Stop Taxing Us, the Carlsbad-based taxpayer advocacy group, has created a new tool for holding candidates and elected officials accountable to California taxpayers.  The Promise to California Taxpayers is a four-point pledge that commits signers to oppose any and all efforts to increase marginal tax rates for individuals and/or businesses, oppose any and all efforts to amend and/or repeal Proposition 13, oppose any and all efforts to increase the taxpayers’ contribution to public employee retirement plans, and oppose all net reduction and elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.

Immediately after Stop Taxing Us announced the Promise, Sherry Hodges, candidate for California's new 76th Assembly District, became the first candidate to sign the Promise.  A formal ceremony of her Promise will be made at a campaign fundraiser, at the law offices of Mintz Levin, Friday December 2, 2012, at noon.  Video of the ceremony will be posted on the Stop Taxing Us weblog, soon thereafter.

Stop Taxing Us styled the Promise after the success of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, drafted by and administered by Americans for TaxReform.  The Promise uses the language, verbatim, from both parts of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, but adds language specifically addressing two California-centric issues:  Proposition 13 and taxpayer contributions to public employee retirement plans.

Brian Brady, a director with Stop Taxing Us, explained the structure of the Promise:  "The Pledge, as well as the Promise to California Taxpayers, is made to the people of America and California respectively.”

“The State of California is in the middle of a budget crisis and revenue is not the problem." said Dr, Gary Gonsalves, MD, the co-founder of Stop Taxing Us.  "We have structural spending issues which must be fixed if the government of California is to live within its means".  Gonsalves is citing the pension crisis and transfer payment programs.

Rhonda Deniston, a director of Stop Taxing Us, argues against higher taxes.  "Every time California raises taxes, productive individuals flee the state, taking businesses and jobs with them."  Deniston reiterated Gonsalves' remark about spending.  "This is just a math problem.  We can't raise taxes any more; the people won't stand for it.  If we can't raise taxes, how can we balance our budget?  We have to cut spending".

The Promise to California Taxpayers is absolutely voluntary.  "We intend to offer the Promise as a way for fiscal conservatives, regardless of party affiliation, to articulate clearly that raising taxes is something they will never, ever do.  We want to make it easy for candidates to tell the voters where they stand.  Additionally, we want California taxpayers to know which candidates protect them and, should the unfortunate happen...that is... if a candidate breaks his/her promise in office, we want to let the taxpayers know that their governing actions were inconsistent with their campaign rhetoric." said Brady