REFORM DURING CRISIS - THE TRANSFORMING OF CALIFORNIA FISCAL SYSTEM DURING THE GREAT-DEPRESSION

In the midst of the Great Depression, California engaged in a massive restructuring of its tax system, reducing reliance on the property tax and introducing sales and income taxes, Our analysis suggests that th is restructuring, which included a voter referendum, was primarily dri ven by a desire to change the mix rather than the level of taxation. N onetheless, by introducing new taxes that had a higher revenue elastic ity than the existing taxes, California created a revenue system that allowed the rapid growth of spending to continue.