Press Release: New Poll: Vast Majority of California Voters Support Large Corporations Paying More in Taxes to Fight Homelessness

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2021
Contact: Nick Day | (612) 396-2908 | [email protected]

New Poll: Vast Majority of California Voters Support Large Corporations Paying More in Taxes to Fight Homelessness
Indicates strong support for bold reforms such as Assembly Bill 71

Sacramento, CA — A new poll of more than 1,000 California voters shows that homelessness remains a top-of-mind concern for Californians across the state, second only to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the poll, conducted by EMC Research between March 24-31, 2021, more than 80% of likely November 2022 voters expressed concern about people experiencing homelessness, as well as low-income and disadvantaged youth and families, finding an affordable place to live.

When presented with potential solutions to the homelessness crisis, 68% of voters expressed support for bold reforms that would increase funding for homelessness programs through taxes on large corporations. Over two-thirds of voters expressed support for a policy that would reform the corporate tax code to impose a tax on business profits being shifted overseas — otherwise known as GILTI, or Global Intangible Low-Tax Income.

Sixty-one percent of voters agreed that all Californians should have a legally enforceable right to housing, and when it came to voters’ funding priorities, homelessness ranked third, behind COVID-19 and jobs/economy. Taken together, these two findings suggest an appetite for bold investment in combating homelessness.

Los Angeles City Council Member Mark Ridley-Thomas, who has endorsed AB 71, said, “Make no mistake: Californians agree that ending homelessness should be a municipal mandate. The latest polling shows that 61% of voters believe that just as they have a right to vote and a right to an education, all Californians should have a right to housing. The onus must be on government to prevent our most vulnerable residents from falling into homelessness, and to help those that do end up on the streets. We must act with urgency and conviction to establish such a right, and establish a safety net at the scale that this moral crisis merits.”

Voters’ appetite for solutions to the homelessness crisis, as well as their strong support of a policy that would invest in combating homelessness by ensuring large corporations pay their fair share in taxes, dovetails with Assembly Bill 71, which will face its first hearing in the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee on April 19.

The legislation would enforce the GILTI tax on large corporations, and use the revenue to provide stable housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, and provide supportive housing and services for people experiencing mental health or substance abuse challenges.

In addition to the strong support of California voters, the policy is supported by the Bring California Home Coalition, an array of elected officials, advocates, and nonprofit leaders from across the state. The coalition includes Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, the City and County of Los Angeles, the City of Oakland, Housing California, the Coalition for Supportive Housing, Nonprofit Housing of Northern California, All Home, and over 200 other individuals and organizations.

Beyond AB 71, the Bring California Home Coalition will also seek homelessness funding in the 2021-22 state budget so that, combined with revenue gathered from the GILTI tax, the state could invest a historic $2.4 billion annually in reversing the cycle of homelessness.

Bring California Home, a coalition of elected officials and advocates from across California is supporting AB 71. For more information about the coalition and the plan to reverse the cycle of homelessness, visit www.bringcahome.org.

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