NY Mayor Bloomberg gives $250k to support new tax

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who made a pledge of no new taxes a centerpiece of his reelection campaign in 2005, has created a political account in California, giving $250,000 in seed money to support a new tobacco-tax on the November ballot. The money goes to a committee, Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund, which is supporting Proposition 86, which would levy a $2.60-per pack tax on cigarettes sold in California. In an odd way, the new tax in California wouldn’t break Bloomberg’s pledge, as the tax only applies in California. Bloomberg is a close ally of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whom he met with this week in New York and hosted a fund-raiser for, but he is out of sync with California’s Republican governor. Schwarzenegger has opposed Proposition 86, and all other taxes on the November ballot. The $250,000 donation from Bloomberg was made last Thursday. It is not the first money Bloomberg, a billionaire who self-financed both his runs for New York mayor, has given in California. Earlier this year, he have the maximum $44,600 to Gov. Schwarzenegger’s reelection account.