During a discussion at the 2015 Cal Tax Annual Members meeting, Board of Equalization Vice Chair George Runner suggested replacing California’s income tax with a sales tax on services to make life easier for taxpayers.
“If you want real tax reform, we ought to look at eliminating the state’s personal and corporate income tax,” said Runner. “One less tax agency would make California a far more attractive place for jobs, retirees and investment.”
George Runner
Runner noted that if California eliminated income tax more companies would base themselves in California. Also, more residents would stay in the state upon retirement, leading to more revenue for the State of California.
Seven states do not have an income tax. Those states include Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
Runner said true tax reform makes tax systems simpler, rather than more complicated. He called Senate Bill 8 (Hertzberg), which would extend sales tax to services, a massive tax increase. In its current form the legislation would make California’s tax system more complicated and add thousands of state auditors and tax collectors to state payrolls.
“Any shift to a broader reliance on sales tax must be combined with real tax reform that removes barriers to doing business in our state,” added Runner. “Don’t be seduced by false reform that makes California’s tax code more complicated for everyone.”
Runner called for dynamic economic modeling of the likely benefits of an elimination of income tax and a shift to a consumption-based tax system. He encouraged businesses to conduct their own modeling to weigh the pros and cons of such a structure.
The annual meeting hosted by Cal Tax attracts taxpayers from many industries and gives the business community an opportunity to be updated on legislative affairs.
Elected in November 2010 and re-elected in 2014, George Runner represents more than nine million Californians as a member of the State Board of Equalization. For more information, visit the website.
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3 Comments
It would appear as if Mr. Runner has decided to join Mr Cruz and his lunatic fringe.
Sounds like a great idea to me.
Runner, true to form, is championing those who least need championing – the rich. Sales tax is regressive whereas income tax is progressive. There is only so much that anyone, rich or poor, consumes. Therefore the middle class and poor pay proportionately more than the rich in a sales tax system. The rich get off not paying their fair share. Besides the most recent news says that CA is gaining in buiness growth compared to Texas and other so-called “business friendly” states and also that it is the poor, not the rich that are leaving the state. We need to make the rich and the gigantic corporations, like oil companies that pay NO tax to extract oil from ourr state, pay more. Don’t further burden the middle and lower class with more tax while the rich get off scot-free.