The California ballot this November will include two propositions related to taxes. Proposition 217 will re-establish higher tax rates on high income Californians. Proposition 218 will make it harder to raise local taxes by requiring a vote by the taxpayers to approve tax hikes.
As of January 1996, the highest income taxpayers in California are taxed at a top rate of 9.3% of income above $65,000 per year. Proposition 217 would restore a 10% rate on income above $115,000 per year, and a rate of 11% on income above $230,000 per year. These higher rates were originally established in 1973 when Ronald Reagan was Governor, as one of several tax hikes instituted by Governor Reagan.
Proposition 217 enjoys the support of several public employee unions, including the Social Service Employees Union, the California Federation of Teachers, and the California Professional Firefighters. It also has the backing of the Police Officers Research Association of California, one of several police unions in California.
Proposition 218 was qualified for the ballot by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, with support from the Paul Gann Citizens Committee, local taxpayer groups, and the Libertarian Party of California. Proposition 218 - the Right to Vote on Taxes Act - would require a vote of the people before local taxes can be raised.
Proposition 218 will limit local tax increases. The California Police Chiefs Association has joined with the California Teachers Association and other public employee unions to oppose this needed reform.
Californians are taxed at near the highest rates in the entire country. The California government will receive $62 billion in taxes this year. But the public employee unions continue to demand that more of California's earnings go into government coffers.
Most of the public employee unions are committed to the Democrat Party. The police associations are fast becoming the most important organized backers of the Republican Party. Growing police influence in the Republican Party has been reflected in GOP officeholders backing new taxes to fund police expansion, and in growing GOP support for gun control.
The Libertarian Party offers an alternative for Republicans and Independents concerned about the growing tax burden, and the growing attack on civil liberties.