California GOP Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner – Scrap Big Five California Budget Deal – No Tax Increases for California

Steve Poizner, Republican California Insurance Commissioner and candidate for California Governor has come out against the Big 5 California Budget deal.

State Insurance Commission and Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner called on lawmakers today to put the brakes on a contentious, 18-month budget deal and instead pass an emergency, six-month package to keep California from insolvency.

With lawmakers one vote shy of a deal to close a $40 billion hole in the state budget, Poizner said all sides should back away from the plan in order to avoid tax increases he charged would disproportionately affect middle- and low-income Californians.

Roughly $10 billion of the $14 billion in taxes would come from hiking taxes on gas, income and vehicles.

“They don’t have the guts to raise taxes on rich people because rich people have lobbyists and rich people are mobile and rich people will leave,” Poizner said in a meeting today with The Bee Capitol Bureau. “And yet they’re raising taxes on people who aren’t mobile, who don’t have lobbyists. This is really the most disgusting, terrible thing I’ve heard in a long time – the idea of raising $14 billion of taxes on working class people who are about to lose their homes.”

Poizner said lawmakers should cut a six-month budget deal that would include $15.8 billion in state spending cuts and $10.9 billion in borrowing – figures already negotiated by lawmakers – and up to $10 billion in state aid from the federal economic stimulus package approved by Congress.

Afterward, Poizner said lawmakers should develop a budget for the following 12 months that would streamline state government and balance the books without raising taxes.

Steve Poizner is moving to the RIGHT on fiscal policy and is positioning himself well in the race for the GOP nomination for Governor against former e-Bay CEO Meg Whitman. Poizner has garned most of the endorsements of the GOP members of the California Legislature.

Now, will Poizner be able to persuade anti-tax crusaders and Los Angeles radio (KFI 640) shock jocks John and Ken to support him?

Stay tuned as the California State Budget Stalemate continues.