SAN FRANCISCO — California education leaders are floating a 2020 initiative that would tax top earners and corporations to raise an additional $11 billion annually for schools, building off recent polls showing strong voter support to boost K-12 spending, POLITICO has learned.
The move has already alarmed the state’s business community and could create a political dilemma for Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders who may be wary of asking voters for another major tax increase, including the third in two decades targeting affluent residents.
The draft measure by the California School Board Association calls for a 1.5 percentage point tax increase on personal income above $1 million, a move estimated to produce $3.5 billion annually for schools. But potentially more controversial is a provision for an additional 5 percentage point increase on corporate income over $1 million, which backers say would bring in another $7.5 billion in revenue.