SB 2558
Now Authorizes New STATEWIDE Gas Tax or Vehicle Registration Tax! !
Gas Taxes and Auto Registration Taxes Are High Enough Already!
A New Gas Tax or Vehicle Registration Tax that could last 30 years!
AB 2558 (Feuer) as amended would impose a new tax of up to 3 percent on retail gasoline sales, or increase vehicle registration “fees” up to $90, that could stay in place for 30 years – to fund ill-defined public transit and congestion management “projects and programs” that may have little or no benefit for the majority of businesses and consumers paying the tax. The bill also authorizes the state to issue bonds to be repaid from proceeds of these taxes – creating an even greater burden on taxpayers.
Incorporates Another New Tax Defeated in the Assembly!
A similar bill, SB 445, was recently defeated in the Assembly Transportation Committee. So in a blatantly cynical attempt to resurrect that failed tax-increase scheme, AB 2558’s proponents included SB 445’s provisions in an amended version of their own bill – so consumers all over California could share the same higher taxes the politicians had previously targeted only for folks in Los Angeles and the Bay Area!
Deceptive Attempt to Avoid Required Voter Approval of New Tax
Promoters of this gas or motor vehicle tax have deliberately labeled it a “fee” instead of a “tax.” If passed by the legislature it would not require the two-thirds majority voter approval that other taxes must obtain before being implemented, needing only a simple majority of votes cast. This is a shameful ploy to impose “taxation without representation.”
Insufficient Accountability
There’s no audit provision to ensure administration costs are kept within required limits, and no collection mechanism to govern how the new tax would be collected. AND, AB 2558 contains no provisions governing how contracts will be awarded – in fact, there is no requirement for competitive bidding, a taxpayer protection that applies to most other expenditures of public funds.
A Disturbing Taxing Precedent
AB 2558 sets a troubling precedent for tax increases at a time when consumers are struggling with high energy prices, a housing crisis and a $15 billion budget deficit. Politicians should be helping California families – not piling on even more taxes in these tough economic times!
