California legislature ready to pick your pockets!

Hold on to your Wallets, the California Legislature Wants to Pick your Pockets! by Assemblyman Guy Houston

In February an important first step towards closing our state’s budget shortfall was taken. The Legislature approved nearly $2.3 billion in immediate spending cuts that will help to solve the looming deficit. I supported these reductions, not because I liked it, but because it was the responsible thing to do. The state cannot go on spending more money than we have. California takes in $30 billion more revenue today than when I took office in 2002—we should be able to make ends meet.

But an $8 billion gap remains between the state’s revenue and its expenses in the next budget year. The Assembly and Senate are weighing options on how to close the gap and protect our most important services, like public education. Unfortunately there are a number of proposals aimed at closing the budget gap that would be harmful to our state’s residents.

Several members of the Legislature call for closing tax ‘loopholes’ or reducing your tax deductions. These changes amount to tax increases and will affect you and your family. They’ve proposed taking away the senior citizen tax credit, a $255 million increase, and reducing the dependent child tax credit, a $2.4 billion increase. At a time when the value of your home is under attack by a sinking real estate market there are those that want to eliminate your mortgage interest deduction. This would cost California homeowners billions of lost equity.

The price of gasoline is approaching $4.00 but that didn’t prevent Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez from proposing an additional $1.2 billion in oil taxes. California families are already paying the highest gasoline prices in the country with no relief in sight. Government should not take more money out of the pockets of working families by raising taxes and gas prices.

I opposed this tax and will continue to oppose taxes that try to balance the budget on the backs of hardworking California families. There are over $20 billion in tax increases being proposed right now.
The truth is that all of these new taxes must be paid for by real Californians. Enough is enough, there are very few of us that think we are under-taxed. It is not fair to force Californians to support a government that is growing at such an irresponsible rate.

This year’s budget must protect education and other vital services but at the same time, keep our economy strong. In the month of February, our nation’s economy shed 63,000 jobs, the fastest drop in five years. Home prices are falling across the state and nation as well. Our actions in Sacramento have real consequences and the consequence of raising taxes is more hardship for Californians.

Assemblyman Guy Houston represents the 15th Assembly District, which includes portions of Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento, and San Joaquin counties.