CA Democrats Push Massive Payroll Tax Hike for Government-Run Healthcare

As inflation skyrockets and crushes California working families, the last thing you think a politician would do is make inflation worse by raising taxes, right?  

That’s exactly what California Democrats are doing!

Democrats in the California Legislature want to impose a government-run universal healthcare system in the state — to be named “CalCare” — that would ban private insurance and cost you dearly. The new proposal, Assembly Bill 1400, has an estimated price tag of $314 to $391 billion annually — which would more than double the current already unsustainable state budget of $300 billion to over $600 billion!

Carl DeMaio, chairman of Reform California, says the proposal is unrealistic — but may not stop the Democrat-dominated state legislature from proceeding anyway.

“Make no mistake: Californians will be absolutely crushed by this massive tax hike,” DeMaio warns. “California already has the highest tax burden in the nation and this takeover of the entire healthcare system in our state will require that we more than double California’s tax burden,” says DeMaio.

DeMaio points to the funding provisions outlined in AB 1400’s companion tax increase bill Assembly Constitutional Amendment 11, which propose increases to Californians’ income taxes and payroll taxes — as well as a brand new gross receipts tax on small businesses.

The payroll tax increase would come in addition to the recent payroll tax increase under SB 951, which raised the tax rate by 1.1% to 14.4% — already the highest rate in the country.

Meanwhile, the new gross receipts tax is a proposal that taxes small businesses — whether they make a profit or not.

“It’s not just the tax hike that is going to hurt - it is the fact that California state government has shown itself to be completely incompetent on everything from running the DMV, to running failing school systems where a majority of students fail to meet proficiencies, to allowing rampant fraud in unemployment and welfare programs,” DeMaio says.

“If you think your healthcare is bad now, just wait until state bureaucrats are put in charge,” DeMaio warns.

Proponents of the “CalCare” proposal claim that the tax increases will be offset by cost-savings to Californians and the state for switching to a universal healthcare system, but DeMaio says the claims are either ignorant or lies.

“California families are already suffering under the state’s high cost of living, and these tax increases and switching to universal healthcare will drown them in increased costs and fees — not to mention the time-cost of breakdowns in efficiency that come with government-run programs,” said DeMaio.

DeMaio and Reform California are leading the fight to oppose and block tax increases like the ones outlined in the “CalCare” proposal. Join the campaign today to get involved in the fight to make California more affordable — and keep your health insurance how you like it!