In Stark Contrast To Previous Years, Business Groups Sit Out Tobacco Initiative Battle
Some groups are even going so far as to back the tax on cigarettes.
Los Angeles Times:
Why Business Groups Aren't Fighting California's Tobacco And Income Tax Hike Initiatives
Four years ago, business leaders financed a multimillion-dollar campaign to oppose an initiative to raise income taxes on California’s highest earners. The same year, the California Chamber of Commerce was featured prominently in television advertisements against a ballot measure to increase the cigarette tax. Now, with new versions of both the income and tobacco taxes on the statewide ballot, money from the business community isn’t there and neither is the same level of opposition. Instead, many business groups are reluctantly resigned to an extension of the higher income tax rates and, in some cases, are even promoting the cigarette tax hike. (Dillon, 10/20)