Poll: California Voters Back Extending Prop 30 Taxes, Key Change To Prop 13

A new poll shows Californians are open to extending the sales and income tax increases voters approved in 2012. They’re also open to making a change to the state’s popular property tax law.

Gov. Jerry Brown has been clear that the temporary tax increases he championed should be just that – temporary. But in the newly-released Public Policy Institute of California poll, 52 percent of voters favor extending the Proposition 30 sales and income tax increases. They’re scheduled to expire in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

Moreover, 54 percent of likely voters would support a controversial change to Proposition 13 known as the “split-roll” – taxing commercial property at a higher rate than residential property. That’s even though six out of 10 voters say Prop 13 is generally good for the state.

The poll shows Governor Brown with a record-high 61 percent approval rating. And the California Legislature has its highest public support in more than a dozen years at 49 percent. It bottomed out at nine percent in 2010.