Abusive Tax Hike Halted by Cal. Tax Authority!
City of Long Beach Desperately Files Suit to Save It, Now Waging a Two-Front Battle Against Both Long Beach Reform Coalition and the State of California!
- State Tax Authority Takes Position in Alignment With LBRC Lawsuit, Rejecting Long Beach's Illegal Sales Tax Increase
- Illegal Quarter-Cent Tax Remains on Hold Beyond City’s Planned April 1 Effective Date
- City Files Suit Against State, Even as it Defends Against LBRC Lawsuit Challenging Tax Hike
[view state tax authority's letter to City of Long Beach here]
As we announced in Feb., the Long Beach Reform Coalition—after warning the Long Beach City Council of the illegality of raising the sales tax to the astronomic level of 10.75% on April 1st simply by means of a Council vote—sued the City to invalidate said tax increase.
Recently, a number of retailers have contacted LBRC seeking information regarding what tax rate they will actually be expected to charge on that April 1st date when all new sales tax rates are expected to go into effect.
The Council’s lawless action last December (which we allege is illegal for the reasons laid out in our lawsuit) added another quarter-percent on top of the quarter-percent increase already set for April 1 due to the passage last November of LA County’s Measure A homelessness and housing-specific sales tax. Thus the City expected our local rate to go from 10.25% to 10.75% on that date.
That is also what we expected, as discussed in our email update sent out just four days ago.
Yet retailers notified us that the bulletin they received from the State sales tax authority, the California Dept. of Tax & Fee Administration (CDTFA), said that Long Beach would be going up only to 10.5% on April 1st.
As of Tuesday evening, the City effectively acknowledged the chaos and confusion they have sewn by their violative action, at least with regard to the CDTFA and implicitly with regard to Long Beach retailers (caught between knowledge of the Council action and CDTFA official guidance)—the attached handout provided by the City to residents at a monthly 4th Council District meeting, attended by the City Manager, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, included the following (highlights added):
[View full handout here.]
Yet this handout itself was only partially true and partially a lie!
While the City accurately acknowledged that the sales tax is subject to CDTFA approval and that approval had not been granted in time for the expected implementation date of April 1st, the statement that, “The City is actively working with the CDTFA to determine whether the agency has the authority to collect the tax,” not only contradicts their previous sentence, it constitutes an outright deception.
In fact, City of Long Beach had already filed suit against the CDTFA last week!
The CDTFA has refused to swallow the Long Beach City Hall narrative that what Long Beach voters really “intended” when they voted on our current tax rate was actually that we pay an even higher tax rate than specified (in Long Beach Measure A, narrowly passed in 2020).
The CDTFA, we now know, rejected the City’s tax hike in a meeting on Dec. 24, 2024 and in writing in a Jan. 7, 2025 letter noting that no vote of the people had approved an April 1st city tax increase: "The California Constitution states, 'No local government may impose, extend, or increase any general tax unless and until that tax is submitted to the electorate and approved by a majority vote.'”
The CDTFA’s letter also rejected the City’s argument that sample ballot materials, rather than the city ordinance approved by voters, should govern the tax rate: "the sample ballot materials may have provided voters with an explanation as to the purpose of the schedule of rate increases, it does not change the plain language of the ordinance…"
The City’s desperate lawsuit against the State can be viewed here, obtained from the outside counsel hired by the City Attorney’s office to defend against LBRC’s lawsuit.
[View City's full lawsuit here.]
The City is now effectively fighting a two-front battle to save an illegal sales tax, which also constitutes an extreme undue burden on Long Beach residents shopping for basic goods, ordering goods online (particularly with regard to out-of-state sellers, where the rate is based on delivery address), and buying automobiles (in which case the buyer pays Long Beach’s sales tax rate, regardless of where the vehicle is purchased, if the registration address is in Long Beach).
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Support for the volunteer work of LBRC is always appreciated. |
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An Update on the School Board Action
&
A Reminder to Make Any Big Retail Purchases Before April 1
First, an update on the very disturbing, anti-democratic moves at the LBUSD School Board which we sounded the alert on in our last eblast (see previous email below).
The School Board meeting last Wednesday evening ran late, at over five hours, preventing many of the most disturbing Bylaws changes from being adopted. As a result, most of these proposed changes will be carried over to the next school board meeting, at 5:00 p.m. on Wed., April 9th.
Please see the email below for details regarding attending the board meeting or contacting board members.
Regarding the Illegal Sales Tax: It is set to get into effect on April 1, 2025.
That's right, in Long Beach, (Sales) Tax Day is April Fool's Day. How fitting!
Our litigation to roll back the blatantly illegal decision by the Mayor and City Council to pile on an extra 1/4 percent hike, not authorized by the voters (on top of the County voter-approved hike, on top of the previous city hike) is of course pending.
The nature of this variety of litigation, to reverse an illegal Council action—known as a reverse validation case—does not provide for emergency injunctive relief to prevent the illegal higher rate from going into effect pending trial.
However, we have an initial hearing in May and this kind of case should receive an expedited calendar.
In the meantime, the outrageous 10.75% sales tax rate will go into effect. And for some other LA County cities, an increase to 10.5% is going into effect, simply as a result of last November's County Measure A passing.
That means the time to buy something big in Long Beach (for those not already avoiding our city for such purchases) is now rather than later!
And remember, this is especially true for a large online purchase from an out-of-state seller, where sales tax is calculated based on the purchase's destination, not its origin.
And perhaps the single most important thing to be aware of is that sales tax for buying a vehicle is based on where the car gets registered, not the location of the dealership!
Many forget this, thinking they can avoid LB astronomical sales tax on their single biggest retail purchase simply by shopping in Signal Hill or Cerritos or, for an even better rate, OC. Not the case!
The good news, however, is that if we win our case, there will likely be a rebate process for the illegal portion of sales tax collected—however it may only apply to larger purchases, such as cars, over $5,000.
So please keep that April 1 date in mind to avoid falling victim to April Fool's Tax Day in Long Beach!
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Support for the volunteer work of LBRC is always appreciated. |
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The Veil of Authoritarianism Descending on the Long Beach School Board
Please click below to read LBUSD School Board Member Maria Isabel Lopez's emergency press release concerning proposed changes to the School Board Bylaws on its agenda for tonight ( Items 16.1 & 16.2).
These changes —arguably highly illegal under the state open meetings law known as the Brown Act —threaten not just to further erode local democracy, but quite frankly to decimate it, with regard to the Long Beach Unified School District.
The proposed changes would:
- centralize power with the unelected superintendent at the expense of the elected school board
- empower the superintendent to ignore the requests of school board members for information
- empower the superintendent to reprimand school board members whose opinion she disagrees with
- prohibit school board members from posing real time questions to the superintendent or her staff during board meetings
- empower the board to censure a fellow member who steps out of line and questions the policy choices of the superintendent, denying that school board member the ability to serve on committees, access district staff, access district facilities, or access any school events (such as graduation and athletic events)
- such censure would even include applying a scarlet letter to the dissenting voice on the board targeted, changing their official title for all meetings and communications from "Board Member" to "Censured Board Member", until lifted by the board
We believe that Board Member Lopez (who was strongly endorsed by LBRC when she ran for School Board) is being targeted with these bylaw changes for the sin of doing her job.
Unlike other board members, she asks tough questions and is willing to say "No" and vote No when she disagrees with board items put forth by the superintendent.
We believe that these proposed board changes cannot possibly be legal.
[Click here to read LBUSD School Board Member Maria Isabel Lopez's emergency press release in full.]
Unfortunately, this is very short notice. The school board meeting begins at 5pm tonight at:
LBUSD Headquarters
1515 Hughes Way
Long Beach, CA 90810
The superintendent and school board members can be reached by email at:
Jill Baker <jbaker@lbschools.net>;
Juan Benitez <jbenitez1@lbschools.net>;
Diana Craighead <dcraighead@lbschools.net>;
Maria Isabel Lopez <milopez@lbschools.net>;
Erik Miller <emiller@lbschools.net>;
Doug Otton <dotto@lbschools.net>
Regrettably, if these bylaw changes are passed tonight, it will represent an ignoble new low for the City of Long Beach.
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Support for the volunteer work of LBRC is always appreciated. |
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As Our Suit to Halt City Hall Lawlessness and Abuse of Taxpayers Moves Forward...
Please Support the Crucial, Volunteer-Driven Work of the Long Beach Reform Coalition
Coverage:
Instagram (click image to comment):
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Lawsuit Promised. Lawsuit Filed!
Today the Long Beach Reform Coalition filed suit against the City of Long Beach in Los Angeles Superior Court to undo the blatantly illegal action taken by the City Council last December to sneak in an extra quarter-percent increase to our already astronomical local sales tax.
For more on this, please click here to read our press release:
Special thanks to our co-plaintiffs in this case, Jane Nadeau, longtime LBRC supporter whose named in her capacity as a resident of Long Beach who shops and pays sales tax, and Walter Ordo ñez, whose named in his capacity as a sales tax collecting & paying small business owner.
Please show him your appreciation by visiting his establishment, JW Goodson Hair Salon at 2205 E. Broadway for all your salon needs!
We, of course, will keep you updated as the litigation progresses. We expect an expedited placement on the court docket, due to the nature of the case and the fact that the tax hike goes into effect on April 1st. |
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Last Night, the City Council Reached Into Your Pocket and Stole $60 Million
This was last night's vote on final passage (second reading) of the ILLEGAL ordinance raising your sales tax (without your ballot box consent) to the highest in LA County, 10.75%!
Thank you for all who sent in comments to council members voicing your objections!
It is dreadful that our elected officials (although most of them are actually selected by the political machine's big money special interest brokers) are as disinterested in the opinions of their constituents as they are completely disinterested in confronting the requirements of law.
But it is truly wonderful that you have voiced your opinion, in no small measure because it boosts the official record for a lawsuit!
We continue to work on putting that legal challenge together and will keep you updated.
In the meantime, if you're curious about the Rube Goldbergian legal structure of our Long Beach sales tax—the complexity within which the mayor and city manager thought they could hide this $60 million crime—take a look at our sales tax infographic:
[click here to view or download the PDF]
To support our ongoing efforts, please visit our donation page here:
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Tomorrow's Council Meeting is the Last Opportunity to Object to the ILLEGAL Sales Tax Hike
Tomorrow's Final Reading Vote on the Illegal New Ordinance Would Once Again Make Long Beach the Highest Sales Taxed City in Southern California
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024
5:00 p.m.
City Hall - Council Chambers
411 W. Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90802
The Council's regular Tuesday meeting tomorrow will have the final reading vote on the ordinance passed on first reading in the secretive, last minute special session the mayor convened last Thursday afternoon.
If you object to it (Item #28), we encourage you either to attend, email your council member, or submit an eComment.
To eComment on the agenda item, go to this link (and follow the instructions below): https://longbeach.primegov.com/public/portal?fromiframe=true#.
Select the eComment icon next to the Dec. 17th "City Council - Revised" agenda:
Click the + icon next to Item #28 to open a dialogue box and add your eComment:
Any eComment is part of the official record and viewable by all council members.
One thing you might consider commenting on is the continuing dishonesty of the City Attorney's office in service of the mayor's money grabbing agenda.
For example, an Assistant City Attorney was quoted in the LB Watchdog as saying: "It was the voters’ will that the rate change once Measure H sunsetted."
She neglected the last word: "2027". Technically and legally speaking, it was the voters' will that the rate change once Measure H sunsetted in 2027.
It was the voters' will that they pay a full 1% city sales tax or a lesser county homelessness-specific sales tax, not both at once.
And it was the voters' will that our sales tax be capped at definitely no more than the already very high 10.25%, hence the changing rate schedule.
The voters' will, technically and legally speaking, is now being violated.
The City Council has no right to advance that 2027 date (of increase) by two and half years without the voters' approval.
The City Council has no right to force our sales tax up to 10.75%.
There was no language in Long Beach's 2020 Measure A making a rate increase automatic, contingent on future events.
In fact, it says right in Long Beach's 2020 Measure A ordinance that: "the people of the City desire...from Jan 1 2023 through Sept. 30, 2027...a rate of three-quarters percent (3/4%), and after October 1, 2017, again at a rate of one (1%)."
In the main body of the ordinance, it lays out this timetable very clearly, with no exceptions for increasing the rate sooner.
Full text of our 2020 Measure A ordinance: here.
Of course they know that, very likely, the voters wouldn't approve any general sales tax today, were it to come before them now, given that the result of Long Beach's Measure A vote in 2020 was almost exactly 50-50 (despite nearly a million dollars in advertising all on the side of Vote Yes).
To support our efforts as we seek to oppose this abusive, illegal, voter-unapproved tax hike in court, please go to our donation page at this link:
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We Spoke Out Today at Council, Because the Taxpayers Were (ILLEGALLY) Left Out
Today's stealth, sudden special meeting of the City Council (held with barely a quorum) will not be the last word on today's outrageous illegal tax increase, unapproved by the voters (who have the only legal right to raise their own taxes, via ballot measure) and in violation of the State Constitution.
We are currently exploring legal options.
In the meantime, LBRC Exec. Dir. Ian Patton spoke out today, on your behalf, as the only member of the public (who wasn't City staff or a lobbyist) in attendance:
(comment on this video here on Facebook)
The entire hour-long meeting can be viewed here.
We thank Councilwoman Duggan for being the only official present to ask the appropriate questions about the legality of today's action.
Unfortunately, the City Attorney either unashamedly lied or somehow unintentionally (but incompetently) misled the Council as to the nature of the wording of the ordinance passed by the voters (by just 16 votes out of 100,000, without a recount) back in 2020.
Long Beach's 2020 Measure A sales tax has no mechanism for the Council unilaterally of its own accord simply to change the tax rate and increase all of our sales taxes to a ridiculous 10.75% ( Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from your Long Beach Mayor & Council!).
The convoluted logic behind today's action cannot possibly stand up in any court and will not be allowed to.
To support our volunteer-run LEGAL FUND TO FIGHT THIS ILLEGAL TAX HIKE please go to our donation page at this link:
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Long Beach Taxpayer Alert!
🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨
City Hall is Convening the City Council for a Special Meeting TOMORROW at 1pm to illegally jack up the sales tax and ATTACK YOUR POCKETBOOK!!
Only in Long Beach!
As if the local Long Beach Measure A city sales tax (questionably passed by a 16-vote margin, out of 100,000 votes, without a recount, back in 2020) wasn't bad enough!
Now the City is trying to violate the very tax schedule we voted on in 2020, pretending that the passage this year of County Measure A gives them a made up green light to hike our own city tax even further and on top of the new, higher county sales tax, and without voter approval!!
They even put a stealth, sneaky "special meeting" of the City Council on calendar to do it!
Special Council Meeting:
TOMORROW, Thurs., Dec. 12, 2024
1pm
Council Chambers (City Hall)
Please call or email your council member ASAP to voice your objections to this sneak sales tax hike on hardworking Long Beach residents: COUNCIL PHONE # & EMAIL ADDRESSES.
Here's the email we just sent to the City Attorney explaining our legal objections to this blatantly illegal and unethical tax grab:
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---- Forwarded Message -----
From: Ian Patton <ispatton@yahoo.com>
To: Dawn McIntosh <dawn.mcintosh@longbeach.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at 04:03:44 PM PST
Subject: Blatantly illegal tax increase without voter approval on tomorrow's Council special meeting agenda
Hi Dawn,
Please explain to me where the heck the Long Beach City Council gets the authority to supersede the terms of Long Beach Measure A (2020) as passed by the voters!?
The City Council simply does not have the power to make these changes to the City Code, which were (legally speaking, the lack of a recount not withstanding) enacted by the people via Long Beach Measure A (2020):
It's not the taxpayers' fault that the City Attorney at the time failed to anticipate:
a) the repeal of County Measure H (2017) 1/4 cent sales tax by virtue of a new County Measure A (2024) 1/2 cent sales tax (which explicitly stated that it was a "repeal" of Measure H, right in the ballot summary), and
b) the passage of AB1679 (2023) in the Legislature last year, allowing LA County (not Long Beach) to exceed the state sales tax cumulative cap of 10.25% in the event that County Measure A (2024) were to pass, in other words allowing the County to collect the full 1/2 cent tax on top of existing state, county, and city sales taxes.
The facts are clear: Back in 2020, Long Beach falsely assumed that Measure H would exist for its full ten years, and assumed the state sales tax cap would be in place, limiting our ability to collect the full Long Beach Measure A 1% until the expiration of Measure H. That was its motivation for wording Long Beach Measure A (2020) as it did, with an explicit sales tax schedule, including a rate of 3/4 of a cent on the dollar until 2027.
The 3/4% rate—lasting from 2023 to 2027—was passed by the voters, and the City Council has NO POWER TO CHANGE THAT without going back to the voters.
The text of Long Beach Measure A (2020) says that the Council may lower it unilaterally (in accord with Prop. 218), not that it may increase it unilaterally (which would violate Prop. 218):
Long Beach Measure A (2020) also contains provisions protecting City Hall only from a loss in revenue, due to a repeal and replacement of County Measure H (2017) or any state legislation altering the state tax code sales tax cap (Revenue & Taxation Code Sec. 7152.1):
There is no language suggesting that the Council can unilaterally increase our local tax rate in the event of changes in state or county tax law, which in any event would be illegal.
Furthermore, AB1679 was very clear that it was permitting the County to cause the cumulative sales tax to exceed the 10.25% limit set forth in state law (Revenue & Taxation Code Sec. 7152.1), under very specific circumstances (i.e. a new sales tax where "All revenues from the tax shall be dedicated to services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, to homelessness prevention, or to providing affordable housing."). AB1679 did not apply this exemption to cities enacting new tax rates, nor does Long Beach's Measure A (2020) as a general tax even have any specific dedication to homelessness/housing or any other types of appropriation.
Thus, unless you can provide an alternative legal explanation for this apparent flagrant disregard of Prop. 218, I can only anticipate that the City of Long Beach is on course for yet more losing and humiliating Prop. 218 courtroom defeats.
best,
Ian S. Patton
c562.810.9329
Long Beach Reform Coalition
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Anyone who knows the history of the Long Beach City Council knows that the December holiday season, when most residents are distracted with family and friends, is by far the most dangerous time of year for outrageous Council mischief!
Don't let them sneak this one past you. Let your voice be heard before it's too late.
The volunteer work of the Long Beach Reform Coalition is supported by your donations. Thank you for your support!
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Silent Victories &
The Final Tally
The 2024 General Election Has Been Certified
The title of this book about WWII is also a fitting description of how the grassroots still succeed in Long Beach, despite the entrenchment of a corrupt political machine.
As the ridiculously long period of vote counting in Los Angeles County finally closes out and last November's results are certified, we take this opportunity to look back at the wins and losses, what we achieved for residents and what protections could not be saved.
First and foremost, we must toot our own horn and acknowledge the crucial role of the Long Beach Reform Coalition in preventing a tax hiking nightmare for hardworking Long Beachers!
As we noted earlier this year, we were the only organization in Long Beach to stand up to the mayor's extreme tax grab agenda—and we won!
Mayor Rex Richardson and City Manager Tom Modica backed down and withdrew the following proposals from the final set of measures sent to the ballot:
- ❌ GONE: a REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAX hike (a nearly 9-fold increase to the city’s home sale tax!)
- ❌ GONE: a BUSINESS LICENSE FEES hike (a doubling of the fee on small businesses and independent contractors)
- ❌ GONE: an ELECTRIC FRANCHISE FEE hike (a tripling of fees passed-through directly to ratepayers)
While victories such as these go unlauded by the myopic, city hall-press release driven local corporate press, we know that our supporters understand and appreciate the essential role of LBRC: We are your watchdog and bulwark against City Hall's abusive and previous norms-transgressing impulses.
Unfortunately, there is a cost to this volunteer work!
As we recently experienced in the wake of our last lawsuit against City Hall, the powers that be don't like getting called out and exposed as... often being corrupt, often being incompetent, and/or often being dishonest.
They have shown their fury by penalizing the Long Beach Reform Coalition to the tune of $3,000 for a "court reporter transcript".
That may sound like a joke, but this is Long Beach, and we assure you it is not.
Our lawsuit against the extraordinarily misleading ballot text of Measure RW (which appeared on the local primary election ballot, back last March)—which had a very brief court hearing on the afternoon of January 3, 2024—was used as the vehicle for this attack on LBRC.
Unfortunately, the same judge who refused to hear the merits of that case (accepting at face value County Registrar's office testimony regarding a completely fabricated and never-published deadline for sending ballot material to the printer, at odds with the statutory right of the public to challenge misleading ballot text) showed equal disinterest during a recent hearing last November. We asked for that new hearing to challenge the City Attorney's attempt, following the first hearing in January, to force us to pay this absurd cost for a court reporter transcript which the City (as the victor) had no need to order (there being nothing for the City to appeal).
If you would like to help defray the cost of the City's $3,000 attack on LBRC, please donate here:
Another notable achievement against entrenched power this year is one that LBRC cannot take credit for but is glad to acknowledge.
While he was not without his special interest supporters by any means (including the Long Beach police and fire unions), 4th District Councilman Daryl Supernaw once again proved that many of the city's political power players are actually political paper tigers.
This was a mailer sent out by Supernaw's opponent, LBCC Trustee Herlina Chico:
As LB4D points out in an excellent post-mortem of the 4th District race, the typical array of machine politician faces backing Chico did nothing for her in the face of Supernaw's 9-year reputation as an incumbent councilman who personally sees to his residents' needs.
He clobbered her, 58% to 42%.
Unfortunately, the voters of Long Beach fared far less well when it came to seeing through the baloney of city ballot measures.
Measures JB and HC, which both passed overwhelmingly, were disastrous—and incredibly misleading—proposals with negative consequences that will be felt by Long Beach residents for decades.
As we wrote back in August, these measures effectively hand unchecked power to the mayor to corrupt the City of Long Beach hiring process and turn the municipal payroll into a political spoils system.
Here's the full rundown of LBRC's ballot recommendations and the final results:
- 🛑NO on Long Beach Measure HC
- 🛑NO on Long Beach Measure JB
- 🛑NO on Long Beach Measure LB
- 🛑NO on Long Beach City College Measure AC
- 🟢VOTE for Dick Gaylord for LBCC Trustee (Area 4)
- 🛑NO on Los Angeles County Measure A
- Neutral on County Measure G (no endorsement)
- 🟢YES on California Prop. 36
- 🟢VOTE for Nathan Hochman for Los Angeles County District Attorney
- 🛑NO on California Prop. 33
- 🟢YES on California Prop. 34
Alas, the fight goes on to protect Long Beach residents and taxpayers.
In the meantime, Happy Holidays from the Long Beach Reform Coalition!
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Some of Our Previous Eblast Updates
Oct. 29, 2024: There They Go Again! Another Illegal, Taxpayer Funded Official City Mailer in Service of a Pro-Ballot Measures Campaign
Oct. 15, 2024: LBRC's General Election Ballot Recommendations
Oct. 5, 2024: There They Go Again! More Ballot Text Mischief
Sept. 28, 2024: Fend Off City Hiring Corruption: NO on JB Yard Signs! 🪧🏡
Sept. 17, 2024: Fight Corruption of LB's Civil Service
Aug. 10, 2024: $10k💸? $20k💸? How Much to Play Ball at LB CITY HALL
Aug. 5, 2024: A Mayoral Takeover of City Hiring?
July 31, 2024: A Major Victory for Long Beach Taxpayers
July 13, 2024: City Manager Corrupts Upcoming Ballot Measures
June 29, 2024: What's on Our Radar for Election 2024?
May 2, 2024: LBRC Featured in Press-Telegram Editorial
Jan. 6, 2024: LBRC's Challenge to the False & Misleading Text of Measure RW Shed the Light of Day on Dishonest City Practices and a Corrupt Ballot Measure
May 13, 2023: Princeton Professor Uses Our Case LBRC v. LA Co. Registrar Dean Logan to Expose Flaws in LA County Voting System
April 20, 2023: "A Video All Long Beach Residents Should Watch: Long Beach's Homelessness "MAC" Truck EXPOSED
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