Sooner or later, the state Supreme Court must clear up a legal ambiguity it created over how many votes are needed to enact local tax increases. It should be sooner, because a new election year is nigh, dozens — and perhaps hundreds — of local tax measures are being drafted...
Proposed Sales Tax on Business Services Has Horrible Timing
California’s elected leaders are enjoying the fruits of a go-go economy, with record surpluses and record spending on education. So, naturally, there’s talk of tax increases. Californians have enjoyed nearly 10 years of economic growth, and one of the biggest beneficiaries has been the state budget. Since the depths of...
Walters: Locals Seek New Taxes Despite $4B Property Tax Surge
Local government officials throughout the state got some very good financial news when county tax assessors toted up changes in taxable property values for their 2018-19 budgets. The state’s uber-strong real estate market generated a 6.51 percent increase in those values, adding another $374 billion to the property tax rolls...
Trade War Escalates as China Announces Tariffs on US Imports
BEIJING — The U.S.-China trade war escalated further Tuesday, with China announcing retaliatory tax increases on $60 billion worth of U.S. imports, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals. The increases are in response to the U.S. announcing it will impose tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese-made goods starting next...