Gov. Jerry Brown's new measure will ask voters to raise taxes on the wealthy over the next five years. His tax initiative, slated for the November 2012 ballot as soon as Friday, could help put a dent in our state's dwindling economy, "which the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office pegs at $12.8 billion." Or it could upset a lot of extraordinarily powerful people. Or both.

How would it work? Sacramento Bee reports:

The upper-income tax hike starts with a 1 percent increase at $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for joint filers. A separate increase would charge 1.5 percent more on income between $300,000 and $500,000, followed by a third step of 2 percent on income above $500,000 for individuals (with amounts doubled for joint filers). That would increase the tax on millionaires from 10.3 percent to 12.3 percent.

The income tax change generally affects the top 1 percent of taxpaying households, a favorite target of Occupy protesters in recent months. In 2009, the 1 percent threshold of tax filers started at $400,635, according to the Franchise Tax Board.

Brown's initiative would also unveil a half-cent sales tax increase starting in 2013.