Democrats in the California Legislature have unveiled a new effort to significantly raise tax rates on taxable income of $1 million and higher, an effort they say would provide billions of dollars to improve K-12 schools and a variety of government services vital to the state's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill, jointly introduced by 15 Democrats Monday in the Senate, is the clearest sign so far that liberal legislators and interest groups intend to put pressure on business-aligned lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom for new tax revenue before the legislative session ends Aug. 31 - arguing that California's deep-seated racial and socioeconomic inequities, exacerbated by the current recession, can't be addressed without more government resources.
Assembly Bill 1253 lays out three new surcharges on income tax for California's highest earners.
Even with overwhelming Democratic majorities in both the state Senate and Assembly, a new and permanent increase in income tax is far from a sure bet.
"During the worst recession in decades, it would be an astonishingly bad idea to enact a massive tax increase," said David Kline, a spokesman for the California Taxpayers Assn.
AB 1253 would affect the tax returns of only 0.5% of those who filed in 2018, according to data compiled by the state Franchise Tax Board.
California's highest marginal tax rate is 13.3%, higher than that of any other state, according to statistics compiled by the Tax Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank in Washington, D.C. For years, critics of California's tax policy have warned that its most wealthy residents might consider moving to other states if taxes continue to rise.
The bill, jointly introduced by 15 Democrats Monday in the Senate, is the clearest sign so far that liberal legislators and interest groups intend to put pressure on business-aligned lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom for new tax revenue before the legislative session ends Aug. 31 - arguing that California's deep-seated racial and socioeconomic inequities, exacerbated by the current recession, can't be addressed without more government resources.
Assembly Bill 1253 lays out three new surcharges on income tax for California's highest earners.
Even with overwhelming Democratic majorities in both the state Senate and Assembly, a new and permanent increase in income tax is far from a sure bet.
"During the worst recession in decades, it would be an astonishingly bad idea to enact a massive tax increase," said David Kline, a spokesman for the California Taxpayers Assn.
AB 1253 would affect the tax returns of only 0.5% of those who filed in 2018, according to data compiled by the state Franchise Tax Board.
California's highest marginal tax rate is 13.3%, higher than that of any other state, according to statistics compiled by the Tax Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank in Washington, D.C. For years, critics of California's tax policy have warned that its most wealthy residents might consider moving to other states if taxes continue to rise.
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