The Bay Area has 75 billionaires and a number of corporations with assets in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Why is the proposal to tax the poor and the middle class?

The billionaires and corporations got rich partly by acting to increase their own influence, income and other assets. The "leadership group' is the main lobbying arm of Silicon Valley corporations.

VTA collects already a 0.5% sales tax, the "FASTER Bay Area" group would triple that.

FASTER out of poor/middle class wallets it seems....

The FASTER Bay Area group could get much bigger and much faster transit via a one-cent gross receipts (on corporations with over X millions in annual revenue).

Why not poll test that revenue stream instead?

Billionaires don’t buy stuff? Seems they buy a lot. And a lot of expensive things.

When you vote for liberals, you get more taxes. Even regressive taxes. Should be clear by now.

Even your RV dwellers will be paying this tax.

Too regressive. Do it anyway. And hit the crap outta those billionaires.

The tax on their Gulfstream and yacht gets paid elsewhere.

The Bay Area did remarkably well for decades with HALF, or less, the sales tax rates we have now -- and from a less vigorous economy (inflation is automatically adjusted-for with sales tax rates, of course). This new suggestion is O U T R A G E O U S. They need to be actively looking for ways to make current sales taxes go D O W N, not up! Why -- at the very least -- is there no state constitutional amendment yet, compelling that any new sales tax choose which existing tax programs to debit so that the total remains capped? (Just as a start! The real objective, of course, being to gradually reduce the tax rate. To something reasonable, typical -- 4%? 3%? -- some states manage fine with zero. Best practices, anyone? Hello?????)

This use-the-consumers-as-ATM nonsense would never even get past the drawing board, without the constant influx of newcomers utterly, complacently, unconscious of its past history.

Just noticed that the measure could also fund more express (toll) highway lanes...

Is the "Faster Bay" corporate lobby really proposing to tax the poor/middle class to build faster lanes..... mostly for the rich?

Vote NO. Over the last several elections, voters in Santa Clara County have passed multiple tax and fee increases including gas taxes, two bridge toll increases, three VTA sales taxes, Santa Clara County’s Measure A 1/8 cent sales tax, the state prop 30 ¼ cent sales tax and the 2010 Measure B Vehicle Registration Fee of $10. Additionally, we’re on the hook to pay back numerous state bond issues including high speed rail, last year’s Proposition 1 water bond and the infrastructure bonds of 2006.

All of this nickel and diming has contributed into making the Bay Area a horribly expensive place to live; especially for people of modest means, who must pay the greatest percentage of their income in these regressive taxes and fees. Each increase by itself does not amount to much, say a quarter cent, but the cumulative effect is to add to the unaffordability of the region.

Before increasing taxes YET AGAIN, waste needs to be removed from transportation projects. For example, VTA needs to eliminate waste and "gold plating" of the BART extension's cost by reducing the scope to eliminate duplicate facilities. Specifically, we need to eliminate the redundant and wasteful section between the San Jose and Santa Clara Caltrain stations. The BART segment from these stations would duplicate both the existing Caltrain line and VTA's 22 and 522 buses to a station that has approximately 1000 riders each weekday.

Why don’t the wealthy high-rollers in the “Leadership Group” suggest taxing their rich companies and leave the little guy alone for a change?

I agree with Bill Hough, VOTE NO! We continue to get taxed on everything and can anyone see improvements? Where did the gas tax go? Why is CA average gas price $3.58 and and Texas $2.34? Newsom doesn't even want to investigate to see where our money is going.

"No new taxes!"

SVLG has never met a regressive tax it didn’t think was a good idea to foist on the residents of the Bay Area. Carl Guardino is nothing more than a lobbyist for big tech facilitating the protection/growth of corporate profits — often at the expense of our communities and residents.

Remember who Carl Guardino represents whenever you see the name, Silicon Valley Leadership Group — corporate profits — at the expense of residents affordability & quality of life.

No more regressive taxes cloaked as “good for the region”...over and over again. Go to your corporate overlords Carl, and have them repatriate some of the hundreds of billions in profits they’ve got stashed offshore — that could probably help without pinching the common folk barely making it here.

A wealth tax is like a property tax only on all assets. This is what elizabeth warren is proposing - we should do the same thing here.

Then we will find out how much the SVLG really want to fix the transportation system.

Tax the biggest corporation that have the biggest impact on traffic in the bay area.

Lets make sure we collect all the taxes we already have on the books. Why do we have to wait to collect e-car use tax on the road? Are the free white bus rides taxed? I see a 100 of them parked in empty lots They compete / take away VTA dollars. How about all those free lunches I hear workers get? Are the uncollected tax ruining the local economy and small businesses down the road?

This idea stinks out loud. Our sales taxes are already sky-high.