"All Politics are Local"
?? former House Speaker Tip O'Neill
Tip O'Neill, our nation's 55th speaker of the House of Representatives, once said. "All politics is local."
According to Wikipedia, "this phrase encapsulates the principle that a politician's success is directly tied to his or her ability to understand and influence the issues of his constituents. Politicians must appeal to the…everyday concerns of those who elect them into office."
The focus of this month's column is to highlight several of the legislative bills State Sen. Mark Wyland and Assemblyman Martin Garrick have authored to help government operate more efficiently and ease the financial burdens on business. As former business owners, they understand whether they come in the way of inefficient government, erroneous fees and taxes, or draconian regulations, financial burdens ultimately have a negative financial impact on their constituents.
Sen. Wyland's efforts include:
SCA 1, Requires the State Auditor to conduct a thorough performance evaluation on every state program and expenditure. Too many programs are created in Sacramento and are never thoroughly examined again. As a result, the state's budget grew tremendously in recent years. Without these evaluations, no one is able to determine if a program is working or not. These evaluations will help to identify the weaknesses and strengths in our state programs so they can be improved or eliminated as needed. This bill would require that a performance evaluation of every state government program be conducted every two years and submitted to the Legislature. This bill would also require the State Auditor to make these reports easily available to the public.
SCA 2, Provides a dedicated year of each two-year legislative session so that the state legislature can focus on oversight and review of the revenues and expenditures of the state to develop budgets for two successive years. Also during this first year, the legislature would examine California's incentives for economic development and job creation. During the second year of the session, the Legislature will be free to act on any piece of legislation. This constitutional amendment requires that odd-numbered years of each 2-year session be "budget sessions," and even-numbered years be "general sessions." During the budget session, the legislature will conduct oversight on current state programs and the revenues of the state used to fund those programs. In addition, to the budget, the legislature will also examine the business climate in California and specifically focus on incentives provided for economic development and job creation.
Assemblyman Garrick's efforts include:
AB 279 (Sales Tax on Cell Phones), Current law bases the computation of sales tax on cell phones on the full retail value, rather than the discounted or promotional price. It would protect businesses and consumers from paying inflated sales tax. For example, if the suggested retail price of a new phone is $499, yet you pay a promotional or discounted price of $99, under current law, the sales tax is calculated on the suggested retail price, not what you actually paid! In this example, you would pay about $44 in sales tax on a $99 cell phone! Can you imagine the negative impact on the auto industry and consumers if this was applied to cars? Assemblyman Garrick believes, "this is patently unfair and confusing, not only to the customer, but also for the business selling the product." AB 279 would make it so the sales tax is based on the amount charged for the phone.
AB 821 (Franchise Tax Reduction), Exempts a new corporation or partnership from the annual minimum tax for the first year and reduces the amount of that tax from $800 to $100 for nine subsequent years. This would apply to each corporation, LP, LLP, and LLC categorized as a small business, defined as one that has gross receipts of $1 million or less. Small business has long been looked at as the heart of business, nationally and locally. In fact, roughly 85 percent of the Carlsbad Chamber members are categorized as small business. People contemplating starting a new small business in California find the startup costs can be extraordinarily higher than other states. AB 821 would help ease the burden on new businesses in California and provide for new jobs.
For more information, visit Senator Wyland at www.cssrc.us/web/38 and Assemblyman Garrick at www.arc.asm.ca.gov/member/74.
?? former House Speaker Tip O'Neill
Tip O'Neill, our nation's 55th speaker of the House of Representatives, once said. "All politics is local."
According to Wikipedia, "this phrase encapsulates the principle that a politician's success is directly tied to his or her ability to understand and influence the issues of his constituents. Politicians must appeal to the…everyday concerns of those who elect them into office."
The focus of this month's column is to highlight several of the legislative bills State Sen. Mark Wyland and Assemblyman Martin Garrick have authored to help government operate more efficiently and ease the financial burdens on business. As former business owners, they understand whether they come in the way of inefficient government, erroneous fees and taxes, or draconian regulations, financial burdens ultimately have a negative financial impact on their constituents.
Sen. Wyland's efforts include:
SCA 1, Requires the State Auditor to conduct a thorough performance evaluation on every state program and expenditure. Too many programs are created in Sacramento and are never thoroughly examined again. As a result, the state's budget grew tremendously in recent years. Without these evaluations, no one is able to determine if a program is working or not. These evaluations will help to identify the weaknesses and strengths in our state programs so they can be improved or eliminated as needed. This bill would require that a performance evaluation of every state government program be conducted every two years and submitted to the Legislature. This bill would also require the State Auditor to make these reports easily available to the public.
SCA 2, Provides a dedicated year of each two-year legislative session so that the state legislature can focus on oversight and review of the revenues and expenditures of the state to develop budgets for two successive years. Also during this first year, the legislature would examine California's incentives for economic development and job creation. During the second year of the session, the Legislature will be free to act on any piece of legislation. This constitutional amendment requires that odd-numbered years of each 2-year session be "budget sessions," and even-numbered years be "general sessions." During the budget session, the legislature will conduct oversight on current state programs and the revenues of the state used to fund those programs. In addition, to the budget, the legislature will also examine the business climate in California and specifically focus on incentives provided for economic development and job creation.
Assemblyman Garrick's efforts include:
AB 279 (Sales Tax on Cell Phones), Current law bases the computation of sales tax on cell phones on the full retail value, rather than the discounted or promotional price. It would protect businesses and consumers from paying inflated sales tax. For example, if the suggested retail price of a new phone is $499, yet you pay a promotional or discounted price of $99, under current law, the sales tax is calculated on the suggested retail price, not what you actually paid! In this example, you would pay about $44 in sales tax on a $99 cell phone! Can you imagine the negative impact on the auto industry and consumers if this was applied to cars? Assemblyman Garrick believes, "this is patently unfair and confusing, not only to the customer, but also for the business selling the product." AB 279 would make it so the sales tax is based on the amount charged for the phone.
AB 821 (Franchise Tax Reduction), Exempts a new corporation or partnership from the annual minimum tax for the first year and reduces the amount of that tax from $800 to $100 for nine subsequent years. This would apply to each corporation, LP, LLP, and LLC categorized as a small business, defined as one that has gross receipts of $1 million or less. Small business has long been looked at as the heart of business, nationally and locally. In fact, roughly 85 percent of the Carlsbad Chamber members are categorized as small business. People contemplating starting a new small business in California find the startup costs can be extraordinarily higher than other states. AB 821 would help ease the burden on new businesses in California and provide for new jobs.
For more information, visit Senator Wyland at www.cssrc.us/web/38 and Assemblyman Garrick at www.arc.asm.ca.gov/member/74.