Sales Taxes

After months of buildup and millions of dollars spent on a blizzard of television ads and mailers, Los Angeles voters went to the polls Tuesday and selected Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel to advance to a mayoral runoff . The long-time City Hall hands don't have any plans to let up the day after the primary. They will be busy on the campaign trail on Wednesday, with Greuel expected to pick up the endorsement of another union representing city workers. Rivals Jan Perry and Kevin James did not offer their concessions Tuesday night.

Two veterans of Los Angeles politics, Councilman Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel, pushed ahead of six other candidates in initial election returns Tuesday and appeared to be well-positioned to advance to a May runoff to become the city's next mayor. Former council President Garcetti and his onetime council colleague Greuel broke to a significant lead over Councilwoman Jan Perry, entertainment lawyer Kevin James, former technology executive Emanuel Pleitez and three lesser-known candidates.

The half-cent sales tax increase proposal on the March 5 ballot known as Proposition A has been around for a long time in many guises, sometimes as a county tax, sometimes a city tax. Threats and reasons offered by Los Angeles city officials have included, in essence, pass it or risk another riot ; pass it or risk a terrorist attack ; pass it to fight a (nonexistent) surge in crime ; pass it to fund a new gang-prevention department . The only time it actually came before voters, they rejected it. In other instances, county and city officials refused to put it on the ballot in the first place.

A Los Angeles sales tax hike being promoted as vital to preserving public safety and helping end years of budget deficits is drawing support from a narrow majority of likely voters, according to a new USC Price/L.A. Times poll. Fifty-three percent of surveyed voters said they definitely or probably would vote for Proposition A, which is on Tuesday's ballot and would raise $200 million a year by boosting the city's sales tax rate by half a cent to 9.5%, one of the highest in the state.

WASHINGTON - A group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Linda Sanchez of California  is launching an effort to secure money for gun buybacks, firearms safety campaigns and anti-violence programs from a new tax on handgun purchases. Sanchez unveiled the bill, which would impose a 10% tax on handgun purchases,  Thursday at Los Angeles County Sheriff's headquarters in Monterey Park.  “It is time to give our law enforcement agencies all the necessary resources to prevent gun violence," Sanchez said.

Five of the seven candidates seeking to represent a major portion of South Los Angeles on the City Council said Saturday they oppose the sales tax hike on the March 5 ballot, arguing it would disproportionately harm low-income residents. Appearing at their first candidate forum, the contenders seeking to replace Councilwoman Jan Perry staked out positions on public safety, economic development and Proposition A, which would bring the city's tax rate to 9.5%, among the highest in the state.

At a time when taxpayers are being asked to dig deeper to resolve Los Angeles' chronic budget crisis, city employees are receiving raises that will cost tens of millions of dollars within a few years, according to records obtained by The Times. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, an assortment of City Council members and Police Chief Charlie Beck are urging voters to approve a sales tax hike on the March 5 ballot that would boost the city rate to 9.5% , one of the highest in the state. At the same time, thousands of police officers, firefighters and civilian employees are in the midst of receiving a two-year series of raises that were backed by the mayor and council.

One of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's former high-level budget advisors says that city officials are using "fuzzy math" to overstate the size of the projected budget shortfall, even as they press voters for passage of a sales-tax hike in the March 5 election. Matt Szabo, who served until last summer as Villaraigosa's No. 2 policy aide, said a new financial report indicates the budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year is less than half the $216-million figure that has been used repeatedly by officials in recent months.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Friday backed the half-cent sales tax hike on the March 5 ballot, which is being pushed as a way to shield the Police Department and other public safety agencies from employee cuts. The increase, which is backed by some key business leaders and labor leaders as a means to preserve public services, would push the city's sales tax rate to 9.5%, among the highest in the state. Villaraigosa did not give his reasons for backing Proposition A, saying through a spokesman that he would make a statement next week.

The top budget official at Los Angeles City Hall warned Thursday that a defeat of a sales tax hike on the March 5 ballot could lead to a wide array of budget cuts, including closures of city swimming pools, elimination of crossing guards, reductions in graffiti cleanup and 500 fewer police officers. In a 48-page report titled "City at a Crossroads," City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana described cuts to public safety as "unavoidable" if Proposition A is rejected. The city is facing a budget shortfall of nearly $220 million and Proposition A, if passed, would erase the vast majority of it. Santana repeated a warning from LAPD Chief Charlie Beck that staffing could be rolled back to roughly 9,500 officers if Proposition A is rejected.