California Budget
""The package would nearly double the vehicle license fees Californians pay, increase sales taxes by 1 cent, increase gasoline taxes by 12 cents per gallon and add a surcharge of as much as 5 percent to income tax bills.
It also would reduce the dependent care credit by about 200 dollars per year. The increased taxes would remain in effect for two to four years.
In addition to the tax hikes, the proposal includes 15.1 billion dollars in program cuts and 11.4 billion dollars in borrowing, some of which would be erased by the stimulus package Congress just approved.""
""The state of Oregon is planning a monster sin tax increase of 1,900% per barrel of beer and people are outraged. The tax increase, which will be used to fund alcohol addiction awareness programs, amounts to only 15 cents per 12-ounce glass but opponents say that amount will cripple the micro-brewing industry and cost the state jobs.......In a depressed economy state opponents are questioning the wisdom of raising any taxes, even so-called "sin taxes," and caution the Oregon state government that job losses could follow any increase. Meanwhile the per barrel tax increase from $2.60 to $50 will raise the price of beer at the pub more than the quoted 15 cents; expect the price of a pint to jump from $4.50 to $5.00....Kurt Widmer, one of the brothers behind Widmer Brothers Brewing, says the actual tax paid by drinkers will be much higher than legislators claim, after middlemen slice their share."The lie of the 15 cents is that a pint (actually) goes from $4 to $5.50," he says.""
[personal note: do responsible drinkers have to pay for the irresponsible? where is accountability these days?]
""Minnesota's corporate income tax would be repealed and its sales tax expanded to clothing and most services under a proposal by a tax reform commission...""
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Side note, I just heard a blurb on the news about how much President Obama's trip to Ottawa is going to cost Canadians on Thursday. It is a 6 hour visit but security and other measures are going to cost a pretty penny (I thought I heard 'millions' but cannot quote that for now). The blurb was on CTV Newsnet but I cannot find a linked article yet. As I have seen on a few other blogs, there are concerns with the cost of pre-Olympic festivities in Vancouver in relation to homeless people sleeping out in the cold and wasted money, so I wonder if that idea should also be turned towards the cost of laying out the red carpet for a few-hours-long visit from a foreign leader. Tax payer money being put to good use though I suppose, eh?
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