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ARTICLE

Keep and Enhance the Manufacturers Investment Credit. The demise of the MIC would be a tremendous blow to California’s ability to compete for manufacturing jobs, according to Ray Rossi, director of external tax affairs for Intel Corporation. In his testimony before a legislative committee, Mr. Rossi calls for an enhanced MIC to help reverse recent manufacturing job losses.

The Assault on Education Reform Continues. Education reforms sought by the business community to measure students’ performance and hold schools accountable are under attack in the Legislature. We must stay the course and resist the temptation to tinker with existing reforms. Let them stand the test of time, writes Kirk Clark, vice president of the California Business Roundtable and executive director of California Business for Education Excellence.

8% Solution for Tardy Budgeteers. Start building an ark: A flood of initiatives and referendums is coming to California, writes Joel Fox, past president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. It’s 8 percent easier to qualify for the ballot because of the dismal voter turnout in the 2002 gubernatorial election. Those who want to get a place on ballots next year are already lining up to take a number – a proposition number.

Does California Mean Business Anymore? It is no mystery that California’s budget deficit is of staggering proportions and the budget process is broken, but the notion that policy-makers should assist private sector job growth might as well be the Riddle of the Sphinx, writes Jack M. Stewart, president of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association.

What’s Wrong with the State Supreme Court? The state Supreme Court has failed to resolve a direct conflict between opposing decisions issued by two appellate districts on the same issue. Is it signaling the State Board of Equalization to exert its authority to enforce uniformity in local assessment practices? The report is by Cris K. O’Neall, an attorney with the Los Angeles firm of Rodi, Pollock, Pettker, Galbraith & Cahill.

Actual Usage of California Tax Credits. More than 2.25 million taxpayers claimed personal income tax credits totaling nearly $970.3 million in 2001, according to Franchise Tax Board figures, but only eight of the credits are widely used. Chris Micheli of Carpenter Snodgrass & Associates reports on tax credit usage.