Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) issued the following statement to highlight the intention of the Obama Administration and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to direct the largest tax increase in U.S. history on families and small businesses starting on January 1, 2011. (more…)

(From the Signal) The vote on a proposed sewer-rate hike was delayed until spring following a lengthy public hearing Tuesday night that drew complaints from residents. Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, one of three members of the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District board, called for a delay on the vote, saying the board was rushing to a decision if it voted Tuesday night. (more…)

The current proposal to hike the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District fees to all property owners in the greater Santa Clarita Valley area to cover the cost of mitigating chloride levels in the local water will be decided tonight. A number of local groups and organizations have come out against this fee hike which is almost assured to pass regardless of the outcry from local residents. (more…)

(From the nytimes.com) Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner pressed the case on Sunday for letting Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire later this year. In appearances on two television programs, Mr. Geithner said that letting tax cuts expire for those who make $250,000 a year or more would affect 2 percent to 3 percent of all Americans. He dismissed concerns that the move could push a teetering economy back into recession and argued that it would demonstrate America’s commitment to addressing its trillion-dollar budget deficit. (more…)

There is currently a proposal to hike the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District fees to all property owners in the greater Santa Clarita Valley area to cover the cost of mitigating chloride levels in the local water supply. Although this is certain to pass and the Santa Clarita Valley residents will be saddled with yet another tax disguised as fee it is important to let the elected officials on the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District board know that you are against these additional “fees”. A number of local groups and organizations have come out against this fee hike including the local “TEA Party Patriots-SCV”. (more…)

(From the latimes.com) Web-savvy shoppers can often save big buying online instead of at the local mall. But a chunk of the savings comes at the expense of state and local governments, in the form of sales taxes that are never paid on many Web purchases. The losses add up for cash-starved state and local governments across the country: California alone loses out on more than $1 billion a year. (more…)

(From the sacbee.com) If you own a home in California, chances are the assessed value of your property just dropped. County assessors statewide are releasing this year’s property tax rolls – the total assessed value of all properties in a given county – and most are lower than last year. (more…)

California’s excise taxes on wine, beer and liquor remain a 1991 vintage, the last year the state hiked the price that producers pay on each gallon of alcohol. With California facing an ongoing fiscal crisis, lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have proposed using higher alcohol taxes to help balance the budget in recent years. More than four out of five voters supported a Schwarzenegger plan to charge an extra nickel a drink, one poll found. (more…)

Here is even more of our tax dollars being flushed by the state on a poorly supervised social program. (From the latimes.com) California welfare recipients using state-issued debit cards withdrew more than $1.8 million in taxpayer cash on casino floors between October 2009 and last month, state officials said Thursday. (more…)

(From the sacbee.com) Taxable sales in California decreased 19 percent in the second quarter of 2009 compared with the same quarter the previous year, according to new statistics released Tuesday by the state Board of Equalization. BOE said statewide taxable sales in the second quarter last year totaled $113.4 billion, a drop of $26.6 billion from the second quarter of 2008. In Sacramento County, taxable sales declined 19.2 percent, to $4.1 billion, during the period. The year-over-year decline in quarterly taxable sales marked the eighth consecutive quarter of reductions, BOE said.

(From the AP) California voters will decide this fall whether to increase the state’s vehicle license fee $18 to help fund state parks. Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified the initiative for the November ballot on Thursday. Supporters say the annual fee will provide a stable funding source. (more…)

The County of Los Angeles is sponsoring free seminars at six locations between July and December to assist property owners who feel their taxes should be lowered due to a decline in the value of their property. The 90 – minute seminars will be offered in Culver City, El Monte, Glendale, Lakewood, Lancaster and Van Nuys. (more…)

(From the AP) Property owners who renovate their buildings to withstand earthquakes won’t have to pay property taxes on the improvements. California voters on Tuesday approved Proposition 13 by a margin of 85 percent to 15 percent with 9 percent of precincts reporting. (more…)

Los Angeles County Assessor Robert Quon today announced completion of a decline in value review of homes in Los Angeles County. All single-family residences and condominiums purchased between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2009 were included in the review. In some hard-hit areas, notably the Antelope Valley, homes purchased as far back as the 1980’s were reviewed. Quon stressed that because of the declining real estate market, it was his responsibility to continue the ongoing, pro-active commitment of the Assessor’s Office to review values to make sure homes are properly assessed. Similar reviews were done in 2009 and 2008 resulting in lower property taxes for over 330,000 homeowners. (more…)

The Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District public hearing is tonight Wednesday, June 2, 6:30 in the Santa Clarita City Council Chambers, located at 23920 Valencia Boulevard in Santa Clarita. Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, a member of the Sanitation District Board, is scheduled to attend. (more…)

The Sanitation District will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at City Hall at 6:30 PM with a chance for the public to weigh in. Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, as a member of the Sanitation District Board, will be in attendance. This proposed tax increase will apply to all of the SCV, not just the City.  Please join me in protesting the unneeded, unwarranted, and unacceptable $200 million dollar plus tax grab being proposed by our Sanitation District. Our elected officials must stand up to this scheme which is entirely based on junk “science”. Our Sanitation officials have caved into special Ventura County agricultural interests who want the citizens of the Santa Clarita Valley to pay for water which we will buy from Kern County to bank for them in drought years, to supply clean water for the Oxnard strawberry fields (although they won’t say how much), and to pay for a desalinization plant to take chloride out of the water we buy from the State. (more…)

The Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District public hearing formerly calendared for Thursday, May 27, 6:30, is being moved to Wednesday, June 2, 6:30 in the Santa Clarita City Council Chambers, 23920 Valencia Boulevard, Santa Clarita, so that Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, as a member of the Sanitation District Board, can attend. (more…)

(From the AP) Democrats in the state Senate on Monday countered Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget cuts with a plan to raise taxes by nearly $5 billion, largely by extending temporary taxes and delaying corporate tax breaks for two years. During a Senate subcommittee hearing, Democrats said they want to delay the start of corporate tax credits demanded by Schwarzenegger and Republicans last year to secure enough budget votes. Their plan also would extend by two years the temporary increases in the income tax and vehicle license fee that were approved last year. (more…)