Sales Taxes

In California, tomorrow is the day for the May revise, when the governor offers a revision of his January budget. It's the launch of the budget season in most years. Leaks of the governor's proposals typically drip out in the days before. The LA Times is reporting on its web site that Schwarzenegger is going to take the delicate question of revenues to voters. He wants to give them the choice, in a November ballot measure: borrow against future lottery revenues, or see sales taxes raised to cover the budget deficit.

Raising taxes is almost always difficult politically. When it comes to tax-hiking ballot measures, the trick is to find a politically popular cause to fund. Sam Page, a candidate for lieutenant governor in Missouri, may have come up with the best possible tax ballot measure so far. He proposes a ballot mesaure to raise sales taxes by one-eighth of a cent to fund "veterans' homes, services and programs." Just try to be the poor soul organizing a no campaign against that. It's too late to qualify measures for November, so the legislature would have to put it on the ballot. Look for politicians in other states to copy this.