Ballotpedia.org political website: on Tax Reform

Betsy Sweet: Level the playing field; more taxes for the top 20%

C. Wesley Morgan: Abolish the state income tax, to create jobs

Dan Forest: Lower taxes, smaller government, & personal responsibility

1. smaller government
2. lower taxes
3. personal responsibility

Hirsh Singh: End the inheritance tax, the gas tax, and property tax hikes

• Freeze property tax hikes and work on implementing a cap on the property tax at a maximum of 75% above the national average to bring down current rates across the state and prevent a slow creep to unsustainable levels.
• Abolish the inheritance tax, which affects more people than the estate tax, and is one of the highest in the nation at 16%.
• Repeal the $.23 gas tax and work to reduce government spending.
• Work on minimizing taxes for small and midsized businesses.

Tom Steyer: Oppose legislative supermajority for raising fees & levies

Report on Steyer's stance and spending on ballot initiatives:
• California Proposition 26, Supermajority Vote to Pass New Taxes and Fees (2010)
• Steyer Opposed; Steyer spent $1 million; outcome: Approved
• California Proposition 26, or the Supermajority Vote to Pass New Taxes and Fees Act, was on the November 2, 2010 ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment, where it was approved.
• Proposition 26 requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in the California State Legislature to pass any fees, levies, charges and tax revenue allocations that under the state's previous rules could be enacted by a simple majority vote.
• Supporters of Proposition 26 called it the Stop Hidden Taxes initiative, saying that fees, levies, and so on imposed by the California government amount to taxes, and should therefore require the same supermajority vote required to enact income or sales tax increases.

Tom Steyer: Tax surcharge on personal incomes over $250,000

Report on Steyer's stance and spending on ballot initiatives:
• California Proposition 55, Extension of the Proposition 30 Income Tax Increase (2016)
• Steyer Supported; Steyer spent $1.75 million; outcome: Approved
• Proposition 55 was on the November 8, 2016, ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment. It was approved.
• A "yes" vote supported extending the personal income tax increases on incomes over $250,000 approved in 2012 for 12 years in order to fund education and healthcare.
• A "no" vote opposed extending the personal income tax increases on incomes over $250,000 approved in 2012 for 12 years, allowing the tax increase to expire in 2019.
• The measure was designed to allocate about 89 percent of revenue from the tax increase to K-12 schools and 11 percent to state community colleges. It was also designed to allocate an additional $2 billion in certain years to Medi-Cal and other health programs.

Marc Molinaro: Prioritize property tax reduction & job growth

1. Property tax reduction & job growth
2. Sweeping ethics & transparency reforms, including state term limits
3. Transportation, infrastructure and accessibility improvements