Orange Considers Car Rebate as Auto Industry Poised to Oppose Sales Tax Measure

Orange City Council members are considering a rebate for residents buying cars successful municipality arsenic the automotive manufacture gears up to reason the 0.5% income taxation summation measurement connected November’s ballot successful an effort to support the metropolis financially afloat.  

The Orange County Automobile Dealers Association has raised astatine slightest $750,000 to reason the income taxation measurement stemming from a $500,000 indebtedness to itself and $250,000 from the California Automobile Dealers Association, according to filings connected the California Secretary of State’s website. 

On Tuesday, assembly members voted 6-1 for unit to travel backmost with a survey examining the impacts of a $300 car rebate connected a sliding standard successful a $1.5 cardinal yearly programme that hinges connected voters passing the income taxation measure.

A Rebate Proposal Ahead of Industry Opposition

Some assembly members said the connection is an effort to stem car manufacture absorption against the ballot measure. 

“The car dealers are backing a run …  opposing this,” Councilman Jon Dumitru said astatine Tuesday’s assembly meeting. “My question is bash they person a rebate programme successful Buena Park, wherever they person a 1 cent income taxation (increase)?” 

City unit said Buena Park doesn’t person a rebate program. 

Councilman John Gyllenhammer, the lone dissenting vote, said the thought of a rebate surfaced due to the fact that of dealership absorption to the income taxation increase. 

“I deliberation this is present due to the fact that there’s the specter of an accrued income tax,” Gyllenhammer said. “We are picking an manufacture that we privation to subsidize and that is thing we person to determine if that’s what we privation to do.” 

As of Tuesday, metropolis run concern disclosures don’t yet amusement immoderate spending things similar mailers and integer advertizing opposing the income taxation proposal. 

Over the summer, representatives from section car dealerships were captious of the income taxation proposal. 

At the June 25 metropolis assembly meeting, Craig Whetter of the Wilson Automotive radical that owns Toyota of Orange, said akin income taxation increases impacted dealerships successful Santa Ana and Garden Grove. 

“In Santa Ana, they mislaid 40% of their gross betwixt 2017 and 2023 – those dealers mislaid 40% of their gross owed to a taxation increase. And successful Garden Grove it was 23%,” Whetter told assembly members.  

The rebate was primitively pitched astatine $500 for Orange residents buying successful the metropolis – caller and utilized cars from 1 of 5 franchised dealerships successful Orange. 

City unit said the automotive manufacture pitched large points of the proposal. 

Councilwoman Arianna Barrios lambasted the thought astatine Tuesday’s meeting, saying a $500 rebate is much than the 0.5% income taxation summation would make connected car purchases.

“We shouldn’t beryllium beholden to outsiders who fundamentally are telling america our ain business. So I conscionable privation to marque definite what you bring backmost is an economical study that gives america options and is not nether the thumb of the car dealers,” Barrios said astatine Tuesday’s meeting. 

Councilwoman Ana Gutierrez, echoing Barrios’ comments, said the rebate should beryllium extended. 

“It’s not fair, it should not conscionable beryllium these 5 dealerships, we person 11 others that should enactment arsenic well,” she said. 

The Orange City Council gathering connected May 14, 2024. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC

Mayor Dan Slater agreed connected lowering the rebate magnitude to lucifer the imaginable income taxation increase.

“As my colleagues are stating, this needs to beryllium reasonably done and not a payer giveaway,” Slater said. 

During Tuesday’s nationalist comment, nonmigratory Eddie Albright criticized the car rebate and told assembly members it’s a determination to easiness car dealership opposition. 

“I deliberation this is wholly wrong,” Albright said. “I don’t deliberation we should isolate anybody. I deliberation if we’re going to marque a fractional a percent income tax, it should beryllium crossed the committee for everybody.”

Confronting a Budget Crisis

Earlier this year, Orange officials were grappling with a monolithic fund shortfall. 

In June, metropolis assembly members voted to enactment the sales taxation proposal connected the ballot aft a bid of debates passim antithetic meetings that began successful May. 

[Read: Orange Asks Voters to Raise Taxes To Bail Out City Budget]

At the aforesaid time, they slashed spending successful an effort to adjacent a $19 cardinal fund spread – reducing the shortage to astir $7 million. 

Council members besides initially slashed the crossing defender programme until reinstating a information of it aft residents protested the move.

Orange County Supervisors Vicente Sarmiento and Don Wagner precocious stepped successful to assistance money the gap. 

[Read: OC Supervisors Help Fund Crossing Guards successful Orange Amid City Budget Cuts]

City unit person reported an uptick successful vermin and trash astatine metropolis hallway and different nationalist buildings aft janitorial services were slashed. 

[Read: Cuts to Orange City Hall’s Janitorial Services Leads to Vermin Problem]

On Tuesday, unit said they were capable to reorganize immoderate existing janitorial services to destruct the vermin. 

“That volition destruct immoderate imaginable vermin problems astatine our restrooms and truthful forth,” Slater said. 

Meanwhile, metropolis unit said the car rebate connection apt won’t travel backmost until aft the Nov. 5 election. 

Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You tin scope him astatine [email protected]. Follow him connected Twitter @SpencerCustodio.

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