Apparently, someone forgot to tell Attorney General Gary King that his job is to prosecute bad guys – not raise taxes. I guess oil and gas revenue must be really looking bad since the Attorney General has decided his initiatives for the upcoming legislative session are to raise taxes (subscription):
Impose a higher state tax on “alcopops,” which are typically fruit flavored and sweetened malt beverages. [Attorney General Gary] King proposes to tax the drinks at a rate for distilled spirits rather that the current practice of taxing them at the lower rate for beer. California regulators have already taken such steps. The drinks include brands such as Mike’s Hard Lemonade. King estimates that the higher tax rate could generate $2 million a year for programs to prevent underage drinking.
It has been widely acknowledged that alcohol is a recession proof industry. So, it is probably not surprising that Democratic Attorney General Gary King is seeking to increase state revenue for government run programs by taxing the industry. The problem is: It’s not the industry that he is taxing. It is you and me.
In case you’re planning on voting Democrat in the upcoming election, this is a good indication of what is to come if the Democrats win in November – tax, tax and more tax.