Editorial: Address Budget Gap With Higher Vice Taxes
California lawmakers are "cowering before deep-pocketed lobbies for the alcohol and tobacco industries" by not proposing modest increases in taxes on such products to help close the state's $19 billion budget deficit, a Sacramento Bee editorial argues. Taxes on beer, wine and liquor have remained unchanged since 1991, and legislation to increase cigarette taxes is stalled. As it is unlikely lawmakers will move to raise taxes on alcohol and tobacco products, the editorial says it is "understandable" that a ballot initiative to do so could come into play.
- "Editorial: Vice Lobby Has a Vise Grip on Taxes" (Sacramento Bee, 7/2).