rate in the state, and therefore the highest EZ sales [...]
