Proposition 55 is a
California ballot proposition
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
that passed on the November 8, 2016 ballot, regarding extending by twelve years the temporary personal
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
increases enacted in 2012 on earnings over $250,000, with revenues allocated to K–12 schools,
California Community Colleges
The California Community Colleges is a postsecondary education system in the U.S. state of California.California Education CodSection 70900(added to the Education Code by Chapter 973 of the California Statutes of 1988Assembly Bill No. 1725 secti ...
, and, in certain years, healthcare. Proposition 55 will raise tax revenue by between $4 billion and $9 billion a year.
Half of funds will go to schools and community colleges, up to $2 billion a year would go to
Medi-Cal
The California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal or MediCal) is the California implementation of the federal Medicaid program serving low-income individuals, including families, seniors, persons with disabilities, children in foster care, preg ...
, and up to $1.5 billion will be saved and applied to debt.
[
]
History
California voters passed temporary sales and income tax increases with Proposition 30 in 2012.[ Since the 2012 tax increase, California's tax revenues have grown by nearly 30%, with roughly two thirds of the money going to schools.][
Proposition 55 allowed the sales tax increase to expire as planned, while maintaining the increased income tax rates and extended them through 2030.][ Governor ]Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
, who was the primary proponent of the tax increase in 2012, remained neutral on Proposition 55.
Campaigning
Proponents spent $58.6 million fighting for the measure, with the top donor being $25 million from a hospital trade association.[ An additional $20 million was donated by the ]California Teachers Association
The California Teachers Association (CTA) is a teachers' trade union based in the city of Burlingame, California. The association was initially established in 1863. It is regarded as one of the largest and most powerful teachers' unions in the st ...
, with other top donors including the Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing 2 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of m ...
, and the California School Employees Association.[ The measure was supported by the editorial boards of '']The Sacramento Bee
''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...
'' and ''The Mercury News
''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...
''.
Opponents spent $3,000 fighting against the measure.[ The ]California Chamber of Commerce
The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) is a broad-based business advocacy group in California, United States, originating as the California State Board of Trade in 1890. Its membership includes large and small firms from every industry, ...
, who were neutral on the 2012 tax increase, opposed Proposition 55.[ The measure was opposed by the editorial boards of the '']Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', the ''San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'', and ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''.[
]
Results
A September 2016 poll by the Public Policy Institute of California
The Public Policy Institute of California is an independent, non-profit research institution. Based in San Francisco, California, the institute was established in 1994 by Bill Hewlett, of Hewlett-Packard, Roger Heyns, and Arjay Miller, with a ...
showed that 54% of likely voters supported Proposition 55, 38% opposed it, and 8% did not know how they would vote.
Proposition 55 was approved by voters in the November general election, with 63% voting yes.
References
External links
Yes on 55 - Californians for Budget Stability
No on Proposition 55
Proposition 55 Would Extend Prop 30 Income Taxes to Fund Schools, Health Care
Discussion on Forum (KQED)
''Forum'' is a two-hour live call-in radio program produced by KQED-FM, presenting discussions of local, state, national and international issues, and in-depth interviews. The program began in 1990 as a politics-oriented talk show, created and h ...
2016 California ballot propositions
Taxation in California
{{California-poli-stub