The amount goes up 10% on Sunday as Sacramento borrows from taxpayers. Technically, it’s not an income tax increase: You’ll get the money back eventually. Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento – Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners — holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear.
Think of it as a forced, interest-free loan: You’ll be repaid any extra withholding in April. Those who would receive a refund anyway will receive a larger one, and those who owe taxes will owe less. But with rising gas costs, depressed home prices and double-digit unemployment, the state’s added reach into residents’ regular paycheck isn’t sitting well with many.
“The state’s suddenly slapping people upside the head,” said Mack Reed, 50, of Silver Lake. “It’s appalling how brash that is.” The extra withholding may seem like a small amount siphoned from each paycheck, but it adds up to a $1.7-billion fix for California’s deficit-riddled books. From a single taxpayer earning $51,000 a year with no dependents, the state will be grabbing an extra $17.59 each month, according to state tax officials. A married person earning $90,000 with two dependents would receive $24.87 less in monthly pay.
California will probably continue to collect the tax at a higher rate for many years — or find an additional $1.7 billion to slice from a future budget, an unlikely occurrence. All workers who have state taxes withheld will see their paychecks shrink. “Many families are sitting at their kitchen table wondering how they’re going to make ends meet,” said state Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks). “At the same time, the state of California is taking a no-interest loan.”
There would seem to be something illegal about this. If it isn’t, it should be… What a crock!
Measuring chest size with a carpenter’s square?
With 20$% of us out of work and with no income to tax who gives a crap.
Hey California I’ll loan you a few bucks @ a 150% interest rate. Just remember not to pay late.
Californians had better check and make sure the politicians haven’t exempted themselves from this.
Now, now! This is not theivery or skullduggery. This is merely your State government asking you to contribute to the greater good of all Califonians. After all you do want to pay your “Fair Share” don’t you? Of course you do.
Now here is a list of terms that are being re-defined to make them more accurate.
New taxes will now be called “Revenue Enhancements” or “Fees”.
Borrowing without your permission will now be called “Pay Forwarding”. Doesn’t that sound nice.
The current process of financially raping you while giving you relatively little in return will be called….. Well we are still working on that one.
The same fucked up state that issued IOU’s instead or checks this year, and then would not let anyone use them to pay their taxes. I want this entire state to collapse and go to hell.
They can call this the anti-stimulus package.
So when next April comes around, do you think they’ll still be bankrupt?
Go ahead break our backs we are resilient. We believe in O’Bama and Arnold.
Bend
Over
Here
It
Comes
Again
no lube this time, smile for the camers
I work for the State of California and sure $20 a month is no big deal but I already pay a 1%surcharge on my state income tax and I am getting furloughed for three days a month loosing nearly 15%.
I can tell you from my experience we could cut probably 30% of the state personnel and do better work. Problem is the cut the people who have been here the shortest amount of time and not the unqualified idiots that run the shop now.
Managers with the state with no education higher than highschool and IT staff that transferred over from being office technicians for the 5% increase that don’t know crap. But since I have been here 2 years and they have been working for the state for 20 years I would get let go.
We are getting what we deserve. Propositions are the death of California.
Does anybody doubt that you are a Tax Slave?
Just say “NO” to Government!
Up the Revolution!
I would gladly provide 10% of my paycheck to my state if they would provide me with all the weed I can smoke free of charge or if they are to cheap to do that just legalize it and let me buy it tax free.
Oh, if you think you’ll be getting the money back and the tax will end, look up Pennsylvania’s Johnstown Flood Tax. We still pay it, and it’s 3 times as much as when it began.
#14 If you are on welfare and your back hurts, they do exactly that. What’s your problem, pothead?
Everyone is complaining about high taxes, but the fact is, we have one of the most generous property tax laws to be found anywhere. There are hundreds of thousands of people who own million dollar homes that are paying roughly the same property tax that they were in 1975 when their home was only worth a $100k.
People have to realize that this is an expensive state to run.
The 3 most expensive items in the state budget are schools, healthcare, and prisons. We have a relatively young population with lots of kids. We also have dozens of world-class universities that we heavily subsidize.
We have a huge chunk of our population that essentially lives in a desert and we need expensive water works to provide them with water. Our most productive farm land in the central valley is also entirely dependent on expensive water works. This infrastructure has been neglected for decades and it’s really starting to hurt us now.
“B-b-b-but California has a Republican Governor!”
@Faxon
My problem is that I don’t live in sunny California, I am fully employed and not on welfare, pot is not legal in my state [MO] AND I don’t have any [weed]. Want to drive some of that stuff out here were we need it? Think of it as a business opportunity.
AH Government…They’ve got what it takes to take what you’ve got!
Improbus,
I have a trash can of the stuff in front of my home waiting to be picked-up. 50/50 indica and setiva plants. Get here before the trash collectors, about 0900 Pacific, Tuesdays.
To decimate:
http://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decimate
@SparkyOne
Thanks for the offer but I just need the buds not the plants and I don’t think I want to drive all that way.
I thought SLAVERY was abolished after the CIVIL WAR?
Question: How much did you make?
Answer: OK, now send it to us!
Oh wait, we’ll just take it from you BEFORE you get to cheat on your taxes.
I guess Democrats aren’t concerned because they don’t pay taxes.
Quotes from the great depression
“There is no cause to worry. The high tide of prosperity will continue.” — Andrew W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury.
October 14, 1929
“Secretary Lamont and officials of the Commerce Department today denied rumors that a severe depression in business and industrial activity was impending, which had been based on a mistaken interpretation of a review of industrial and credit conditions issued earlier in the day by the Federal Reserve Board.” — New York Times
In other words, the government and media were bullshitting you then just as they are bullshitting you now!
I think the whole state should go on strike. TAKE ZERO!!!
Will welfare recipients also see a 10% reduction in the size of their ‘income’? …Not likely.
34. Nope; there’s a rule somewhere that says only one Hitler allowed at a time. Right now, he just happens to be a Kenyan-born muslim usurper.
Hey, they have to keep providing services to all those illegal immigrants somehow!
The culture of unlimited spending will change.
It is funny to watch politicians struggle with the concept and do everything possible to avoid the inevitable.
Riot in the streets? No. We’re too laid back out here. We’ll just change our W-4’s to 14 dependents. F’em.