<p><strong>Connie Conway </strong></p>
<p> Independence Day came early this year for hard-working California taxpayers.</p>
<p> On July 1, higher taxes that began two years ago expired and the average California family will see a $1,000 dollars in tax savings.</p>
<p> Taxpayers saw their sales tax drop by one cent, their car tax bill dropped by nearly half and their full child dependent tax credit restored, which is in addition to the lower income tax rates that began on Jan. 1.</p>
<p> This much-needed relief comes because Assembly Republicans stood strong for the only special interest group we represent: hard-working taxpayers. We remained united in your defense because we believe you deserve to keep more money in your pocket.</p>
<p> Families struggling to make ends meet will now be able to keep more of their hard-earned money to spend on their needs, not fueling an unsustainable state government. This will also give a shot in the arm for the economy — particularly when too many Californians are out of work.</p>
<p> All year long, Democrats and the “tax-and-spend” lobby pressured Republicans to raise taxes by $58 billion dollars through higher sales, income and car taxes on Californians over five years. These painful tax increases would have hurt families and employers alike.</p>
<p> But we knew that struggling taxpayers could not afford more burdens and that the budget could be balanced without tax hikes, while still prioritizing funding for what we believe is important.</p>
<p> Assembly Republicans put forward a budget proposal that keeps government out of your wallet, while protecting funding in the classroom for our children and quality teachers, where it belongs. It also ensures our police and sheriff have the resources they need to keep us safe.</p>
<p> In contrast, legislative Democrats passed a majority-vote budget that contained hundreds of millions in illegal fee increases and lacked common-sense reforms. The Democrats’ budget rejected much-needed reforms to grow the economy, cap spending and end unsustainable gold-plated pensions for public employees.</p>
<p> Despite the problems with this majority vote budget, the simple truth is Democrats demonstrated that a budget solution can be achieved without massive tax hikes. Sadly, this realization may be short-lived. The majority party is so hungry for more of your money that they’re building a false case for future tax hikes. The budget passed this week by Democrats relies on scare tactics with so-called “triggers” if $4 billion in revenue does not materialize.</p>
<p> We are told that if we only take in $2 to $3 billion of the additional revenue that Democrats project, we could see $100 million in new cuts to both the UC and CSU systems.</p>
<p> We are told that if we take in $2 billion or less, we could see a $1.5 billion reduction to our public schools. Democrats say this would mean seven fewer classroom days and the elimination of most state funding for school bus service.</p>
<p> When you see potential cuts like this, you get a better sense of Democrats’ priorities. However, economists estimate that the state will take in $7.4 billion in projected revenue. This is more than enough to fully fund our local schools and public safety programs without new taxes.</p>
<p> It all comes down to a question of our priorities. Assembly Republicans believe it makes much more sense to fund our top priorities first before we fund the extras. Let’s protect our classrooms, public universities, law enforcement and infrastructure and cut union giveaways as well as big government programs we can’t afford.</p>
<p> It’s time we stopped scaring Californians and started being honest with them. It just requires the political will to do so.</p>
<p> Assembly Republicans refuse to give up on the fight to ensure that this independence from taxes isn’t just a short-lived holiday.</p>
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