California cities struggling with recent hikes in their pension fees will see another one in 2021 because of a decision CalPERS made on Tuesday to speed up the rate of their debt payments. The change will save cities money over time, but it could squeeze local government budgets over the next few years because it […]
The federal and state tax credits provide the largest cash payment many families will receive in a year – money that can go toward repaying debt, building savings or buying goods and services that support economic growth. Yet each year, California residents leave approximately $2 billion in tax credits on the table, with one of […]
A startling new study led by UC Davis, however, says the fertilizer in farm soils is a major contributor to smog in California. In a study published Wednesday in the research journal Science Advances, a team led by UC Davis says agricultural soils contribute 25 to 41 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions in California. Natural […]
Nearly 43,000 people have filed applications to join a waiting list for subsidized housing in Sacramento, officials said Wednesday. By Tuesday night’s deadline, 42,913 people had entered the lottery for 7,000 slots on the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency’s waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly known as Section 8. The SHRA started […]
A costly and potentially bruising campaign is taking shape over rent control in California, with deep-pocketed Los Angeles activist Michael Weinstein bankrolling a proposed November ballot initiative to repeal a state law that sets tight limits on the type of housing covered under local rent control laws.
Environmental advocates in California who successfully pushed for a ban on single-use plastic bags have expanded their fight against plastic waste, targeting straws and bottle caps and calling on the state to increase the amount of recycled material in plastic water and soda bottles. The efforts face stiff opposition from the beverage and plastic industries, […]
Real estate listing firm Redfin reported this week that 4,101 more users of its service looked to buy a home in Sacramento than Sacramentans looked to buy homes elsewhere in the last three months of 2017 – the largest potential net inflow of new residents to any region in the United States. The top region […]
One of the state’s largest charter school organizations is exploring whether it wants to withdraw from CalPERS, raising alarms among unions and public pension officials who fear a gradual weakening of the fund. . . . But Aspire’s inquiry about leaving CalPERS comes at a moment when a rising share of new charter schools are […]
The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated this week that the change could increase property tax revenues by about $6 billion to $10 billion annually, though it also warned that the switch would introduce far more volatility into the funding stream. About 60 percent of that money would go to local governments and the remaining 40 percent […]
Statewide unemployment also fell sharply in November, to 4.6 percent from 4.9 percent a month earlier. The 4.6 percent statewide rate is the lowest since 1976, according to data compiled by economist Sung Won Sohn of CSU Channel Islands. The EDD said California employers added 47,400 workers to their payrolls last month. Although much of the job growth in November was seasonal, as employers geared up for the holidays, the new numbers also dovetail with other signs that the economy has been continuing to perk along in recent months.
If they get a chance, a majority of California voters would repeal the new statewide gas tax that went into effect last month. A new poll by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies found 52 percent of likely voters would support an initiative repealing California’s recent increases in gas taxes and vehicle license fees, while 46 percent said they “strongly” support repealing the charges.
Tesla Motors Inc., as part of its bid to expand electric vehicle manufacturing facilities in California, on Tuesday is up for another sales-and-use tax exemption on nearly $1.2 billion of equipment and machinery. The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, a little-known arm of the state Treasurer’s Office, is scheduled to consider expanding a tax break Tesla already receives at its meeting in Sacramento. Agency officials put the value of financial assistance Tesla is requesting at $98.5 million for the total Model 3 project. Tesla used $14.8 million in state tax credits for the Model 3 through June 30. California officials estimate a net of $1.67 million in fiscal and environmental benefits to the state.
The weekday commute to the Bay Area from the Sacramento region isn’t easy. It can range from a 90-minute train ride to Richmond to a multi-hour slog to Silicon Valley. More than 17,000 Sacramento-area residents make the commute anyway, according to a Bee review of the latest census data.
A maker of lithium batteries is promising to provide an economic jolt to the Appalachian region, announcing plans Friday to relocate from California to Kentucky and build a factory employing hundreds of workers in an area reeling from the coal industry’s decline. EnerBlu Inc. announced it will invest $372 million and create 875 full-time jobs in eastern Kentucky with the production facility in Pikeville. The company also will move its headquarters from Riverside, California, bringing another $40 million investment and 110 administrative, research-and-development and executive jobs to Lexington, Kentucky’s second-largest city.
But California could shift its tax burden away from income tax — one of the highest in the nation —and onto employers via the state payroll tax. Unlike individual taxpayers, employers would still be able to deduct this state tax on their federal returns. A group of tax law experts that includes Hemel and University of California, Davis Law Professor Darien Shanske write in a paper published Dec. 7 that such a tax “would function, in economic terms, very similarly to an income tax imposed directly on the employee.”