Backers of Two Other Tax Initiatives Say They Aren't Going Away
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As soon as Brown announced a compromise with backers of the Millionaires Tax, all eyes turned to Molly Munger. She's the wealthy civil rights advocate self-funding an education tax measure. And she quickly made a statement: a one-and-a-half million dollar donation. The California State PTA supports Munger's initiative. President Carol Kocivar says the governor's deal doesn't change a thing.
Kocivar: "We need to have an initiative that really reflects the values of our voters. And one of the things that they're telling us is they want a high-quality education. And that's what this initiative does."
The campaign for another, lower-profile, initiative says it's moving ahead too. It would net the state a billion dollars by closing a corporate tax loophole known as the "single sales factor" - and split it between energy efficiency projects and the state's general fund.
Anti-Tax Groups Ready to Campaign Against New
Measure
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News of a compromise between the governor and the coalition of progressive groups behind the Millioniares Tax took the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association by surprise:
Coupal: "No, we did not see it coming."
But the association's president, Jon Coupal, says he disagrees with the governor's contention that the deal "makes victory more likely."
Coupal: "I see this so-called compromise position as a compromise between the left and the ultra-left. And so I think from a coalition perspective on our side, it's going to be very easy to defeat."
Coupal says the concessions Brown made to get the Millionaires Tax backers on board will be hard for business groups to accept. The governor agreed to cut his proposed sales tax increase in half, tax the rich more than in his original measure, and have that income tax increase expire after seven years instead of five.
