Contact: Richard Stapler at 916-443-7817
Campaign Releases Revealing Website on Corporate Excesses of Opponents:
The Yes on Proposition 24, the Tax Fairness Act coalition today held an “It’s Time to Give US a Break – Not Big Corporations” event by handing out “100 Grand” Tax Break candy bars to lunchtime crowds. The event was held in front of a Cisco Systems office (a $100,000 donor to opponents of Proposition 24) in San Francisco.
Huge corporations are making billions in profits, hoarding cash and laying workers off, not hiring or outsourcing to other countries. In the meantime, Sacramento politicians gave these same corporations billions in tax giveaways without the requirement to save or create jobs. With Proposition 24, voters can change this by voting Yes on the Tax Fairness Act.
“At a time when school budgets are being slashed, important educational programs cut, thousands of educators laid off, and a huge state deficit, California’s largest corporations are getting sweetheart tax giveaways that will cut another $1.3 billion from the state budget. Regular working people are fed up with big corporations’ sweat-heart tax breaks,” said Ken Tray, a social studies and psychology teacher from Lowell High School in San Francisco. “That’s why we want to give them a break – this “100 Grand” Tax Break candy bar and a way to make things fair, by voting Yes on Proposition 24, the Tax Fairness Act.”
The Yes on Proposition 24 campaign will give away 13,000 “100 Grand” Tax Break candy bars around California – that represent the $1.3 billion a few big corporations will get in tax giveaways if Proposition 24 doesn’t pass.
Proposition 24, the Tax Fairness Act, ends $1.3 billion in special tax giveaways for big corporations that don’t require the creation or protection of one single job in California. Proposition 24 will not raise taxes and prevents more budget cuts to schools, public safety and other important services. For more information visit www.YesProp24.org.
“Now, as we are experiencing massive cuts in funding to public education and critical children’s services, is not the time to be giving tax breaks to large corporations,” said Debbie Look, California State PTA. “We believe that all Californians must pay their fair share, and that the state must collect sufficient revenues to invest in children. If we fail to do so, we will not have the skilled workforce we need to fuel our future economy.”
As another state budget is being passed in Sacramento, billions more are being cut out of our school budgets and tens of millions of dollars from in home support services for the elderly, blind and disabled and child care services.
“It’s time to give a break to the millions of children, disabled and elderly that will be hurt if Proposition 24 doesn’t pass,” said Jessica Rothhaar, project director for Health Access California. “Less than two percent of California’s largest corporations will benefit from these tax breaks, while forcing cuts in education and the health system on which millions of Californians rely. That is simply not fair, and it's why these corporate tax giveaways should be repealed.” “There are over 22,000 teachers, nurses, firefighters and others who are going to get laid off if we don’t get Proposition 24 passed,” said Afrack Vargas of the California State Firefighters’ Association. “The services provided by these valuable employees impact every single Californian.” The California Teachers Association was joined by San Francisco-region representatives of the California Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the League of Women Voters, the California State Firefighters’ Association, Health Access California and Unite HERE.
“Voters can learn about the excesses of the handful of big corporations, like Disney, that are trying to keep these billion dollar tax giveaways at www.PayTheirFairShare.com,” said Lee Strieb of UNITE HERE, the hotel workers’ union. “Some of these corporations paid their CEOs many millions last year even as they laid off thousands of workers – and now they are spending millions more to defeat Proposition 24.”
Visit www.PayTheirFairShare.com to learn:
- Which corporate opponent to Proposition 24 paid their CEO $25 million last year AND laid off 8,900 workers.
- About an opponent to Proposition 24 that is sitting on $14.7 billion in cash, yet still laid off 6,400 workers last year.
- There isn’t a SINGLE small business that has contributed to opponents of Proposition 24.