http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/taxifornia-does-it-again/
In California's one-party state — everything in the state, everything, is controlled by the Democratic Party and its union allies — the governor and legislature rushed through a massive tax hike on gas and diesel fuel along with higher car registration fees with hardly anyone realizing it.
The state's already highest-in-the-nation gasoline tax will rise 19.5 cents a gallon, while diesel will go up 20 cents. Meanwhile, car owners will also see their registration fees rise from $25 to $175, depending on vehicle value. Electric car owners get hit with a special $100 tax, since they don't use gasoline.
All told, the new taxes are expected to collect $5.2 billion a year.
Hand it to Gov. Brown: With talk of $120 billion in badly-needed transportation infrastructure improvements in the state, he got the legislature to propose and pass the biggest tax hike ever in just a week. Pretty impressive for a guy who has jacked up state spending by 53% just since 2010.
The problem is, the state has known about these problems for years, and collected taxes to pay for them. The problems didn't get fixed. Instead, the legislature diverts more than $2 billion a year to other things. That's called fraud.
In California's one-party state — everything in the state, everything, is controlled by the Democratic Party and its union allies — the governor and legislature rushed through a massive tax hike on gas and diesel fuel along with higher car registration fees with hardly anyone realizing it.
The state's already highest-in-the-nation gasoline tax will rise 19.5 cents a gallon, while diesel will go up 20 cents. Meanwhile, car owners will also see their registration fees rise from $25 to $175, depending on vehicle value. Electric car owners get hit with a special $100 tax, since they don't use gasoline.
All told, the new taxes are expected to collect $5.2 billion a year.
Hand it to Gov. Brown: With talk of $120 billion in badly-needed transportation infrastructure improvements in the state, he got the legislature to propose and pass the biggest tax hike ever in just a week. Pretty impressive for a guy who has jacked up state spending by 53% just since 2010.
The problem is, the state has known about these problems for years, and collected taxes to pay for them. The problems didn't get fixed. Instead, the legislature diverts more than $2 billion a year to other things. That's called fraud.
