California Politicians Put Over 250 Tax Hikes on the November Ballot

Californians will decide the fate of various state and local tax increase measures on their ballot this November. Reform California warns about the cost to taxpayers, misleading ballot titles, and what the measures mean in “Plain English.” 

California’s November 8th General Election is fast approaching, and local and state ballot measures have been finalized in recent days. The final tally is in: Californians will be voting on over 250 tax hikes on November 8, 2022. 

Reform California will be releasing its annual statewide "Plain English Voter Guide" next week, which will expose all the tax hikes on the ballot.

Carl DeMaio, chairman of Reform California, said that the tax measures range from Property Taxes and Sales Taxes to “crazy” concepts like local Garbage Taxes and Mileage Taxes. 

“In the middle of record-high inflation and with people fleeing our state in record numbers due to high cost-of-living, California politicians are adding fuel to the fire by trying to raise taxes,” laments DeMaio. 

“There are more than 250 tax hikes on the ballot from greedy politicians seeking to gouge Californians for more of their hard-earned money, and our families just can’t afford it during a time of high inflation and recession,” DeMaio continues.

DeMaio released a list of the tax hike measures facing California voters this November which includes more than 40 Sales Taxes, 36 Parcel Taxes, 25 Hotel Taxes, 14 Business Taxes, 94 Bonds (paid for by Property Tax increases), and 40 other types of taxes.

DeMaio explains that if all the proposed taxes are enacted, they will cost Californians over $9.5 billion in higher cost-of-living.

But DeMaio warns that when these tax measures appear on the ballot, they won’t necessarily say the words “tax” or “tax increase” on their summary titles.

“Politicians write the ballot titles, and they want the measures to pass, so they write them in misleading ways to trick you into approving these taxes,” said DeMaio. “Sometimes they outright lie by using words like ‘no tax increase,’ when that is not true in the slightest.”

That’s why DeMaio’s voter guide will seek to explain the measures in “Plain English,” or easy to understand terms to cut through the misleading political jargon. 

Get Involved to Stop the Tax Hikes

1. Keep a lookout for Reform California’s “Plain English” General Election voter guide, coming next week at ElectionGuideCalifornia.org. Make sure to share the guide with friends, family, and neighbors!
2. Vote NO on every local and state tax measure!
3. Vote early using the S.A.F.E. voting method to ensure your vote is received and counted — and fix any problems if they occur!
4. Join the campaign to DEFEAT these tax hikes: Defeat the 250+ Tax Hikes in California in 2022 

“We need to defeat as many of these 250 tax hikes as possible — but we need help,” said DeMaio.

“Politicians and special interests who benefit from the tax hikes are funding the YES campaigns for these 250 tax hikes, and we need your help to get the word out on the NO campaigns and these misleading ballot titles,” he concluded.

Join the Fight: Defeat the 250+ Tax Hikes in California in 2022 

Join the Fight: Stop Misleading Ballot Titles

Photo Credit: Getty Images