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Uploaded: Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 7:21 AM
Updated: Thursday, November 22, 2012, 7:20 AM
B1 transportation sales tax measure loses by fraction of percent needed to achive 2/3rd majority approval
Final count shows measure failed by 0.14%: 66.53% favorable votes against 33.47% opposed
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Alameda County Registrar David Macdonald reported today that final results of the Nov. 6 election show that the hotly contested Measure B1 transportation tax lost by a fraction of a percent in a final tally of all votes cast.
Macdonald said that the measure received 350,899 yes votes, or 66.53% of the votes cast on the measure, against 176,504 votes, or 33.47%. The measure needed a two-thirds majority vote to pass, or 66.6%, losing by a scant 0.14%.
The measure would have doubled Alameda County's transportation sales tax to a full 1 cent, adding a half-cent to the earlier voter-approved transportation tax of a half-cent that was approved in 1986. It also would have made the full 1-cent tax permanent with a provision that it would come again before voters in 20 years, but would require only a majority vote to be continued in perpetuity.
It would have raised additional tax revenue to increase spending on roads, freeways, public transit, bicycle and pedestrian improvements and transit-oriented developments, proponents said.
Opponents said in their ballot argument that the measure would be "a massive tax increase" that would disproportionately harm working families
because a greater percentage of their income goes to sales taxes.
It's unlikely that there will be a recount as such a close result might have led to in a contest between political candidates. A recount would be costly with no clear funding available to pay for a recount, analysts said.— Jeb Bing Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by D, a resident of the Castlewood neighborhood, on Nov 13, 2012 at 9:33 am We don't need more taxes - We need to love our neighbor as ourselves. You see someone in need help them!!!! I live on what I make (55% of what I make the rest is taxes) California should be able to do the same.
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Posted by RJ, a resident of the Birdland neighborhood, on Nov 13, 2012 at 12:00 pm Good, at least a few voters are thinking. We don't need to confiscate more money from working American's to support failed transportation systems.
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Posted by tim, a resident of the Vintage Hills Elementary School neighborhood, on Nov 13, 2012 at 12:47 pm only a fool votes to raise his/her taxes.
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Posted by john, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Nov 13, 2012 at 1:11 pm tim,
I guess it was our country's founding fathers who legalized taxation that were the true fools. If only they had banned taxation in the constitution, then no one could ever raise taxes!!
Thank you for your well reasoned comment.
john
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Posted by update, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Nov 13, 2012 at 5:12 pm If they did finish counting the ballots today, it failed because the latest count posted is -
Yes 339226 66.19
No 173274 33.81
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Posted by Government Knows Best, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Nov 13, 2012 at 8:01 pm How many of you feel that the Government can do a better job of spending your money than you can?
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Posted by john, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Nov 13, 2012 at 9:03 pm You said it "Government Knows Best". Taxes are worse than slavery. We should ban taxes. There should be an amendment to the constitution.
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Posted by Bofus, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Nov 19, 2012 at 9:17 am This was a very close call. B1 was a measure heavily supported by unions to create a number of over-paid union jobs and siphon more money from taxpayers. Voters need to wake up and be aware of the many ways that unions are becoming very aggressive wanting to be he hogs at the slop trough, at taxpayers' expense.
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Posted by Brian, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Nov 19, 2012 at 9:37 am I was on the fence on this one because I know traffic is a nightmare and we are in desperate need to improve things, but I ended up voting no because a 0.5% sales tax increase seemed excessive and I think it would drive more business out of the county and to online stores that don't charge sales tax.
In addition, you can't deduct both sales and state income tax from federal income taxes. Therefore, the effective sales tax for many people is already 11% if you include the federal taxes you need to pay on sales tax.
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Posted by BART can get $ elsewhere, a resident of Livermore, on Nov 19, 2012 at 11:34 am The main reasons to vote NO on this one:
-NO sunset- a perpetual tax, double the one that would have come back to reassess in a few years.
-A hidden bond provision, so they can borrow money that our kids and grandkids never voted on, but will owe, forever.
-And the BART: It was to take about $400 million, yet that is such a small part of the tax it is laughable. Much more goes for bike paths. There are other places for BART to get the money - basically the same money that BART stole from Livermore taxpayers when they budgetted for a system to Livermore, then did not build. The money- local and federal was for the whole system. And we've already been paying both property and sales taxes (for over 40 years) for the electric train they never built.
So glad it lost! Scary that it was so close.
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Posted by Phyllis, a resident of Livermore, on Nov 19, 2012 at 2:30 pm I personally hope that congress and the white house do not reach an agreement on the so called "fiscal cliff" because I believe we do not pay enough taxes. Everyone should pay at least 5% more and not just the so called rich but everyone. We all want all the services and top notch at that so we should pay for it. I would also like to see a national sales tax of 10% which would raise money for national projects and social security benefits.
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Posted by tim, a resident of the Vineyard Hills neighborhood, on Nov 19, 2012 at 8:26 pm john, you clearly do not understand the concept(s) of taxation and how they have been corrupted by the government.
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Posted by Bofus, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Nov 20, 2012 at 8:57 am Phyllis,
It is folks with your economic thinking that are driving this country over the cliff. The government is an insatiable beast when it comes to spending money. The more money taxpayers give government, the bigger it gets, and the more it spends. The only way to control government is to starve it - otherwise it will consume you.
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Posted by Anti-PUBLIC unions, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Nov 20, 2012 at 11:25 am It is a perpetual tax to feed BART excesses...BART union is as much or more greedy and obnoxious than Prison guards and fire unions...ooops, or forgot the most greedy and dumb SEIU dregs.
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Posted by Al, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Nov 20, 2012 at 3:01 pm Thank you. No more taxes. It's bad enough people get duped by voting for tax increases for teachers and what do you get for that. People that don't know the difference between their, there, and they're. Government spending is out of control and needs to stop.
How about we eliminate taxes and use the 6 billion raised for campaigns this year to improve our country?
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