California recall candidate John Cox in Fresno to push 25% tax cut, cost cutting
Fresno on Friday was one of multiple stops Republican recall candidate John Cox made this week to present his plan for a tax cut in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Cox first mentioned his tax cut Wednesday during a Republican debate, saying he’d slash state spending by $30 billion if he’s elected governor. The 2018 gubernatorial candidate and longtime businessman said he’d cut income tax by 25% for every California resident.
California has a progressive tax structure with people earning more than $1 million paying a state income tax rate of 13.3%.
Cox said his plan would help the middle class, which he defined as those making $58,000 to $300,000 a year and that pay a 9.3% tax rate in California. He juxtaposed that rate to the 4.5% that millionaires pay in Colorado.
California also has the highest sales tax in the country, and, Cox argued, the property taxes in the state are the highest because the housing costs are so high.
“We have the worst cost of living in the country,” he said. “The cost of building in this state is outrageous.”
“All of this says we have got to reduce the tax burden on residents of California,” he said.
He’s not the only candidate with tax cut goals. Republican rival Kevin Faulconer, former mayor of San Diego, has proposed eliminating state income taxes for the first $50,000 earned by individuals — and $100,000 earned by families — for everyone making less than $1 million a year.
Other Republican candidates running
The Republican card is crowded. Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, Assemblymember Kevin Kiley and Olympian-turned-reality-TV-star Caitlyn Jenner are some of the other more visible candidates.
The high cost of living in California also drives up the costs for food, gas and other expenses. Cox said he would push those costs down by exempting new housing from the requirements in the California Environmental Quality Act, commonly referred to as CEQA.
“Get government out of the way,” he said. “I can get housing approved in Indiana in six to 12 months. In California, it’s 12 years.”
The candidate also proposes eliminating the state’s high-speed rail and cutting down the film tax program, which are financial incentives for companies to make movies in California.
He said the spending in prisons is wasteful and that he’d curtail healthcare for undocumented immigrants, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in July to offer Medicaid to all low-income folks older than 50, regardless of immigration status.
Cox was quick to say he supports immigration, but only if it’s done legally.
“It shouldn’t take 10 years to get into this country so I’m with immigrants who say it takes too damn long,” he said. “How can you have a country if you don’t have borders? How can you have a rule of law if you ignore it?”
