Two groups are working to put separate tax hike measures on the November ballot that would compete directly with Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) plan, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
The groups pushing the proposals are ignoring warnings by the Brown administration that more than one tax-increase plan could confuse voters and diminish support for all of the initiatives.
Brown's Plan
Brown's plan -- which recently was endorsed by the California Medical Association -- would raise income taxes on Californians earning at least $250,000 annually and increase the sales tax by a half cent (Harmon, San Jose Mercury News, 2/6).
The tax increase would expire at the end of 2016.
The plan is a key component of Brown's $92.6 billion spending proposal for fiscal year 2012-2013 (California Healthline, 1/10).
Details of Rival Plans
Supporters of the "Millionaires Tax" -- backed by the California Nurses Association -- began collecting signatures on Monday to support their proposal to increase taxes on state residents earning more than $1 million annually. Some of the revenue would go toward state health services.
Another plan -- called "Our Children, Our Future" -- by civil rights attorney Molly Munger aims to increase income taxes for all residents, with the highest income earners seeing the largest hike. Most of the revenue would support education programs (Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/7).
Broadcast Coverage
Headlines and links to broadcast coverage of the competing tax measures are provided below: