Outright Theft
Courtesy of commenter crosspatch comes this bit of outright theft by the government of California on its taxpaying citizens. It seems the state will be simply taking an additional 10% withholding on state income taxes – even if the people are already having all the correct amount of dollars withheld.
Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners — holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear.
Technically, it’s not a tax increase, even though it may feel like one when your next paycheck arrives. As part of a bundle of budget patches adopted in the summer, the state is taking more money now in withholding, even though workers’ annual tax bills won’t change.
Think of it as a forced, interest-free loan: You’ll be repaid any extra withholding in April. Those who would receive a refund anyway will receive a larger one, and those who owe taxes will owe less.
The government will simply take the money it knows full well it is not entitled to. They will not pay any interest on the “loan” they are forcing people to give them.
That’s theft. Straight-up. Passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governator.
There is a bit of advice in the article that I strongly urge Californians to follow as soon as humanly possible: Change the number of dependents you are claiming to the state.
Savvy taxpayers can get around the state’s maneuver by increasing the number of personal withholding allowances they claim on their employer tax forms, said Brenda Voet, a spokeswoman for the state’s Franchise Tax Board.
Get expert advice before doing so. You do not want to run afoul of the IRS with anything you do about this.
But seriously, California folks. Isn’t it about time to throw California’s entire body of elected officials out? These people are thieves.There is no other word for this.
One simply detestable quote from the article: an “expert” informing the LA Times that the impact of the theft will not be all that big on people:
But Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, wasn’t so sure.
“It’s having a relatively small impact on people’s income,” Levy said, pointing out that many families will receive only $12 to $40 less each month.
Let’s get this straight. California’s political class have zero right to take that money at all. Sure, they have the power to do so, but that does not imply that they should. They are taking money from people to pretend to patch the failing finances of an out-of-control political power structure.
Time to throw them out.





