This is an archive of a past election. See http://www.smartvoter.org/ca/la/ for current information. |
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Measure BH-O Tax on Oil and Natural Gas Extraction City of Beverly Hills Ordinance - Majority Approval Required Final Election Results
See Also:
Index of all Measures |
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Information shown below: Impartial Analysis | Arguments | | ||||
"Shall an ordinance that increases the oil extraction tax imposed on oil companies and establishes a natural gas extraction tax on oil and gas companies for deposit into the General Fund to support general fund services including police, fire, paramedics, library, administrative support services, and street and park maintenance, and that makes a change to the definition of gross receipts set forth in the Beverly Hills Municipal Code, be adopted"?
The City of Beverly Hills imposes a flat rate business license excise tax on the extraction of oil from the City. The current tax rate for oil wells located entirely within the City is $3,880.60 for the first 10,000 barrels of oil produced and $0.36 for each additional barrel. The current tax rate for oil wells partially located within the City is $1,933.20 for the first 10,000 barrels of oil produced and $0.14 for each additional barrel. The City's business license tax provisions automatically exclude from the gross receipts taxable by Beverly Hills any receipts that have been the measure of a tax in another jurisdiction. Proposal Measure O revises the oil extraction excise tax so that any well owner who extracts oil and associated natural gas from the City will pay a tax of $2,000 per well plus 2.5% of the gross receipts from the sale of oil and natural gas extracted from the City of Beverly Hills. Measure O would not change the business license tax rate for any other business. Measure O also eliminates the automatic exclusion described above for gross receipts that have been the measure of a tax in another jurisdiction. Instead, the City's Chief Financial Officer may adopt rules and regulations to properly apportion taxes between jurisdictions when a business operates in more than one jurisdiction. Effects Measure O will convert the oil extraction tax from a flat rate tax to a gross receipts tax. Measure O will also impose the tax on receipts earned from the extraction of natural gas. As a consequence, revenue earned by the City will increase or decrease as the price of oil and natural gas increases or decreases. Measure O will also provide that the tax applies only to receipts from oil and natural gas removed from the City by a well that terminates under the City of Beverly Hills. The City's Chief Financial Officer estimates that Measure O will generate more than one million dollars of additional revenue annually to the City of Beverly Hills as a result of the changes to the oil extraction tax. The oil and natural gas tax proposed in Measure O will be a general tax. Thus, revenues generated by the tax will be deposited in the City's general fund and will be unrestricted. The general fund is the primary funding source for the City's operations and services such as police services, fire services, paramedic services, administrative support services and recreation services. The general fund is also the primary funding source for maintenance of City facilities and infrastructure (other than utilities) including, parks, streets, and the library. Voting A "yes" vote approves Measure O and the revisions to the business license tax ordinance. A "no" vote rejects Measure O and the revisions to the business license tax ordinance.
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Official Information Nonpartisan Information
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Arguments For Measure BH-O | Arguments Against Measure BH-O | ||
Vote YES on O--protect Beverly Hills essential services and make sure Big Oil Companies pay their fair share!
YES on O is NOT a tax on Beverly Hills residents or the greater business community.
YES on O generates $1,000,000/annually to help protect essential city services such as: The City has made $27 Million in cuts already--including reducing police officers and slashing library hours-- we still have a $2 Million deficit and can't afford any more cuts! YES on O ensures Beverly Hills receives every dime we are entitled to--oil companies that profit from the oil they take from our city will have to pay their fair share to Beverly Hills--not neighboring cities which could profit at our expense. Yes on O will NOT increase drilling in our City. None of these funds can be taken by Sacramento politicians. YES on O continues the City's tradition of FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY--all funds generated continue to be subject to annual independent audits and citizens review. Preserve our quality of life! Ensure big oil companies pay their fair share, other cities don't profit from Beverly Hills' natural resources, and that we generate revenue with NO TAX INCREASE on residents or the greater business community. "In today's tough economy, our City is proposing fiscally responsible solutions that protect our businesses and our local taxpayers. Our local businesses and city taxpayers won't pay a dime under this plan--join me in supporting yes on O." Eliot Finkel, City Treasurer
/s/ Brian Rosenstein, Planning Commissioner
Measure O is NOT a tax on "Big Oil." It IS a tax on thousands of Beverly Hills residents and several churches and Jewish schools who depend on mineral rights payments from local energy producers. Measure O is a 500% increase in existing city taxes impacting small and moderate sized local companies. Foreign oil companies would be exempt. Higher oil production costs mean higher gas prices at the pump. Where would the money go? No one knows. The City Council could have written Measure O to guarantee these taxes be spent only on essential services, but didn't. They wrote it to let themselves spend it however they desire, including their pet projects. Measure O lacks real taxpayer accountability. Millions in local taxpayer dollars are wasted each year, according to the city's citizens Budget Review Committee.
"The city's accounting system is outdated. The use of consultants seems excessive: $25 Million for 2008-2009.
Overtime costs seem excessive: $7.4 Million for 2008-2009." Los Angeles County's unemployment rate is 12.5% -- a record high. One out of every eight people is out of work. Businesses are struggling to stay afloat. Yet, instead of putting its own fiscal house in order, the City proposes a 500% tax increase that would eliminate good, local jobs. Measure O means lower property values and more layoffs, resulting in LESS long term money for the City of Beverly Hills. Vote NO on O.
/s/ Bill La Marr, Executive Director, Calif. Small Business Alliance | What are they thinking?
We're in the midst of the toughest economic downturn since the Great Depression and the City Council's answer is another massive TAX INCREASE ON RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES operating in Beverly Hills? Measure O is approximately a 500% TAX INCREASE on oil production here -- which would COST JOBS. This is the worst time to do that. They tried something similar in 2009 and -- by a 4 to 1 margin -- the voters said "NO!" The economy has only gotten worse since then, yet now the City Council is back -- again -- with one of the ideas rejected in 2009. Measure O is NOT a tax on Big Oil companies. It's a tax on small and medium-sized companies, small business contractors and residents of Beverly Hills. Measure O would give an enormous tax break to foreign companies. Because the new tax only applies to oil production in Beverly Hills, oil imported from foreign countries would be exempt making local companies less competitive. And increasing taxes on oil production means HIGHER GAS PRICES at the pump. Don't believe it when proponents say "no one" in Beverly Hills would pay this tax. Measure O is a tax on thousands of Beverly Hills residents whose property is above local oil reserves and who depend on payments from local producers. Measure O would reduce those payments which would even further REDUCE property values in Beverly Hills. There's NO GUARANTEE this enormous 500% tax increase would be used to fund essential public services like police and fire protection. A LOOPHOLE in the proposed law allows the City Council to spend the money on anything, including automatic pay raises and pension increases for city employees. Times are tough. Let's not make it worse. Vote NO on Measure O. /s/ Bill La Marr, Executive Director, Calif. Small Business Alliance
Who's really behind the opposition to Measure O? Big oil companies who don't want to pay their fair share for Beverly
Hills' natural resources. All you need to do is see who's in the alliance opposing O-- the California Petroleum Association Fact: Yes on O is NOT a tax or gasoline increase on Beverly Hills' residents or the greater Beverly Hills community. Fact: Who pays for Measure O? Only big oil companies -- NOT residents or other businesses. Measure O also doesn't increase oil drilling in Beverly Hills. That's why the petroleum industry opposes O! How does the community benefit? Yes on O generates more than $1,000,000 annually for the essential quality of life services we depend on, several of which have already experienced severe budget cuts. Measure O's official Impartial Analysis states: "Measure O would not change the business tax rate for any other business....revenues generated by the tax will be deposited in the City's general fund....the primary funding source for the City's operations and services such as police services, fire services, paramedic services, administrative support services and recreation services. The general fund is also the primary funding source for maintenance of City facilities and infrastructure including parks, streets and the library." Make Big Oil pay -- vote yes on O! /s/ Judie Fenton, Business Woman /s/ Eliot M. Finkel, City Treasurer and Chair - Citizens' Budget Review Committee /s/ Brian Rosenstein, Planning Commissioner /s/ Robert S. Anderson, 60 year Resident /s/ Howard S. Fisher, Attorney |