California Gov. Brown’s plan: Raise taxes on sales and high earners

California Governor Jerry Brown wants to boost the state sales tax by half a cent and increase levies on incomes of $250,000 or more for the next five years. He said his plan could bring in $6.9 billion a year but the Legislative Analyst’s Office says it’s likely to generate just $4.8 billion in 2012-13 budget year and about $5.5 billion in subsequent years.According to a report in the LA Times, the governor’s plan would boost the state sales tax by half a cent and increase taxes on incomes of $250,000 or more for the next five years.

It is the linchpin of the $92.6-billion spending blueprint that Brown unveiled last week. If voters reject the tax measure, Brown says, it would mean billions less for schools next year and more cuts in both of California’s public university systems.Brown says the proposed taxes would virtually eliminate the state’s budget deficit in five years. But the analyst’s office was more guarded in its projections, which it released last Monday, estimating that California will face deficits of more than $5 billion a year through 2017. Cynthia De Castro