Just like every other city in California, Oakland desperately needs new revenue sources. California cities don't even have enough money to fund the bare minimum of public services, with essential services like BART shutting down frequently. This is a problem that has gone back decades, ever since 1978, when Proposition 13 passed, and has since robbed hundreds of billions of dollars from our communities.
"If this money is funded by the additional taxes or it's funded by a better-than-expected (tax) assessment, or it's funded by a pot of money that wasn't previously spoken about, or savings that have come in, then the most important thing is that it's funded," he said.
U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, recently introduced the CEO Accountability and Responsibility Act (H.R. 5019), a bill that his office says would limit corporate greed, invest in working Americans and reduce income inequality. As working Americans struggle with higher costs of living and diminished power in the workplace, ultra-wealthy CEOs and large corporations are profiting hand-over-fist at their employees' expense and rewarding themselves with exorbitant salaries and bonuses, said DeSaulnier.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held the tax speech ban violated the First Amendment. Companies that make money advertising on the internet must not only pay the tax but avoid telling their customers how it affects pricing.
Bay Area transit agencies face annual deficits nearing $800 million, leading to calls for increased revenue through a proposed sales tax, which may disproportionately impact lower-income residents.