California’s tax revenues jumped by $18.2 billion in 2013, thanks to an improving economy and the impact of a temporary sales and income tax increase approved by voters, a new Census Bureau report shows.
All tax collections, including those for special purposes as well as the state General Fund, increased from $115 billion in 2012 to $133.2 billion last year, with virtually all of the increase generated by sales and income taxes. The General Fund received about 75 percent of the taxes.
California’s 15.6 percent increase was more than twice the 6.1 percent increase recorded by all states, the Census Bureau reported. Total state collections were $846.2 billion last year with California’s $133.2 billion being 15.7 percent of all state taxes even though the state has just 12.2 percent of the nation’s population.
The latter data bolster a new calculation by the Tax Foundation that Californians had the nation’s fourth highest state and local tax burden in 2011, 11.4 percent of personal income.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/04/californias-tax-collections-jumped-by-182-percent-in-2013.html
…With Two Impacts:
1. Gov. Brown’s Approval Rating Hits Record High…
Gov. Jerry Brown’s public approval rating has risen to a new high as he pummels a crop of little-known Republicans in his bid for re-election, according to a new Field Poll.
Brown’s 59 percent approval rating among registered voters is nearly identical to the 57 percent of likely voters who would vote for him in June. His closest competitor, Republican Tim Donnelly, trails Brown by 40 percentage points, according to the poll. Brown has enjoyed widespread praise for the state’s improving budget outlook and Republican candidates’ complaints about the state’s high poverty and unemployment rates appear not to have rubbed off on him.
“People are fairly content with Brown’s performance,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the poll. “Any governor who is presiding at a time when the state’s finances are improving, the economy’s coming out of the doldrums … that’s an enviable situation for any sitting governor to run for re-election.”
Brown’s public approval rating and massive fundraising advantage have reduced the primary election to a contest for second place with the top vote-getting Republican advancing to a runoff against Brown in the fall. Donnelly, a state assemblyman from Twin Peaks and a tea party favorite, stands out among Republicans as the early front runner, with 17 percent support.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/04/08/6307523/jerry-browns-public-approval-rating.html
2. … and “Safety Net” Advocates Seek Wide Array of Enhanced Services
Brown didn’t venture, however, a couple of hundred feet away to a much smaller rally of anti-poverty groups and a few friendly politicians supporting a wide array of bills and budget appropriations attacking “income inequality.”
All would cost money, either from the state budget to boost spending on “safety net” services such as welfare grants and health care, or from employers for higher minimum wages and mandatory paid sick leave. Collectively, they represent Brown’s biggest challenge this year as he seeks a fourth lease on the Capitol’s corner office.