Time to Start Keeping an Eye on April Tax Collections

Now is the time to begin watching the state’s April tax collection tallies.

Traditionally, April has been the BIG month for income tax receipts. Go figure – Californians paying their annual nut and all that.

Budget-related legislation designed to bring the state more income sooner has made June almost as significant a month as April for collections but Gov.    Read more »

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Whilst Rendering Unto the IRS and the FTB What Shouldn’t Be Theirs, Consider…

Two Glasses of Wine

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.    Read more »

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Four New Voluntary Check-Offs on State Tax Forms — Including Supporting the Arts

For those Californians still ciphering their taxes – and who might get a refund – the state offers 15 options to help a variety of causes.

Among the four new tax check-offs to be found on Page 3 of the Franchise Tax Board’s Form 540 is the California Arts Council.

The Arts Council is included in the 2010 “Voluntary Contribution” portion of state tax returns as a result of 2009 legislation, SB 1076 by Sen.    Read more »

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Jerry Brown and Law Enforcement Representatives Tout Governor’s Proposed Tax Extension

Trying to boost support for Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to extend $11 billion in taxes set to expire this year, leaders of some of  the state’s top law enforcement organizations said April 13 that their operations would be crippled without the money Brown proposes to send them from the tax revenue.    Read more »

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How Poor is a Californian Who is Officially Classified as “Poor?”

While some state lawmakers use the phrase low-income, when budget debates get most heated invariably Democrats – and sometimes a Republican or two – talk about how some proposed spending cut would hurt “the poor.”

A large chunk of the $11.2 billion in spending reductions signed into law in March by Gov.    Read more »

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Much Better Fiscal Situation Than It Would Appear From a Quick Glance at the Press Release — See Editor’s Note

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly report covering California’s cash balance, receipts and disbursements in March. Total receipts for the month were $370 million lower — a 5.8 percent drop — than estimates found in the governor’s proposed 2011-12 State Budget.

“The State’s cash position actually worsened by $370 million in March, despite very strong income tax collections,” said Chiang.    Read more »

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Governor Says His Revised Budget in May Will be “Fully Balanced”

Gov. Jerry Brown said April 5 he would offer a revised budget plan in May that balances – mainly through more than $13 billion in additional spending cuts.

Speaking to a Sacramento conference of the California Medical Association, the Democratic governor told the doctors the state was “facing a real challenge” but that despite stalled budget negotiations with Republicans, “breakdowns lead to breakthroughs.”    Read more »

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End To State Aid Crippling, Say California’s Network of Fairs

One of the victims of the $11.2 billion in state spending cuts signed by Gov. Jerry Brown is the state’s network of fairs that will no longer receive $32 million in subsidies.

Restoration of that money is on a list of actions Republicans want Brown to take before they agree to have two of their members in each house vote to place a five-year extension of set-to-expire taxes on the ballot.    Read more »

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Property Rights Group Urges End to Redevelopment Agencies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:               March 31, 2011

The Institute for Justice—the nation’s leading legal advocate against eminent domain abuse—is calling on Republicans in the California Legislature to approve a proposal currently before them that would eliminate more than 400 redevelopment agencies across the state.

The Institute sent a letter to Republicans today urging them to set aside partisan politics and focus on protecting the private property rights of California’s hard-working home, small business and farm owners.    Read more »

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GOP Demands Lead a Testy Jerry Brown to Halt Budget Talks

A seven-page document generated by Republican legislators made public March 25 is a key reason why, four days later Gov. Jerry Brown has called a halt to budget talks with the GOP.

This voluminous list, posted by the Los Angeles Times, catalogues what Republican negotiators want in return for two of their members in each house voting to place before voters the question of extending $12 billion in taxes for five years.    Read more »

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