- April 15th marked the deadline for filing state and local income tax returns in California.
- Two weeks prior, many Californians faced increased sales taxes.
- Sales taxes in California can be complex, with exemptions for essential goods like groceries and prescription drugs.
- California has the highest state sales tax rate in the US at 7.25 percent, with local governments allowed to add more.
- On April 1st, multiple local sales tax increases took effect due to ballot measures from the previous November.
- Of 115 sales tax increase measures, 90 passed and 25 failed.
- Special taxes require a two-thirds vote under Proposition 13, with six passing and eight failing.
- Most proposals were for general purposes, with 80 passing and 16 failing.
- One special tax proposal failed despite attempts to bypass the two-thirds vote requirement.
- High passage rates for sales tax proposals may be due to voter trust in local governments and manipulation of the ballot process.
- General tax increase proposals often emphasize essential services but allow revenue for any lawful purpose.
- Proponents may misrepresent the impact of tax increases, such as miscalculating percentage increases.
Source: crescentcitytimes.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
