Excessive Taxes Killing Small Business, Middle Class

It’s my opinion that excessive taxes hold back a healthy economy. Glendale’s recent sales tax increase of 3/4% will generate $30,000,000. That brings our local sales tax effective April 1 to 10.25%, which totals $410,000,000. If only 50% of the $410 million was spent on taxable goods ($205,000,000) that would generate an additional $21,012,500 in sales tax.

How would that help Glendale local businesses as well as the people working those businesses! How would that help the lives of Californians! To remind you, California has lost 64% of its small businesses since the recession.

Now, let’s look at the tax on gasoline. The current tax is 58.2 cents per gallon.  As of July 1, it will increase another 7.5 cents per gallon. This is according to Foundation for Economic Education. The gasoline consumption in California as of January 2017 is 37.225 million gallons per day. At 58.2 cents, that generates $21,664,950 per day in taxes of which California gets $14,815,550. That equals $5,407,675,750 (billion) per year that is for our roads – not pensions! Also, there is sales tax collected from all stations. It is said that 20% of the selling price of gas equals taxes collected.

[There will be] no middle class or small businesses [due to] excessive taxes.

Ken Grayson, owner

Grayson’s Tune Town

Montrose