Sales Tax in California

I had a person tell me that illegals paid taxes, and contributed as much as everyone else (legal) in taxes.

I have wondered about that issue for some time.

In gas - part is a gas tax, for the fed and some for the state.  It is too complicated for my tiny brain to figure out what it is I pay in state tax on gas (6% Sales Tax. 1.25% county tax. 1.2 cpg state UST fee. plus local sales tax), but I do have an odd habit, perhaps even an ecentricity ... I collect every receipt for everything.  It is possible a couple slide through, but in terms of overall value, each might be less than a dollar or two.  I collect every single solitary receipt and I scan them, then dispose of them.

I understand that it is a very ... 'old persons' thing to do, odd thing to do, weird behavior ... but it does allow me to evaluate spending (even if I don't act on any conclusions I draw).  One benefit is I just tallied up what I have spent since January 1, 2009, in sales tax for the state.  The grand total is $689.97.  I can buy 4 new tires, fill the car with gas, and get some new brake pads.  That is what my sales tax could buy, or it could pay for 10 bricks in a wall along the freeway.  My 2008 taxes show about  $3500 in state taxes paid after whatever deductions.  Minus the missing receipts and gas tax, I paid about $4200 in sales tax to the state of California. 

I think $4200 is quite a bit of money.  If there are 12 million households in California, and there is more than that, then 12 million X $4000 = 48 000 000 000 ??  (or 4.8 to the 10th)  I do not do math, which is why I scan my receipts, and calculators don't go up that high - they stick exponents off to the side which I never understood. If the total is only 4.8 billion, I am way off, but the secondary issue I have alluded to still holds.


48 billion. 

Now we add in all the rest



Corporation Tax  8.7 billion


Highway Users Taxes  3.1 billion


Motor Vehicle Fees 7.25 billion


Insurance Tax  2 billion


Liquor Tax 332 million


Tobacco Taxes 937 million


Other 8.9 billion


 32 billion + 48 billion = 80 billion.  We spend $112 billion, so we are short 30 billion.

But this total doesn't count all the other taxes and takings done by the state. 


One way we can remedy this is cut costs.  Using my plan, every household would be taxed the same amount - many cannot afford that much, but today many cannot afford the costs of living in California, so it evens out in the end.  Those who cannot afford would seek alternative accomodations, JUST as today those with more money leave the state and abandon us to the economic misery we now find ourselves.



Lower taxes is the answer.

Lower property taxes, lower sales taxes, lower payroll taxes.

The first year you would suffer a budget shortfall of at least $35 billion or so (less than we currently have been dealing with).  Even if the 2nd year you suffer a $50 billion shortfall as a result of lowered taxes, the combined total of the two years would just top that of our current state deficits. 

Thereafter, each year the revenues would increase.  More businesses would return to California, more people would move into the state with money, more people with skills and talents would create business and hire employees and pay taxes and ... within four years we could be climbing out of the hole, instead of digging ourselves deeper.

But hey ... $689 in sales tax is a lot to me.  It is out of the world to at least 10 million people who live in California, and I use no state resources (medical system). 







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