A survey of Santa Clara County voters indicates 63 percent would
support sales-tax bump
A survey released last month by the county executive’s office
indicates a majority of voters in Santa Clara County would support
a sales tax increase to prevent further cutbacks in county services
and possibly expand services, such as disaster preparedness,
healthcare, programs for at-risk youth and improving roads.
Throughout the county, 63 percent of voters were in favor
raising the sales tax, but South Valley showed the weakest support
for raising the sales tax by a quarter- to a half-cent. Still, a
majority -54 percent – saying yes to the idea.
A survey of Santa Clara County voters indicates 63 percent would support sales-tax bump
A survey released last month by the county executive’s office indicates a majority of voters in Santa Clara County would support a sales tax increase to prevent further cutbacks in county services and possibly expand services, such as disaster preparedness, healthcare, programs for at-risk youth and improving roads.
Throughout the county, 63 percent of voters were in favor raising the sales tax, but South Valley showed the weakest support for raising the sales tax by a quarter- to a half-cent. Still, a majority -54 percent – saying yes to the idea.
South County’s representative on the Board of Supervisor’s, Don Gage, doesn’t like the idea and neither does president of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, Susan Valenta.
“I think there’s a lot more things we can do to reduce costs,” Gage said, declining to list specific examples. “I just know there is still a lot of waste occurring.”
During the past three years, $640 million has been cut from the county budget. A quarter-cent sales tax would increase revenue by $82 million a year, or $164 million for a half-cent bump.
The study was proposed by supervisor James Beall, who said in the report that the county is now in a crisis after four years of making cutbacks. Services that people strongly believe in now face the shopping block, he said.
The results showed that 63 percent of those surveyed would support a half-cent sales tax increase and 64 percent would support a quarter-cent increase.
The survey polled 800 likely voters who were asked if they would vote yes or no on a measure that read:
“Shall the County of Santa Clara enact a (“one-quarter cent”/ “one-half cent”) sales tax for general county purposes, including but not limited to operations such as: providing trauma and emergency services; keeping county hospital and clinics open; providing prevention programs for at-risk youth, families and seniors; and improving county expressways?”
The Gilroy Chamber had not discussed the possible increase yet because it was still premature, Valenta said. Supervisors aren’t slated to discuss a possible increase until January.
But from an economic standpoint, Valenta said raising sales taxes could be bad for the business if consumers are less encouraged to spend their money in the county.
“It would send people out of the area to get their purchases,” she said. Residents in Santa Clara County looking to spend money in San Benito County would save $1.50 on a $100 item and $15.00 on a $1,000 item if the sales tax increased by a half-cent. Right now they would save $1 on a $100 item.
The sales tax rate in Santa Clara County is 8.25 percent. Raising it by a half-cent would make it higher than all neighboring counties except Alameda, which it would equal at 8.75 percent.
Whether it would send people out of the area to spend money aside, it does add to the ways consumers are getting nickel and dimed with increasing costs across the spectrum. With spiraling energy costs, such as gasoline and heating costs, and other bills outpacing the wages of the average consumer, it can create another hardship on the consumer, Valenta said.
But the county government is having its own share of hardships, according to the report, due to the state placing the fiscal burden increasingly on counties. The county determined that the methods used to finance county services are inadequate, according to the report. In May the county determined it was facing a “structural budget deficit” and approved the survey to test the waters for a sales-tax increase.
The survey said that voter’s attitudes have changed since 2001 from traffic and transportation concerns to more varying concerns with education, healthcare, housing, the economy, taxes, growth and crime.
The city of San Juan Bautista has raised sales taxes to 8 percent and the most recent raise in the state is in the city of Ukiah, which made a half-cent increase to 7.75 percent in October, according to the state board of equalization.
State law allows local jurisdictions to raise sales taxes to a total of 9.25 percent. The state receives 7.25 percent, with any amount above that going local jurisdictions.
The general purpose tax increase for the county would require a majority of voters to approve it, while tax increases with a specific purpose require a two-thirds vote.
At the same time the county is looking at raising taxes, a different governmental body that operates in Santa Clara County, the Valley Transportation Authority, is also looking at a quarter cent sales tax increase to finish BART to San Jose, repair roads, and improve bus, Caltrain and light rail service.
The telephone survey was contracted to Evans /McDonough Company Inc., of Oakland, and queried 800 likely voters distributed throughout the county in English and Spanish in October. Half of the 800 were asked about the quarter-cent increase, the other half were asked about the half-cent increase. A confidence level of 95 percent was reported.
