There is a clamor in Sacramento for “tax reform.” But for every political pundit, politician and bureaucrat in the room, there is a different definition of “tax reform.”

For fiscal conservatives, tax reform means tax cuts. The State of California takes too much of our money now and this heavy tax burden unquestionably hurts working families and hinders economic growth

But for self-styled “progressives,” tax reform means even more tax hikes to feed an ever growing government and the demands of tax hungry special interests.

Because these two visions of “tax reform” are polar opposites, is it even possible to agree on anything related to changing California’s tax system? Surprisingly, the answer is yes.

Both conservatives and liberals have at least acknowledged that California government is too reliant on revenue that fluctuates wildly. In other words, there is some agreement that the mix of things that are taxed might be altered so that tax revenue is more predictable

To read the rest of this column please click here http://www.hjta.org/california-commentary/tax-reform-this-isnt/

This entry was posted on Monday, February 2nd, 2015 at 3:19 am and is filed under Blog Posts.