CA Folks! Our Sales Tax Goes Up 1% April 1st, 2009

Reminder! Back in Feb 20th, 2009, our “wonderful” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger “temporarily” raised our sales tax by 1%. These tax hikes rarely go back down, some would probably argue that they never go back down. Which is probably true. In any case, your lease just got more expensive, so keep that in mind when you get into a lease. Since our taxes are paid on a monthly basis, changes like this will affect our payments. This means, my $418.88 payment is going up to about $423.07. Anyway, I don’t want to get overly political here, just keeping my fellow Californians informed. I know, it doesn’t make sense to raise taxes when unemployment is at 10%+ in our state, but hey, that’s how the ball rolls around these parts. Meh.

Arnie, you and your Sacto clowns blow! Dang, looks like I better make my big purchases this month…

From Sabrix.com

Governor Schwarzenegger signed the California budget package aimed at addressing the $42 billion deficit. A 1% sales and use tax increase is planned for April 1, 2009 to bring in new revenue.

Effective April 1st, the basic California statewide rate will be 8.25%. Many of California’s counties, cities, towns, and communities have special taxing jurisdictions referred to as districts. The district taxes are imposed in addition to the basic statewide rate.

Selected city sales and use tax rates effective April 1st:

* Anaheim 8.75%
* Berkeley 9.75%
* Los Angeles 9.25%
* Sacramento 8.25%
* San Francisco 9.50%

The Wall: Warren’s 2008 MINI Cooper

This is an unique WALL post because not only did I get a cool Silver/Black MINI Cooper to post on the WALL, but I also got a pretty good question (that I think many of you are wondering) to answer. So here’s the question from Warren in CA:

FEATURE QUESTION it seems like the MINI is still one of the better choices for leasing. I think this may only be the case for a few brands though as I recently read an article on CNN saying “cheap leases are disappearing”

For the most part I think they are right with a few exceptions. My question is, do you think we can expect the leasing business to be a thing of the past or is this just a direct result of what’s happening in the auto industry and the economy, in general?
I would guess this is just a slowdown in leasing business, and we’ll eventually see it return once the problems in the economy, credit crunch are resolved. Since this MINI Cooper was my first lease, I am hoping I’ll be able to lease in the future. I am a firm believer in the concept, and when one does all the math, it makes sense under the right conditions.

My Take: I think leasing will stick around for the most part, although, I do agree (to an extent) that cheap leases are going away. The economy certainly has had a significant impact on the leasing business, but I don’t think it will eliminate leasing completely. There is good money to be made on leases, specially for manufacturers that make vehicles that hold exceptional value. Previously leased vehicles can be resold as CPOs for a sizeable profit (they go for thousands more than used cars and dealers spend next to nothing on reconditioning). I can see GM, Ford leaving the leasing business completely, but the Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans of the world will probably keep leasing their more “popular” models at reasonable rates. I do think that finding a G37 for $360 + tax a month is a thing of the past though. The same can be said for the TLs and IS models. I think MINIs will be safe for the most part because of their resale value. As long as people want them, they will keep leasing them. The pattern is pretty obvious now. If we dig through the BMW, Mercedes, Acura, Infiniti line up, we’ll see how their popular models have the higher residual value, making them ideal for leasing.

I’d also like to add that the key now is to know how to look for the good leases and doing your homework in advance. The deals will be there, you just have to dig for them. Those who don’t will be the ones that hop on Yahoo! Answers and ask how they can get off their leases because it’s too expensive. Leasing, in the short run, is usually more economical than buying. Buying is usually best for less popular models and if you plan on keeping the car beyond 6 years.

Name: Warren
Location: California

Want your ride featured on RIDEwithG? Head over to THE WALL for more information.

The Wall: L’s 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR

Name: L
Location: California

Want your ride featured on RIDEwithG? Head over to THE WALL for more information.

Clear Bra Entire Hood
Clear Bra on Entire Hood

Volk Racing CE28 18 x 8.5\
Volk Racing CE28 18 x 8.5″

Ralliart Carbon Fiber Front Lip
Ralliart Carbon Fiber Front Lip

Beatrush Undertray
Beatrush Aluminum Underpanel

Defi 60mm Gauges
Defi 60mm Gauges

Hella 85115 Horns
Extremely Loud Hella 85115 Horns (to “alert” people on cell phones who drift into my lane)

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