Alameda County Democratic Committee Fraudulently Endorses Regressive Tax Measure

Bucking the national and statewide Democratic principles of supporting progressive taxation - the idea that the more you earn, the more tax you pay - the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee has endorsed a tax which increases taxes on the poor and middle class while lowering them on big corporations.

Measure A is a local school parcel tax that will increase school taxes by 65% for the average homeowner in Alameda, yet would implement a $7,999 tax cap for the biggest corporations in Alameda. The $7,999 cap represents a 16% reduction for big business from the tax cap in the existing school parcel tax.

Additionally, the average homeowner would pay 32 cents/sq ft, while Alameda Towne Center, with over $100 million in annual retail sales, would pay an effective tax rate of 1 cents/sq ft. The Oakland Raiders, whose headquarters is in Alameda, and who enjoy annual revenues over $200 million, would pay an effective tax rate of 8 cents/sq ft.

In taking this stand Alameda County Democrats are also taking on their own Democratic president and governor. President Obama and newly elected Governor Jerry Brown are strong supporters of charters schools and are even stronger supporters of treating all students equally.

Critics of the tax, and of the Committee's endorsement are calling the endorsement fraudulent because it was brought before the Committee and voted upon without being scheduled in advance, and opponents of the measure were not given equal time to present their argument. Critics say that such actions violate traditional committee rules and ethics.