New Research Answers the Questions Meg Won’t:
Whitman Could Pocket $40 Million or More in One Term from Capital Gains Tax Elimination
Massive tax break for the wealthy will blow a hole in the state budget and wreck the economy
(Sacramento) — Leading fiscal experts, economists and labor officials today released new research showing Meg Whitman could gain $10 million or more annually from her own proposal to give a multi-billion dollar tax break to the mega-rich by eliminating the state’s capital gains tax. The research memo from the California Tax Reform Association (available online at http://www.mmsend74.com/link.cfm?r=219260518&sid=11100891&m=1141401&u=CALABOR&s=http://www.CaliforniaLabor.org”>http://bit.ly/awjvqV) answers the questions Meg Whitman has tried to avoid regarding the personal benefit she would receive from her proposal.
The estimate is based on information currently available to the public. Whitman’s investments – and the potential financial gain she could receive from her own proposal — could, in fact, be much larger than the estimate. In a teleconference with reporters today, speakers called on Whitman to fully disclose her financial investments and tax returns so that the public is aware of how much she stands to profit from her capital gains proposal, if elected.
“We know that the future of our schools, of our jobs and our whole state are on the line this November,” said Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation. “Meg Whitman’s proposal to eliminate the capital gains tax will benefit Meg Whitman and a handful of the other richest Californians, and will eliminate $4.5 billion from the state budget every year. The painful mathematics of the budget is that every dollar cut is a decrease in the quality of life for Californians.”
During today’s press conference, Lenny Goldberg, executive director of the California Tax Reform Association, released the analysis of Whitman’s projected capital gains tax windfall, based on public reports of her holdings, including the Statement of Economic Interests Whitman filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission in March. The analysis shows Whitman would have a state tax savings of between $2,060,000 and $10,300,000 each year following normal gains on a portfolio of her size. Over a four-year term, her tax savings could reach more than $40 million.
Michael Reich, professor of economics at UC Berkeley and author of the recent report, “Can Californians Trust What Whitman is Selling?” (available online at http://www.mmsend74.com/link.cfm?r=219260518&sid=11100891&m=1141401&u=CALABOR&s=http://www.CaliforniaLabor.org”>http://bit.ly/bXcmhY), said that Whitman’s proposal to eliminate the capital gains tax is based on faulty data and leaves out important facts.
“Before the Great Recession began, we were generating jobs – even with the existing capital gains tax,” Reich said. “Whitman’s ‘analysis’ of capital gains leaves out the fact that states with no capital gains taxes — like Texas — have higher income taxes.”
According to State Senator Leland Yee, the loss of capital gains revenue from the wealthiest Californians would blow a hole in the already underwater state budget.
“What I see from Whitman is a one-sided solution to our budget problems: to enrich the rich and further cut from our children's education, from the poor and from people who need our help the most,” said Senator Yee. “We cannot have another eight years of dramatic cuts off of the backs of our children, so we have to clearly understand what we face in the upcoming election.”
To pay for her tax breaks for the rich, Whitman is proposing massive cuts that impact schools, public safety and programs for the state’s most vulnerable. For more information, visit http://www.mmsend74.com/link.cfm?r=219260518&sid=11100891&m=1141401&u=CALABOR&s=http://www.CaliforniaLabor.org”>www.WallStreetWhitman.com.
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Paid for by the California Labor Federation. Not authorized by a candidate or committee controlled by a candidate