Over the last few decades, California has become known for its high taxes.
As evidenced in Terry McLaughlin’s column for the Union, using data from the Tax Foundation. McLaughlin reported that from 1990 to 2010 there were 3.4 million residents that relocated to other states. McLaughlin also cited the Property Shark database that asserts California is home to 77 percent of the country’s most expensive zip codes.
“Small businesses, which employ about half of our state’s private sector workers, suffer under these policies as well. According to the Institute for Justice, California is the third-worst state in the nation in terms of burdensome licensing laws. As described in my column of Feb. 15, a number of large and small businesses are fleeing California and establishing themselves in states which offer a much more business-friendly environment. And who can blame them?” McLaughlin said.
California’s unhappy small businesses might soon have a victory in Assemblyman Vince Fong’s Assembly Bill 1922, known as the California Competitiveness and Innovation Act.
The bill would provide tax relief to middle class families as well as small businesses. The three main parts of the proposal are to lower the state personal income tax rate for middle class individuals and families, eliminate the franchise tax on small businesses, and to double the renter’s credit and the homeowner’s property tax exemption, according to McLaughlin.
“California is the only state in the nation that imposes a punitive franchise tax on businesses, which puts our small businesses at a competitive disadvantage and contributes to the closing down of these businesses and exodus of good-paying jobs to other states,” NFIB Policy Director Shawn Lewis is quoted as saying by McLaughlin.
AB 1922 is being reviewed by a policy committee in the California State Assembly.
“If passed, this bill could provide meaningful tax relief to California’s families and small businesses, and it just might help keep Californians in California instead of moving to Texas, Nevada, Georgia, Florida, or other states where businesses are welcomed and taxpayers are respected,” McLaughlin said.
