Taxpayer protections are under attack in California, but they’re not dead yet.

Under Proposition 13 (1978) and Proposition 218 (1996), voters have the right to vote on local taxes. Last week, the city of Long Beach lost a court case in which it was arguing that it should be able to collect a sales tax that voters didn’t approve.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Stephen Acquisto sided with state’s Department of Tax and Fee Administration, which had refused to collect the tax, and the Long Beach Reform Coalition, which was suing over it.

The dispute relates to two temporary sales tax increases and to the state law that caps local sales taxes at 2% on top of the state’s 7.25% sales tax. The problem occurred because the temporary taxes were not temporary and the cap was blown off.

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