Californias largest-ever tax hike eviscerated by critics: Final straw

Two new California taxes next year described as “the largest tax increase in state history” have sparked outrage among businesses and other critics furious with elected officials for jacking up the state’s already-high cost of living.Gov.Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers recently enacted a state budget that would raise health insurance premiums and slap a new charge on software downloads in an effort to make up federal revenue loss from an antagonistic Trump administration, Democrats said.“What happened to addressing the affordability crisis that was supposed to be such a priority?” said state Sen.

Tony Strickland.“These tax increases could be the final straw that drives businesses out of California and harms our economy,” he said.

One measure would extend a tax on health care providers to potentially generate roughly $2 billion a year to help fund Medi-Cal.The other categorizes software products as personal property subject to the state’s highest-in-the-nation sales tax to bring in $900 million annually — meaning Californians will pay extra for software like Slack, Adobe or TurboTax.

Tax opponents have been sounding the alarm on the charges and the costly impacts they could have on families.The health care tax has been estimated to increase premiums by $400 a month for a family of four because insurers will pass on the cost, warned the California Association of Health Plans.“At a time when Californians are already stretched thin by the rising costs of housing, groceries, childcare and transportation, adding hundreds of dollars in new health insurance costs is the wrong choice,” the association said in reaction to the enacted tax.

“This is especially troubling because state leaders continue to say affordability is a top priority,” the lobbying group said.The tax increases are tone-deaf, said state Sen.Suzette Valladares, pointing to a report that California was one of the worst states to move to this year.“Families aren’t leav...