Green Party of California General Assembly approves novel Tax Reform Plan calling for a 'progressive tax structure' based on 'personal responsibility'

GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS RELEASE

BERKELEY (May 5, 2011) - The Green Party of California General Assembly meeting here has approved a Tax Reform Plan for California which stresses a "progressive" tax structure calling for "personal responsibility" in the state tax code.

"We believe in personal responsibility. People with the most garbage should pay more to remove it. And, if people want to buy cars or boats, the more luxurious the commodity the more it should be taxed," said Barry Hermanson, the co-chair of the Green Party of California's coordinating committee.

"Everyone and every business should pay their fair share of taxes. We want a graduated, progressive tax structure," said Hermanson, who noted that the current tax structure "is inherently unfair because the people who can afford to are not asked to pay their fair share."

"Business corporate taxes now just comprise 11.1 percent of the California General Fund Revenue, but in 1977-78 it contributed 16.1 percent. The wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers currently pay 7.2 percent of their annual income in income taxes, compared with 11.2 percent for people who earn less than $18,000 per year. Businesses and the rich are just not paying their fair share. No wonder we have a $28 billion deficit," he said.

The Greens General Assembly urged strategies to help redress the tax balance, including:

1. Majority passage in the legislature of all budget items in Prop 13 not connected with property tax rather than the current 2/3rds threshold;
2. Assessing changes in property taxes at sales and transfers, and at least every 10 years when there are no such sales or transfers;
3. Higher taxes on luxury items; higher taxes for extraction, use, storage, and abuse of resources from the land and sea (California is one of few states without an oil extraction tax);
4. Carbon taxes for polluters and repeat pollution offenders
5. Tax cuts for businesses and householders who conserve resources

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URL: http://www.cagreens.org/press/pr110505.shtml

Contacts:
Laura Wells, Spokesperson, 510.504.4254,
Hank Chapot, 510.504.3538,
Cres Vellucci, Press Secretary, 916.996.9170,

The Green Party of California
PO Box 2828
Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone: (916) 448-3437
Web: http://www.cagreens.org
EMail:

Last updated: 05/05/2011 (BH)