March, 2012San Jose State Foundation Filed Fraudulent Tax ReturnsWednesday, March 21st, 2012 MARCH 21, 2012 By JOHN HRABE A California State University foundation has filed fraudulent tax returns for three consecutive years, potentially jeopardizing the organization’s tax-exempt status, with the potential of criminal penalties for several university personnel, a CalWatchDog.com inve... CA Liberals Blocking Housing for PoorWednesday, March 21st, 2012MARCH 21, 2012 By WAYNE LUSVARDI We are hearing a lot about how California cannot close a $10 billion budget gap. But California has allowed 400 redevelopment agencies to retain about $2 billion in funds set aside for so-called “affordable housing.” Note: We're not talking here about ... Special Series: Bond Holders Seek Governmental TransparencyTuesday, March 20th, 2012Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a CalWatchDog.com Special Series of 12 in-depth articles on municipal bankruptcy. MARCH 20, 2012 By DAVE ROBERTS Once upon a time buying a municipal bond was considered a safe bet. A decent rate of return with little risk -- just the thing for junior... Revving Up Higher Property TaxesTuesday, March 20th, 2012MARCH 20, 2012 By KATY GRIMES Every year the Legislature attempts to rewrite Proposition 13, the 1978 ballot initiative that successfully returned property value assessments to 1975 levels, limited property taxes to 1 percent of assessed valuation and capped annual property tax increases to 2... 396,345 Jobs Lost if Property Tax SplitMonday, March 19th, 2012MARCH 19, 2012 By WAYNE LUSVARDI The Davenport School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University is out with a blockbuster new study on the affects of the proposed elimination of caps on commercial property taxes provided for under Proposition 13. The study is titled, “An Analysis of Split ... Special Series: Local Governments Face Bankruptcy QuandaryFriday, March 16th, 2012Editor’s Note: This is the third in a CalWatchDog.com Special Series of 12 in-depth articles on municipal bankruptcy. MARCH 16, 2012 By JOHN SEILER Bankruptcy is the boogeyman haunting governments across America. It’s not a question of if more cities will file for bankruptcy, but how ma... AB 1500 Would Kill More Calif. BusinessesThursday, March 15th, 2012 MARCH 15, 2012 By KATY GRIMES The Assembly Speaker and fellow Democrats are aggressively pushing a dangerous business-killing bill, designed to penalize out-of-state businesses operating in California. Clearly, these legislators do not recognize the importance of all business contributions to ... The End of ‘Big Wind’ in California?Wednesday, March 14th, 2012MARCH 15, 2012 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Will the 52 wind farm development applications pending with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in California be left hanging in the wind now that the U.S Senate has voted to not extend wind production tax credits? These pending wind energy projects encompass... Munger’s Tax Increase Doesn’t Add UpWednesday, March 14th, 2012 MARCH 14, 2012 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Molly Munger’s proposed $10 billion school tax for the Nov. 2012 ballot had to be designed by a billionaire. It’s hard to know whether Munger designed the ballot initiative for the “Make a Wish Foundation” or for the California state government. Mu... |