$52 billion tax hike directly hurts small businesses and working families
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Federation of Independent Business/California
Contact: Shawn Lewis (916) 342-9315; [email protected]
Follow: @NFIB_CA and on Facebook
Small Business Response to Governor Brown’s Final Plea for Gas Tax
$52 billion tax hike directly hurts small businesses and working families
SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 5, 2017 – Following Governor Jerry Brown and Democratic legislative leadership making their final plea for Senate Bill 1 (Beall), NFIB California State Executive Director Tom Scott and NFIB small business members issued the following statements in response:
“SB 1 represents the largest gas tax increase in California history, at a time when small businesses and working families are painfully struggling to make ends meet. This tax hits middle-class and lower-income families hardest, while California has the highest poverty rate in the nation. Although we agree there is a dire need to invest in our roads and infrastructure, in a recent survey, 90% of NFIB members said they oppose raising new taxes to do this. Over the last six years, Sacramento has received $36 billion in new tax revenues, but not a single new dollar has been invested in our roads. Governor Brown and Democratic legislative leadership need to fix their budget priorities in order to fix our roads,” commented Tom Scott, NFIB California State Executive Director.
“I own a catering company here in the Sacramento area, and Senate Bill 1 would add significant costs to running my small business. As a single mother and small business owner, raising the gas tax and annual fees to register my vehicle will mean hundreds of dollars a year I can’t use to support my family. I urge all legislators who claim to support working families to reject Senate Bill 1,” added Griselda Barajas, President & CEO, Griselda’s Catering (Sacramento, CA).
“California is already the most expensive state in the nation to do business and raise a family, and Senate Bill 1 will only make it more difficult. As small business owners, we already struggle with rising health care costs, minimum wage, workers’ compensation, and now Sacramento wants to pile-on the largest gas tax in state history. This gas tax increase will not only add pain at the pump for drivers, but will also raise the prices of all products we use daily because they are moved and delivered by diesel truck. My lumber and building materials store is being suffocated by taxes and fees, and SB 1 will hurt the working families who are my customers and employees,” added Jeff Pardini, Owner, Hills Flat Lumber (Grass Valley, CA).
“My same-day delivery business is directly impacted the devastating gas tax increase in Senate Bill 1. The fact that these taxes and new annual ‘transportation improvement fees’ automatically increase every year with no expiration makes it hard to imagine my business surviving even a few years from now. SB 1 will cost my small business thousands of dollars per year, which will force me to choose between raising prices on my customers or reducing hours for my hardworking employees. SB 1 merely punishes working families rather than fix Sacramento’s broken budget priorities,” added Donna Springer, Owner, Go-Getters Delivery, (West Sacramento, CA).
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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB has 350,000 dues-paying members nationally, with over 22,000 in California. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. To learn more visit www.NFIB.com/california
