As many Californians raced to meet Tuesday’s deadline to file their tax returns, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association released its annual Follow the Money report, exposing waste, fraud, and abuse of almost $50 billion hard-earned taxpayer dollars.
The report documents examples of bureaucratic fraud and negligence, including a $440 million train meant to haul trash that will likely never be used, a group of doctors defrauding Medicare of $147 million by submitting false claims for prescription drugs, and $175 million in the University of California’s budget reserve funds that were “hidden.”
“At every moment of every day, Californians are taxed,” said Jon Coupal, president of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. “Follow the Money not only documents our government’s imprudent waste of taxpayer dollars, but gives taxpayers the ability to call foul on politicians’ claims that they don’t have enough money and need higher taxes.”
The Follow the Money report can be found online at HJTA.org by clicking on the “Resources” tab and then on “Studies and Reports.”
Jon Coupal is the President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA). HJTA, with offices in both Los Angeles and Sacramento, is the largest taxpayers association in California with a membership of over 200,000. Founded by the late Howard Jarvis, the author of Proposition 13, HJTA’s name is synonymous with tax relief and the uncompromising defense of the California homeowner.