Taxpayers Association Opposes State’s First-Ever Drinking Water Tax
he San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA) voted on Friday to oppose a sales tax increase for the City of Chula Vista and SB 623, the State’s first-ever proposed tax on drinking water.
SB 623 aims to improve access to safe drinking water by imposing fees on all customers of public water systems, and while SDCTA supports access to safe drinking water, the Association believes the bill’s proposed solution does not efficiently address the problem. The full analysis of SB 623 can be found on the SDCTA website.
“Why not collect more revenue from the actual polluters rather than all consumers? It doesn’t make sense to place a disproportionate responsibility on ratepayers to clean up groundwater contamination caused by others,” said Haney Hong, SDCTA’s president and CEO.
Along with this bill, SDCTA elected to oppose a local measure to increase the City of Chula Vista’s sales tax. The measure creates an indefinite tax increase for general purposes, and while proponents say it will go to public safety, there is nothing that stops Chula Vista’s elected leaders from putting the money anywhere else.
SDCTA supported Chula Vista’s previous sales tax increase in 2016, and it is too soon to analyze if the leaders of Chula Vista have effectively and efficiently fulfilled the promises of two years ago. The Association recommends Chula Vista’s leaders go back to the drawing board and include real taxpayer protections. SDCTA’s full analysis of the 2018 sales tax proposal can be found on the SDCTA website here.
With June’s primary election quickly approaching, SDCTA continues to research pressing policy issues to ensure San Diego’s needs are efficiently addressed with proper protections for taxpayers.