Could a gas rebate end up costing taxpayers at the pump even more?
The session will be Dec. 5, timed with the swearing-in of the new Legislature.
Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to call a special legislative session in December to push for a tax on oil industry profits, the latest escalation in a feud over soaring gasoline prices that Newsom calls greedy and manipulative.
Newsom said today that he would convene the special session on Dec. 5, the same day that a new class of lawmakers is sworn in.
"Gas prices in California have soared in recent weeks to an average of $6.39 per gallon, as of Friday, according to AAA, near the highest they've ever been.
Newsom, who originally unveiled his plans for a "windfall profits tax" on oil companies a week ago, had few additional details to share.
The plan could take the form of an excise tax, he said, with revenue being returned to taxpayers as rebates.
Despite his urgency, he said convening the special session in two months would give his team time to "get our ducks in a row" — developing a strategy that can get through the Legislature, where a two-thirds vote by both houses is required for any tax measure, and stand up to expected legal challenges by the oil industry.
"Republicans, who comprise a superminority of the Legislature, criticized the tax plan as insulting and said that it would drive up prices further because oil companies would pass on the cost.
Newsom once again rejected calls to suspend the state's 54-cent-per-gallon gas tax, because he said oil companies would simply pocket the savings.
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