Thursday, January 3, 2013

Federal budget deal could be reprieve for California finances

Los Angeles Times
Gov. Jerry Brown's administration is breathing a sigh of relief this week now that Congress has reached a deal on the federal budget. President Obama signed legislation on Wednesday that will prevent most tax increases and delay or cancel spending cuts. It was sent to his desk by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday night after intense negotiations on Capitol Hill. If a deal wasn't reached, the country could have slid into another recession, costing California an estimated $11 billion in tax revenue over the next year and a half. That would have almost eliminated any gains from Brown's tax hike plan, which was approved by voters in November.