October 31, 2012 – The Los Angeles (Aa3 / 544351JW0) City Council moved forward with four proposed tax increases Wednesday, instructing city lawyers to draw up the language for ballot measures that would raise property, real estate, parking and sales taxes. Council President Herb Wesson said he hopes that only one of those proposed increases ends up on the March ballot and said he will be pushing for the half-cent sales tax hike, which would generate an estimated $215 million to $220 million for the cash-strapped city. Wesson, who said he asked the council to proceed with all of the ballot measures as a safeguard, said he will be closely watching the results of Tuesday’s election, when voters in three dozen California cities will decide local sales tax increases on the ballot. “I think it will be a big indicator as to how people feel throughout the state,” Wesson said, noting that if the response to those proposals is tepid in other communities, he might support putting one of the other tax measures on the ballot. Wesson surprised community leaders and some of his colleagues Tuesday when he announced that he wanted to increase the sales tax from 8.75% to 9.25%. The proposed change would bring L.A. in line with Santa Monica and Inglewood, but it would leave the city with a higher rate than some neighboring communities, including Burbank, Pasadena and Glendale.
Link to Article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-tax-hikes-20121101,0,6236176.story
the muni guy 