California Budget Fix Onerous to Taxpayers

Judy Lin

SACRAMENTO -- When they plugged California's $42 billion budget hole in February, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state's legislative leaders said everyone had to give up something to repair the state's finances.

That sentiment did not extend to California businesses and corporations with significant operations in the state.

All the tax hikes in the two-year budget plan -- a boost in the sales tax that took effect Wednesday and increases in the personal income tax and vehicle license fee -- fall squarely on the shoulders of working Californians. That's a solution that so far makes California unique among states struggling with budget deficits and runs counter to the approach of the Obama administration, which is championing tax cuts for low- and middle-income Americans. ...