No New Taxes on CA Vets
So I got this form letter from Ahnold. The money quote is at the end of the second paragraph:
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Thank you for writing about the proposed tax on veterinary services in the 2009-10 budget. I value your input about this important issue during this challenging time.
I did not run for office to increase taxes on Californians or cut funding for crucial state programs. I hate taxes and while I am fundamentally opposed to raising them, I have reluctantly concluded that you cannot erase a $42-billion deficit by cuts alone. To get us through this economic down-turn, we are temporarily increasing some taxes. However, the budget does not include a tax on veterinary services.
Just as tax increases were necessary to balance the budget, so were spending cuts. In fact, the budget makes $14.9 billion in cuts to state programs. In my office alone, we have reduced costs by more than $700,000, and we will continue to reduce by another 10 percent. We are also working to make government more efficient by eliminating waste and redundancy in state agencies and departments.
This was a very difficult budget that forced us to make decisions we didn't want to make, but we have turned this crisis into an opportunity to make real, lasting reforms for California.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
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