Category Archives: Policy Matters
Assembly Jobs Committee Hearing
Here is the 3 hour video of the Assembly Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy Committee hearing held 3/17/2009 to begin discussing what to do with all of the federal stimulus money:
Toward Tax Solutions
The front page of this morning’s Sacramento Bee, above the fold is the headline “California Republicans put taxes on table for state budget deal.” And in other tax news “Capitol Alert” has the following interesting, yet troubling story about today’s meeting of the Commission on the 21st Century Economy: Only 24 hours … and a [...]
Commentary: “Protecting Chula Vista’s Economic Engine”
Vince Vasquez, the senior policy analyst at the San Diego Institute for Policy Research, recently published a commentary highlighting the success of the San Diego Regional Enterprise Zone. The following was originally printed in La Prensa San Diego on 1/9/2009: When the City of Chula Vista began reviewing its budget-balancing options last fall, government officials [...]
Problems With Obama’s “New Job” Tax Credit?
From the Tax Foundation‘s Tax Policy Blog: Question of the Day: How Do You Define a “New Job” or a “Saved Job?” by Gerald Prante So part of Barack Obama’s stimulus plan is this, as explained in today’s New York Times: “To encourage businesses to expand their workforces and operations, Mr. Obama wants a tax [...]
Tax Credits Featured in Obama Stimulus Plan
CALED is linking to Change.gov and the “The Obama-Biden Stimulus Plan.” Here are some of the points of interest: Barack Obama and Joe Biden have a plan to revitalize the economy. 1. Immediate Action to Create Good Jobs in America 2. Immediate Relief for Struggling Families 3. Direct, Immediate Assistance for Homeowners, Not a Bailout [...]
Tax Commission Appointees and Enterprise Zones
The Sacramento Bee has biographies of the 12 newly named members of the Tax Commission. Do we know where any of them stand on the subject of Enterprise Zones? I was not able to find references to all 12 appointees, but here are the results of my research: As an Assemblyman, Fred Keely voted for [...]
Gov. Schwarzenegger and Legislative Leaders Announce Appointments to Bipartisan Commission on the 21st Century Economy
Just announced: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders today announced the appointments to the Commission on the 21st Century Economy. The Governor has appointed Gerald Parsky as Chair and Ruben Barrales, Michael Boskin, John Cogan, Becky Morgan and Curt Pringle. The legislature has appointed Christopher Edley Jr., George Halvorson, Jennifer Ito, Fred Keeley, Monica Lozano [...]
CALED Suggests Extending EZ Program
In a recent policy recommendation, CALED envisions an expansion of the Enterprise Zone program as part of an economic stimulus. In a list entitled “Short and Medium Term Solutions for Economic Development“, they suggest to, “temporarily extend zone benefits to any city and or county of the State with an unemployment rate in excess of [...]
L.A. Times on Taxes
From the Los Angeles Times: “A state sales tax jump could backfire.”
Tax Cuts or Tax Hikes?
Watching news items about tax policy and the economy is beginning to be like watching ping pong. While Governor Schwarzenegger and President Elect Obama are seeking significant tax increases, the U.K. Guardian newspaper reports that Prime Minister Gordon Brown is looking at tax cuts to stimulate the economy. Closer to home, the Los Angeles Business [...]
Film Tax Credits Back on Agenda
From the Los Angeles Times: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants millions of dollars in tax breaks for film and television companies that shoot productions in California, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by The Times. The proposal, part of his plan to stimulate the state economy, is similar to Schwarzenegger’s previous bids for such [...]
“Make America a National Enterprise Zone.”
Thanks to a reader for bringing this Op-Ed by Stuart Butler, vice president for domestic policy issues for the Heritage Foundation in the Washington Times to my attention: Time after time, Congress has used a recession to revive bad ideas, based on bad history. Meanwhile, good ideas of proven utility go overlooked. The latest bad [...]
Beware of this Petition
The Tax Foundation’s Tax Policy Blog alerts us to an attempt to create a ballot measure that could send Californian’s taxes sky high: Earlier this month, a California activist began gathering signatures to put a state wealth tax on the ballot. The measure would impose a new 35% income surtax (in addition to federal taxes [...]
A Window Into the Future
George Skelton writing in the Los Angeles Times examines the stated goals of Assembly Speaker elect Karen Bass. On her short list of agenda items is a goal to “Restructure California’s tax system to make it conform to the modern world.” Much of this centers around the concept of introducing sales taxes for services. But [...]
CalChamber: Enterprise Zone Program Positive, Effective State Policy
The “Top Story” on the CalChamber website today is “California Enterprise Zone Program Positive, Effective State Policy”: (May 1, 2008) The enterprise zone (EZ) program continues to serve as a productive tool to stimulate the California economy, applying broadly to companies of all sizes and from virtually all industries. The program offers a variety of [...]
