'It Will Hurt Californians:' CSUN Tax Professor Derides Senate Tax Bill

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — In Washington they viewed it as mission accomplished.

Here in California? A different view on the tax bill passed by the Senate.

"We may all suffer because of this tax bill," homeowner Josh Rodine told CBS2/KCAL9's Greg Mills.

His neighbor, Bill Bentley, believes the tax bills are aimed at helping big business rather than the middle class.

"It really worries me," he said.

In a statement today, Mayor Eric Garcetti wrote the bill is: "giving a hand to billionaires and corporations and a boot to working people and the middle class," and called it "as illogical as it is immoral."

"I think that's correct," said CSUN tax professor Monica Gianni. "It will hurt Californians."

She was pleased to see the senate bill add a deduction Friday night for property taxes capped at $10,000 just like the House bill.  But her big concern for Californians is this change: "Although they say the standard deduction will almost double, you are going to lose your personal exemption and right now everyone has an exception for themselves, their spouse and dependents and that is going to go away."

Everyone Mills spoke with — experts and homeowners — firmly believe lawmakers in Washington don't care about California.

"They wrote us off ... they don't think about what we need here," Bentley said.

Gianni says the people who are gonna be hit the hardest with the new tax bill are those who live in the big blue states, like New York and California.

The Senate bill is expected to be merged with the House bill in the coming week before it's presented to the president.