The bluntest instrument
California’s tax system is designed with a measure of humanity, diverting money back to low-income, working-class families. But a local sales tax for transit on the ballot in five Bay Area counties this November will punish the region’s poorest, with no rebates or any other kind of offset to ameliorate a sudden jump in prices on almost everything. Below are three ways the regressive transit tax hurts the least deserving.
1. Another constant, unavoidable cost
“For a family already stretched by Bay Area rents and grocery bills, it is one more recurring cost on purchases it cannot avoid, and it arrives with no rebate, no exemption, and no way to opt out.”
2. Almost every purchase is taxed
“Many everyday household purchases remain taxable, including clothing and school supplies, furniture and appliances, restaurant meals, cleaning supplies, toiletries, a used car and its taxable repair parts, and many over-the-counter medicines.”
3. Lopsided and unfair
“California's overall tax system avoids being lopsided mainly because of its progressive income tax and credits like the CalEITC, which give money back to lower-income working families. A regional transit sales tax brings none of that. It is a single flat rate added on top, with no graduated brackets, no low-income credit, and no rebate for the households it burdens most.”
Excerpts from the website “Fixes Before Funding,” here.
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