Los Angeles budget woes grow

As a Los Angeles city budget panel looks at its $7.8 billion spending plan for next year, the Daily News it reports that an appellate court ruling that the city illegally hiked cell phone taxes leaves a $167million hole in next year's city budget - and the gap could widen if the courts strike down a second tax that voters did not approve.
The state Court of Appeal decision issued last week said the city violated the California Constitution when it imposed what amounted to a unilateral tax increase on cell phone use without first receiving the voter approval required by Proposition218.
That leaves the city without $167million it had counted on. An additional $100million is threatened by a ruling affecting the telephone excise tax levied on Los Angeles residents.
"We have to look at this as the potential loss of a major source of revenue now," said City Councilman Bernard Parks, who chairs the council's Budget and Finance Committee, which is reviewing the $7.8billion budget Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proposed.